# Groin Lump



## EmS (Feb 10, 2015)

About a week ago, I noticed a lump on one of my boys groin area. It's grown pretty quickly. I plan to take him to the vet on Tuesday but in the mean time, is there anything I can do? Is there any way for me to tell the difference between a tumor and an abcess? Also, any idea how much removal might cost?


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?topic=30104.0 give this link a try. Good luck!


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## EmS (Feb 10, 2015)

My vet was closed for a few day for the Fourth of July so I finally got Sharpie in to see the vet today. The vet offered me 2 options.
Option one was to book him for exploratory surgery. He said if the tumor is attached to the abdominal wall he wouldn't complete the surgery. 
Option two is putting him to sleep.
The vet didn't seem optimistic about surgery and I don't want to put sharpie through all of that only to have him die on a opperating table. I'd rather be there with him.
I don't know how long I can keep him with me. He's having trouble walking because the tumor has gotten so large. I'm not ready to lose him but I don't want him to suffer.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

How old is Sharpie? How much did the vet quoted you for the surgery?


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## EmS (Feb 10, 2015)

He's a year and 4 months. The quote was just shy of $300.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

He is still young. I would try the surgery but you know your rat better so I can't help you decide. It is a tough call but I heard of rats over 30 months who went though a tumor removal with great success. Is your vet rat savvy or just ok?


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## EmS (Feb 10, 2015)

Judging on the few times I've seen this vet, I think he's very good.
I was completely ready to have him do the surgery before I took Sharpie to the vet. The only reason that I'm hesitating is because the vet didn't seem optimistic about the outcome of surgery. He said he would do the surgery if I wanted but he elaborated much more on putting Sharpie to sleep. He didn't outright recommend against surgery exactly, but it felt like it.
If the vet hadn't said there was a chance they simply wouldn't complete the surgery, I'd have no hesitation at all. That made me feel like my options were $300. euthanasia or $40. euthanasia.
Maybe I should call and ask what option he'd recommend. I don't know how to make this decision.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

I'm so sorry. I just had my boy with a very similarly placed tumor (but much larger) put to sleep on Monday, but he was only 6 days away from turning 3 years old and had a couple other issues too. These grow fast. The main concern is if it grows to block his ability to poop or urinate which is a BIG issue and can cause issues very fast that are very painful if he gets blocked up, I wanted him pts before it got to that point. But his tumor was almost the size of a lemon, or maybe a lime. You can just try to maintain his quality of life until you feel he's getting close to the point of euthanasia being the best option. I would get a second opinion from a different vet though if possible, just to be sure. Was this vet certain it was a tumor, or could it be an abscess since it's grown very quickly and is kind of protruding and odd shaped? With my old guy, I first noticed it when it was maybe the size of a grape, and until the day he was put to sleep when it was lime/lemon size, it took almost 2 months.

Try putting him in a small cage that's lined with white paper towels and leave him until he pees, just to make sure he's still able to pee easily like normal, and to make sure there's no blood. Do this at least once a day, and more often as it gets larger to be sure he's still doing ok. Try to watch him if you can (if you wake him up from a nap and immediately put him in a carrier with the paper towels, he's more likely to pee while you're still watching) to make sure he isn't straining or that it's not painful. Could also do this in a "scary" space so that he fear poops/pees. Try lining a portion of an empty tub and sink, my rats usually don't like being put in those places and will eliminate right away.

Best of luck. Keep us updated. Groin tumors are one of the worst to deal with and monitor because of the urination/elimination reasons and then to have to decide when best to PTS before it gets to a bad point..


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

If the vet does the exploratory surgery, you could also ask him to just debulk it, even if he's not able to remove it. He's so young that he would probably be ok. But sometimes tumors that get debulked and not removed seem to grow even faster at that point.. It's a very tough call. is he able to feel where the root/stem of the tumor is originating from? With all that internal plumbing it makes it a difficult choice too.. I would definitely try to get a second opinion if possible from another vet. Maybe another vet would have more experience too and be more confident in the outcome of their surgery.


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