Dexter's Biopsy Results

[moondiamond]

Hey all,

I posted last week about a small mass near Dexter's toe pad. We had him assessed quickly by our vet who recommended a biopsy. The vet called today with the results - he said that the pathology showed a low grade, benign, soft tissue sarcoma. Those words sound VERY scary to me, but the vet reassured me that the lesion was removed entirely with clear margins, and that it has very low metastatic potential, being that it is benign. He said it has a low chance of recurring locally but that it is very unlikely that it could spread internally.

I had been hoping that it would be something a little simpler and not in the realm of cancerous, so I am still pretty shaken up to be quite honest, even though we had a great surgical outcome. I'm glad we got this taken care of immediately and will be checking Dexter's paw regularly for recurrence.

Thanks to everyone here who replied to my first thread and for the support while we awaited results. If anyone has any other thoughts on this I would love to hear them as well.

 

[SV Dad]

benign

That is the KEY word.
Relax. Keep an eye on it. But I really doubt it will be a problem and it has a very low potential to go south on you. Clear margins is what you want. They got it all.

 

[moondiamond]

Hey SV Dad,

You are totally right. I am focusing on that and just grateful we got it all, and early. Thank you for the reassuring words.

I think it was just a shock and kinda tough to hear the word 'sarcoma' in a medical conversation about my baby boy Reading into it online doesn't help either!!!

 

[Elf]

I understand that it can be scary, but it is definitely not bad news overall. I am glad to hear it was also all already removed! Best wishes to to you and Dexter!

 

[moondiamond]

Hey there Elf,

Thank you so much for the well wishes It sure is nice having supportive Savannah families to talk to about the scary medical stuff!

 

[admin]

Glad to hear it is nothing malignant!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Benign is great! I know hearing sarcoma was scary, but it could be removed cleanly which is the best outcome <3

 

[moondiamond]

Thank you!

One thing I want to add to this conversation is that my vet had mentioned to us that although the margins were clean, they were narrow margins. He did say that they were "adequate" (his words) and he didn't feel that anything further needed to be done.

I am reminding myself that the most important thing to take away from all of this is that the growth was non-invasive, and the margins were clear. Still a bit freaked out by this ordeal but overall I think we did get the best possible outcome.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

OK, if you are still worried (and your last comment seems to say that you do have some lingering doubts), take your cat and his records to an oncology specialist vet. The consultation fee can be regarded as the cost of your peace of mind...

 

[Patti]

I agree with Brigitte - the use of the terms 'benign' and 'sarcoma' are dichotomous and I would want to get some clarification of exactly what it is you and Dexter are dealing with.