For context, my ~9yo small-ish mixed breed terrier was put to rest 2 days after discovering a large mass on her abdomen. A biopsy could not be done as they were worried about rupturing the tumor, but they suspected intestinal adenocarcinoma.
3 months before she had a bloodwork panel done where everything came back great. The morning after I found the mass, I brought her to the vet where her temperature was higher, but still within a normal range and her bloodwork was still fine. They had trouble finding the mass, likely because my dog was tensing her muscles. The whole time her energy is fine, she's playing, but eating less (but she was always picky so this seemed normal to me). 2 days later at the ER, her bloodwork showed inflammation and they saw the mass on her intestines and told me surgery didn't carry a good prognosis and that euthanasia was recommended.
I've been scouring reddit for similar stories and I have found:
- there were no symptoms and the tumor suddenly ruptured and it was an ER emergency
- lowered appetite, mistaken for normal behavior (like for my furbaby), then sudden discovery of a mass followed by euthanasia or rupture
- cancer/mass is discovered by a routine visit and there is time for plans and treatments where the dog lives for another few weeks, months, and sometimes years
For #3 - how is this happening? I saw that some people get routine ultrasounds/X-rays for their senior dogs, but I have asked around and that's not commonly done. I've also been told that bloodwork doesn't catch a lot of cancer.
I'm just so sad and angry that I missed her symptoms, found the tumor when it was huge (I gave her belly rubs every day - how did I miss it?), and then was completely blindsided by having to put her down even though she was still bright-eyed the day of. Just looking for information/experiences that can help me understand and better prepare for future furbabies.