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Hi Julie,

It is not possible by simply feeling a lump to say exactly what it is, whether it is a cancer or not and whether it would be operable or not. Your vet will be able to make some educated guesses from an examination but they would not be able to tell you for sure unless they ran some tests.

The criteria your vet would use for judging a lump will include;
•How quickly has the mass grown? - More malignant masses will grow more quickly, you should notice a size increase within weeks. Benign masses like fatty lumps will stay the same size or grow very slowly.
•How mobile is it? - More benign masses will often be just in the skin, which means you should be able to move it around as it is not attached to the underlying tissue. Malignant masses will spread quickly and are therefore often not as movable.
•Is the skin healthy? - Benign masses rarely cause any skin irritation but more aggressive masses will often cause the skin to redden, or even ulcerate.
•Is there any hair loss? - Benign masses will rarely cause the hair to fall out, but malignant masses often destroy the hair follicles.
•Is the mass bothering your pet? - It is unusual for benign masses to bother your pet, but more aggressive growths can be painful.

The best thing to do is to take your dog for an examination and ask your vet their opinion. They will be able to run through all the testing and treatment options with you, so you can make a fully informed decision. One very easy and non-invasive test would be to do a ´needle biopsy´. This involves simply placing a needle into the mass and sucking out some of the cells. If the cells in the mass can be identified then you have a much better idea about what the lump is, whether it is going to be a problem or not and how best to deal with it.

I hope this helps.

Cat