Bump on back - is sample enough, or removal through surgery?

I took Lucy in to the vet last week because she's had a new bump on her back for the past few weeks. It sort of appeared out of nowhere and hasn't gotten any bigger and doesn't seem to bother her when you feel it. She doesn't seem to be acting weird or different either. The vet took a needle sample of it (she said it was mostly pus when they sliced it open, sorry for that image). She said she didn't see any mast cell tumors or anything that screams surgery ASAP, but that it was a bit "busier under the microscope than she was expecting". She said there are some cells she can't quite identify that may just be new skin cells forming, but she's not a specialist/pathologist so can't say for sure. She says I have two options:

1) Send the current needle sample out to a pathologist for $240 knowing that the needle only took a small sample of the lump and whatever they come back will not be definitive because if there is "bad stuff", it could just be in a different part of the bump that was not sampled.
2) Have surgery to remove the bump completely and send the entire thing off to get biopsied for about $900. She said she does not like bumps on cats and this would be her choice if it were her cat. I've already done blood work for Lucy and everything came back excellent, so the vet said she's a good candidate.

I am leaning towards surgery just for my own piece of mind, but would appreciate any opinions or guidance you all may have. The vet I take her to is pretty awesome and I don't see them as very money hungry, but I would like to make sure I ask all the right questions before taking the surgery route due just to the risk with it and financial burden.

 

For my own piece of mind I would have the surgery ( if you can afford it, cause I know expense can be a deciding factor) seeing she is healthy at this point. You said a new bump-? Is she prone to these growths?
My cat had a mast cell tumor removed from his ear and I am continually checking for any new ones popping up.

 

She has a bump on her head since I got her from the shelter when she was about a year old. That has been tested several times over the years (she is about 13 now) and results come back fine. No other bumps that I've noticed since then, just this one. I am leaning towards the surgery route because I know myself and it will become all consuming if I don't.

How much was the surgery for your cat? Hopefully everything has turned out well since!

 

The mast cell tumor was very small on the edge of his ear and I had the surgery done at the same time his teeth were cleaned. If I remember right it was about $300.00 or $400.00 total. His specialist is not the one who did the cleaning and tumor removal, it was his GP vet. I imagine if it was the specialist it would have been a lot more. If it does come back I will most probably have the specialist do it as they will need to take a bigger chunk off his ear. So far it looks ok. They do tend to pop up in other places though.
My previous kitty had a big lump taken off her hind leg that turned out to be a fatty tumor which is kind of odd in a cat. They are more common in dogs. She was fine afterward too.
It's always scary when they have surgery, even if it's just a teeth cleaning.

 

For me, it would lean on two things:

1) Is anesthesia required? I assume so, but wanted to ask. If so, then I would personally lean away from surgery at all costs. Never personally had a bad experience with it, but to me it is the most frightening part because it can go so very wrong.

2) What does the lump feel like? Does it move with the skin, can you kind of wrap your fingers around and under it, or is it "attached" to something underneath? If it is kind of free floating, that would concern me less.

If it felt attached, then I think I would do it in two steps (if anesthesia was required for the surgery). I would have them send the current sample to pathology and see what they thought first, and then I would reassess to see how we (me and my vet) all felt about it.

Good luck

 

How big is it? Max had one taken off and biopsied and wasn’t sedated. It was benign but I was glad it all came off or I would have worried for sure.

 

I would discuss with your vet having it removed with only a local anesthesia. My BunBun had three mast cell tumors removed with only a local injection of lidocaine.

 

I didn't realize I had received replies to this! I wanted to update everyone and let you guys know I opted for surgery. Anesthesia was required. The entire bump was removed. It has turned out to be basal cell carcinoma so am very glad I went forward with this. I am trying not to freak out...they said they removed the entire bump and to just keep an eye on the area for any regrowth. If any more bumps pop up, she'll need to go to an oncologist. I am not really sure what other questions I should be asking them? Possibly more details about the pathology report to find out how "bad" it actually was?

 

A quick internet search shows it’s a good idea to get the full report and pathology recommendations but that’s it’s slow growing and if he got it all it should not return. It’s usually benign so I’d want the full report just to be sure. I’m glad it was removed. Your instincts were correct.