Dog limping with painful leg lesion: fungal infection or cancer?

Question

Hello: my male mini schnauzer has a lesion on his left leg. My vet at first thought it was a fungal infection. but, after 2 weeks on antibiotics, he has gotten worse. He has been limping for at least a month....and it's extremely painful. We were considering a bone biopsy to see if it's cancerous. He is now on 2 strong pain meds too. I was referred to an oncologist but they won't tell me anything until they see him. We're already in $3000 plus for all the tests he has done. Pet's info: Dog | Miniature Schnauzer | Male | neutered | 22.6 lbs

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

Fungal infections and bone cancer can look identical on x-rays and physical examination. The only way to tell the difference is to do a biopsy. Some general practice veterinarians are comfortable doing this type of biopsy, and the sample is sent to a lab for histopathology and hopefully diagnosis. Both possible causes of the lesion can be extremely painful and hard to treat. Amputation is often chosen in cases where money is an issue - this could be curative for fungal diseases and cancer when caught very early. Often chest x-rays and/or abdominal ultrasound is recommended prior to surgery to look for signs of spreading of the disease or metastasis.

Dog limping with painful leg lesion: fungal infection or cancer?

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