My dog has a new lump on her foot after melanoma. Vet or oncologist?

Question

I was wondering if this looks like a tumor. My dog was diagnosed with oral melanoma last year but just noticed this lump on her back foot. Just wondering if I should make an appt with her regular vet or go straight to her oncologist. I would hate to waste time with unnecessary appt if she does need it removed ASAP. Her last tumor was a small mass on her lip and was black so this look different. She has had cysts before and this does not feel the same. This is much harder. Thank you! Pet's info: Dog | Bernese Mountain Dog | Female | spayed | 6 years and 2 months old | 62 lbs

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is a mass (tumor), however, a wart is also a tumor. So the fact that something is a tumor does not necessarily mean that it is malignant. It could also be a benign mass. I would actually consult with her oncologist, as he will have seen many different tumors and will likely have an idea what it could be before doing a fine needle aspirate to determine the type, It will also be important to see this in connection with her melanoma and its prognosis, to determine whether this mass can be left alone due to the life expectancy of your dog, or to see whether this may be a metastasis or unrelated. Unfortunately this mass is in a tricky spot, so removal will be easy, but closing the skin defect will be hard as there is not so much skin available. This is why it is important to have it examined before it gets too big and the skin cannot be closed anymore due to having to remove too much skin with the mass. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

My dog has a new lump on her foot after melanoma. Vet or oncologist?

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