boxer health issue

Question
QUESTION: just saw the vet, she said in 12 years she has not seen this. Sunny my sons boxer has had a lump near her hip for about 3 weeks,its hard and feel more like her hip bone sticking out a little but now her hair is a different  color and the vet said her muscle has atrophied.Sunny is not in any pain and runs and walks normally. Worst case its cancer best case spider bite which cause muscle atrophy wants to do biopsy for $1300. Any help or opinion would be appreciated. Son doesn't know about this yet because I'm dog sitting for him. I'm so upset we all love this dog so much. any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi,

I'm sorry to hear that Sunny is not well.  I have a couple thoughts.

The vet told you that in 12 years she's not seen this but was confident enough to tell you it was either cancer OR a spider bite?  $1300 is expensive for a biopsy.  If it's near her hip, why wasn't she x-rayed?

My only suggestion to you, at this point, is to go to a different vet for a second opinion.  I would be very uncomfortable with a vet who told me that they'd 'never seen this' but then wanted to offer up guesses as to what it may be and automatically jump to a $1300 procedure.

Anything so serious in a human would almost guarantee that person getting a second opinion to be sure.  Sunny deserves the same.  

I know that you're upset but here's a tip...when you take her in to the vet, don't act panicked.  Don't tell them, either, that she's already had a guestimate on the source of the lump.  Let them look at it with a fresh eye that hasn't been biased by someone else's idea.  If they, too, tell you biopsy, go for it...with whichever vet you're more comfortable with.  Some vets, not all, will take advantage of a person that's extremely upset...you look like a cash cow.  Try to be as calm and matter-of-fact as you can...you won't seem desperate to try 'anything'.  ;)

If you can get a good diagnosis, let me know and we'll work things out from there.  Good luck to Sunny!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your help. I did get a second opinion and had a muscle biopsy done at that vets office. She sent the biopsy to a comparative neuromuscular laboratory and the result were that she does not have a muscle disease. The lump which I thought was a lump was really her bone protruding because the muscle has atrophied. When the vet shaved her the skin around that area was white not brown like the rest of her skin. The vet does not know what caused this or if it will progress. She can only guess that Sunny had some sort of trauma that caused this or maybe a spider bite. She seem fine except for the loss of muscle and her hair is not growing back very well in that area. If you have any other ideas let me know.

Answer
Sorry to hear this.  

Did the vet suggest an xray to see if there was possible bone damage, new or old?  A fracture can cause muscle and/or fiber atrophy.  Hip dysplasia could also be a factor.  

From the web:

Cushing's Syndrome ~ The body produces too much cortisol. In most cases, the condition results from a tumor in the pituitary gland of the brain. It is usually seen in middle-aged to older dogs. Some signs are: increased thirst, hunger and need for urination, hair loss, muscle atrophy and lack of energy. There are several screening tests for Cushing's Syndrome.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-5827.2005.tb00298.x?cook

http://www.terrificpets.com/forum/45879.asp

http://www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html

http://medicine.ucsd.edu/vet_neuromuscular/cases/1999/apr99.html

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=35570