growth on cairn terrier

Question
there is a growth on the belly of my fourtheen year old cairn terrier that looks like matted hair rough and hard ,could it be cancer,the size of the nail part of a persons thumb  ,thank you

Answer
Hello Tom!

Yes, it could be cancer, but it may not be.  It may just be a cyst that is not cancerous.  You will not know unless you take your cairn to a vet to be checked.  He/She can remove the growth and have it checked for cancer cells.  

At the age of your dog, you will need to consider the risk of anesthesia too.   It may be best to leave it alone.  If I were you,  I would discuss the options with my vet. If this was a very young dog, then I would advise removal, but you have to be careful with older dogs.  But once again,  a vet check is necessary to determine what type of growth it is.

I hope this has helped somewhat.

God Bless,
Becky