my sisters hamster has a tumor?

Question
Hello,
I have a hamster and my sister does too. Her hamster is my responsibility and i found a lump on her upper leg almost near her private. it is huge and pinkish- reddish and gross looking. it looks like it is about to POP!!!!!! The hamster is mean and we don't take her out too often because she bites a lot. She is vicious. we were cleaning her cage and found the bubbly thing. we thought it was an infection, tumor, or something. We also thought she was going to die. The hamster, Tinky, has been running a ton as usual but i can tell the assist type thing is bugging her. She bites it a lot and sleeps on her back. Tinky is eating fine, drinking all of that, but seems strange. My mom got some little poky things from my uncle who has diabetes( the little needles you poke your finger with) and we tried poking tinky's assist. we thought is could have been a blood clot that would burst out or pus. a tiny bit of pus came out and some blood. then we stopped because tinky was getting agitated. we might call the vet but they will just tell us to get it checked out and my dad doesn't want to go to the vet for a hamster. from my research, she most likely has a tumor, what do you think? Tinky is a Russian dwarf hamster, female, and she is 12-16 months, i'm not exactly sure. WHAT DO I DO??? PLEASE RESPOND ASAP!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Morgan,

    It sounds like it may be a cyst. A cyst will generally break open by it's self, scab over, then go away.
    The other possible thing it could be is an abscess. Hamsters can develop these from a cut or bite (if you look over the area good you should be able to see if there is a cut or bite mark on it, if there isn't one, then it is more than likely a cyst). Usually an abscess requires a trip to the vet where they will lance the area and drain it and may also prescribe an antibiotic for a time while the wound heals.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing!