Tumors

Question
Hi Jules,

We have a 7 year old guinea pig sow.  I am embarrassed to admit this but today we realized that she had a ball of feces attached to her hind area.  She has very long hair and it hid the problem.  After washing her and thoroughly cutting her hair I noticed around the same area that she had two sizable tumors.  One of them seemed to be liquid filled.  Just above, her nipple is black but the skin around the area looks black and scaley.  Touching this area and the tumors does not seem to bother her.  Did the hard ball cause this?  It seemed to happen so quickly.  We have a lot of contact with her and never noticed these issues.  Her appetite is excellent and she seems active and despite these problems would seem to be in good health.  We adore her and are feeling very guilty.  I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to talk to him about what possible measure can be taken and what each will cost.  I know at 7 yrs old she is considered to be very old.  Unfortunately, my husband will not support great efforts in treatment, so cost is a consideration.  I also do not want our guinea pig to suffer needlessly by either having her live with a condition that is terminal or conversely, having her endure surgeries when she ultimately wont live long anyway.  Thank you so much for any advise you can give our family.

Answer
Hello Jules!
I honestly dont know why your guinea pig would have these! Similar lumps are mostly found on elderly dogs and cars! How odd. I think that the poo poo accumulation may have infected the skin, and then formed lumps that filled with puss, meaning that she got a cut and the cut got infected from the poop, thus the body fought it by secureing the area with puss. This is just an educated guess though.
I think that your handling this well. Taking her to the vet is a must though, to make sure that she will continue to eat and poo well as well to check that they arent cancerous.