Your dog has a cyst, so now what?
While there is no immediate cure or surefire way to avoid dog cysts altogether, these tips may help treat them
About a decade ago, I got this peculiar lump on my inner arm. It came out of nowhere, and I thought it was a bug bite at first. But it was starting to grow larger when bug bites usually get smaller over time. I finally made an appointment with my primary care physician, an Asian man (who looks like Nev Schulman’s doppelgänger and I was saddened to give up once my insurance didn’t cover him). He then referred me to a specialist.
And this specialist was the epitome of all the news articles about black women dealing with white doctors who don’t take them seriously. Looking completely unphased and damn near bored, he pretty much just shrugged. I asked him if the bump could be cancerous. His response: “Could be, could not be.” I asked him if I needed it surgically removed, and his response was, “That’s up to you.”
Recommended Read: “Mammograms, pancakes, talk shows and tech: My first breast cancer exam ~ BlackTechLogy: Could artificial intelligence better examine black women with dense breasts?”
It reminded me of the time I saw a different primary care physician about why my legs were constantly going numb, and he responded with, “That happens to black people sometimes.” I shook my head and made sure to never see that second PCP and specialist again. I understand why some people don’t like visiting doctors’ offices. If you don’t get a good one, it can turn you off so much (if the health insurance coverage doesn’t) that you just rough it at home.
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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
But I have been lucky enough to have three of four amazing PCPS in the past few years, even when my health insurance changed. And while the vet bills have become alarmingly high for basic services, my dog’s vet is great too. Instead of shrugging off my concerns as “that happens in that breed,” she actually listens to what I have to say and gives useful advice. The same thing happens with a local vet care center in my neighborhood.
Recommended Read: “5 ways for dog owners to save money while being pet-health friendly ~ PART 3 OF 5: Don't become an anti-vaxxer because you think you can't afford dog vaccines”
When Pet Owners Panic
When my mother dropped off her own dog while she was headed out for a vacation, she warned me that her dog had a cyst. My first reaction was absolute panic. I went right back to thinking of that lump on my arm and trying to fight the thought that her dog was on her last days. (My second dog died of cancer with absolutely no signs. Greeted me at the garage door for a walk on New Year’s Day and collapsed at the end of the month, throwing everyone completely off-guard.)
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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links.
But panicking about every single thing that happens to a dog will have you doing Human Zoomies! On one hand, dog owners don’t want their vets to make pets get all kinds of exams, medication and random tests that they don’t need. They also don’t want vets who make them paranoid about everything. But when my mother told me her dog’s vet was OK with releasing the pup without removing the small bump, I was screaming internally. The vet instructions were to watch it to see if it went down because it was neither hurting and barely visible unless you touched it. I watched (and washed) that dog’s belly every single day and devoured every single article I could find on dog cysts, wondering how to get rid of it in a week. (You can’t. Don’t bother trying.)
There are multiple types of dog cysts:
True Cysts
False Cysts
Sebaceous Cysts
Follicular Cysts
Dermoid Cysts
And some breeds are more vulnerable to cysts:
Basset Hounds
Boxer Dogs
Chinese Crested
English Springer Spaniels
Golden Retrievers
Kerry Blue Terriers
Rhodesian Ridgebacks
Shih Tzus (the breed of my mother’s dog)
Schnauzers
And while I was reading every single study I could find on cysts, my mother’s dog was busying herself leaping onto my own dog’s back, enjoying naps on the dog couch, randomly slapping my leg so she could sit on my lap, and negotiating how to steal my dog’s breakfast and dinner food. To put it plainly, she couldn’t give a damn about this bump on her stomach.