Please, help me, I need your advice.
 
I have a five-year-old male who's always been healthy.  Lately he's been
showing subtle but disturbing symtoms.
 
In the abdomen there's a pearsized firm swelling on the left side which I
deduce must be the spleen.  His coat is sparce on the belly, and his change
to wintercoat has been going on for two months without much progress.
 
In his "arm pits" I can feel a small lump on each side, which I guess would
be the lymphnodes.  They are about the size of large raisins, they do not
feel hard and doesn't seem to cause him any pain.  Left is slightly larger
than right.  How big are they normally?  No lumps anywhere else on his body
that I know of, but I'm not sure where to look.
 
He's not gaining weight as usual at this time of year but he's not skinny,
and nothing's wrong with his appetite.  He tires easily these days and he
sleeps a lot, apart from that he's been his sweet and friendly self.
 
I haven't been to the vet yet and before I go, I'd like some advice.  Could
I be wrong?  Is there an explanation other than lymphosarcoma to his
symtoms, could they simply be signs of old age?  Could my vet tell the
difference without carving out his lymph-nodes?
 
Considering his age, the poor prognosis and the fact that he does mean a lot
to me, I'd like to shield him from exeriencing pain and the degrading loss
of dignity if I can.
 
Hope you hear from you!
 
Lena.Sjoberg(a)csn.sema.se   (a) equals the at-sign
[Posted in FML issue 1761]