vet recommendation..

[Subster]

Greetings everyone! fantastic forum!
I'd like to ask for some opinions as I am a student tight on a budget. Ok so I decided to bring my 18 year old cat (had him my whole life) to the vet for a check up and he palpated him and found a lump in the lower abdominal area. His recommendation was to take a blood test and see if hes healthy enough to cut open and physically see the lump because Xrays is not a good method to distinguish what the lump is.
I can't help but feel he just wants the most expensive procedure and its tough for a student.
Also to cut open an older cat... isn't it bad for the body to be exposed to oxygen? especially when 'just to check'.
Anyways I'm wondering if I should trust this vet because hes recommending the right way, or just do an Xray and 'possibly' never find out what the lump is, or just find another vet.

All opinions are greatly appreciated!!

[sugarcatmom]

First question: does your cat have any concerning symptoms that might be related to this lump, or was it just an incidental finding at a regular check-up?

My next question is, would knowing what that lump is change anything about possible treatment? So for instance, lets say the lump was found to be cancerous, what next? Would you opt for cancer treatment? Or just palliative care? If a diagnosis makes a difference in what you do next, then perhaps you could have a fine-needle biopsy done or some other less invasive technique (not sure why the vet would have to open him up "just to check", unless he also plans to remove it if he can).

Good luck! 18 is a grand age for a kitty, so you must be doing something right.

[Subster]

Thank you very much for your response!! sorry for delay..
No there were no symptoms, it was just discovered at the check up.
Well his intention was to open it up and remove it, however its a risk for a cat of that age. We did Xray and it seems he has lymphoma in his abdominal area. they recommended that we dont do anything since putting him through the stress of surgery or treatment may be too much.

Would you recommend any types of drugs or foods that can help slow down the growth of this cancerous tumor??

And thanks for the compliment!!
its all love for him