Hemangiomas are a benign lump formed by blood vessel tissues that occur in the skin. There is some argument about whether these are even a cancer, although they are usually classified that way. They are more common in dogs but do occur in cats, as well. Hemangiomas can vary in color from bluish to purple to reddish-black or purplish-black. Most hemangiomas appear to be raised lumps but we have seen some that just looked like skin discoloration. They can vary in size from very small to as large as several centimeters in diameter. Sometimes they look like a small chain of colored lumps. We have seen several patients with hemangiomas that would intermittently bleed, probably from self-trauma because this seems more common when they are on the side of the face or around the ears. If these are present, the good thing is that surgical removal should provide a complete cure if it is possible to get the whole tumor. In sites where this is hard, radiation therapy can be helpful. It is a good idea to send biopsy samples from these lumps in for examination by a pathologist as they can be hard to distinguish from more serious cancers based on appearance alone.

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~Bee Gees