9 minute read
Organised group travel options
Follow the leader
Sometimes, you just don’t want to do it for yourself. Yes it can be fun spending endless hours searching the net, checking in with your friends and a friendly travel agent as to what are the sights to see, the trends to follow and the best places to eat in a far flung locale. However it can often be more enjoyable, more informative and a lot less hassle to just follow the leader. Let him or her do all the hard work so that all you have to do is relax and luxuriate in the knowledge that someone else is making your holiday sing. At Trendsetter Travel & Cruise Centre we organise our own biannual Art Tours with Longueville local and artiste extraordinaire Pamela Fairburn, with a domestic and international departure to cover all bases and budgets! It’s not too late to get onboard our fantastic Sicily tour, scheduled to depart in April 2016. We also have an Italy/Sicily/Malta Military History Tour happening in October. Led by David Cooper and Major Mike Peters, this tour will thrill historians. And we are already taking bookings for the 2017 American Civil War Tour, since 2016 is now waitlist only. These tours are all small group journeys, the way we like to travel – and I thought you might like to consider some others to whet your appetite. Sicily is definitely flavour of the month, and that said, lettuce tempt you (corny I admit) with a fantastic Gastromic Tour of Sicily. To paraphrase the exuberant Elena, “Indulge in wine tastings in historic cellars, lunches in farm stays and typical Sicilian restaurants, unique salt tastings in windmills, traditional but also less known pastry tastings such as manna sweets. You will also try real street food in Palermo, both in restaurants as well in the lively street markets, a mesmerizing experience of colours, smells and flavours.” Yum! Many tours are led by celebrities. In the industry we affectionately refer to these leaders as Pied Pipers since they attract a following that wants to see the world with and through that personality. In 2016 there are some terrific options. For instance you can embark on a European river cruise with Monty Don, yes he of the charming television series who shared with us so many beautiful French gardens. Andrew Denton and Jennifer Byrne love Antarctica – if you feel you’d enjoy their company then the cruise which they host annually is a great opportunity to share some time with them. If music is your love then why not consider a Best of British Tour with well-known ABC Classic FM presenter Christopher Lawrence. His extensive music literacy fairly sparkles, especially in respect of the planned itinerary that includes the 2016 Glyndebourne and Edinburgh Festivals. The more physically inclined among you might consider touring with Judy Tenzing on a Mountains and Monasteries Tour to include India, Nepal and Bhutan. Now I’ve been to Bhutan and it was a wonderful experience – I imagine it is even better with a leader whose family roots are so deeply entrenched in those magnificent mountains. While they are not strictly leaders, the best of the cruise lines will feature renowned world affairs experts, writers, historians, diplomats and even a bishop or two. In our own waters, I’ve listened in awe to Professor Geoffrey Blainey and sent clients on cruises which included Henry Kissinger, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other noteworthy speakers. It makes for a fascinating trip. I love independent travel too. Yet as I wrote earlier, sometimes a place is best shared in a small group with a leader similarly in love with the destination. We have a host of options for you and would be honoured to share these with you.
TRAVEL
Adrienne Witteman
Managing Director, Trendsetter Travel & Cruise Centre.
Trendsetter Travel & Cruise Centre
LANE COVE MARKET SQUARE 9427 6666 LONGUEVILLE 9428 5900 www.trendsettertravel.com.au
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WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY PET HAS A LUMP?
Lumps and bumps are common in pets, particularly as they get older. Some lumps can be cancerous (malignant) and some harmless (benign) but it is not always possible to determine this by examination alone. Even if your pet is ‘not bothered by the lump’, this has no impact on whether the lump is cancerous or not as most nasty lumps are not painful for your pet in the early stages.
WHAT TESTING IS NECESSARY IF YOU FIND A LUMP ON YOUR PET?
If you have found a lump on your pet then the sooner it is examined by a vet the better, as it may spread elsewhere if it is malignant. It is not possible to be certain on examination alone whether a lump is cancerous or not so your vet will usually want to run some tests. 1) Cytology. This is a non-invasive test method where some cells from the lump are aspirated using a needle and syringe, placed onto a microscope slide and examined under the microscope. Sometimes the diagnosis needs to be confirmed by a veterinary pathologist at an external laboratory and generally the results will take 1-2 days. The advantage of cytology is that often your pet will not need sedation to have a sample taken so the test can be done during a regular consultation and the results come back quickly. However, the limitations are that some lumps are too small to aspirate, sometimes insufficient cells are sampled and sometimes the results are inconclusive. It is frustrating for both vets and pet owners when a result is not diagnostic. Generally if sufficient cellular material is aspirated, the accuracy is around 90% for cytology. This means that occasionally cytology results can be misleading as the cells sampled may not be representative of the actual mass, so it is important to continue monitoring the lump and have it re-examined if there are any changes. 2) HISTOPATHOLOGY. Histopathology involves taking a tissue sample of the lump by either removing a piece of tissue (incisional or punch biopsy) or surgically excising the whole lump (excisional biopsy) and sending it to an external laboratory for analysis. Results take approximately 5-7 days. Usually a general anaesthetic is required or sometimes sedation and local anaesthesia is sufficient to obtain a sample. An excisional biopsy is carried out in areas where a margin of healthy tissue surrounding the lump can be easily removed, to minimise the chance of cancerous cells being left behind. On the other hand, if the lump is located in a difficult area such as a toe, where there is very little skin to operate with, a punch biopsy is preferred to determine the type of mass before surgery. If a toe tumour biopsy results show that the mass is particularly aggressive, then it may be preferable to amputate the toe to ensure the entire cancer is removed. Another advantage of histopathology is that some tumours can be graded to further determine the likely prognosis and best course of action after surgery. For example, mast cell tumours of the skin have 3 grades, all of which carry a different prognosis. The pathologist is also able to determine whether the margins are clear of any cancerous cells or whether further surgery is required.
IS IT NECESSARY TO HAVE HISTOPATHOLOGY ON A LUMP IF IT IS SURGICALLY REMOVED?
If a lump is surgically removed then it is worthwhile carrying out histopathology as some lumps are locally aggressive and others spread internally. It is not possible to determine what the behaviour of the tumour is by examining it with the naked eye in most cases. Knowing what type of lump your pet has can give you peace of mind if it is benign, or allow further tests to be done to see if the lump has spread (metastasised). There are some cases where histopathology may not be required, such as for a foreign body reaction lump, an abscess or a lipoma (benign fatty lump which can be confirmed with cytology) but this is up to the discretion of your veterinarian as it is not always a clear cut diagnosis.
WHAT OTHER TESTS CAN BE DONE IF THE LUMP IS MALIGNANT?
If your pet has a malignant lump then histopathology will inform your vet what type of cancer is present and the behaviour of the tumour. Sometimes surgery is curative and no further testing is required because the behaviour of the cancer is only locally aggressive. So in these cases, if the margins are clear of any cancerous cells, monitoring the surgical site may be all that is required. If the cancer has a high risk of metastatic spread to lymph nodes, abdominal organs and/ or chest then aspirating any enlarged local lymph nodes, chest radiographs and an abdominal ultrasound will screen your pet to see if there is any evidence of metastases. This is known as cancer staging. Immunohistochemical staining may be an option for some tumour types that have varying behaviours depending on certain mutations that may be present. This gives further information about the expected prognosis and treatment recommendations can therefore be more accurate. A consultation with a specialist veterinary oncologist may also be recommended by your veterinarian in some cases.
VET TALK
Dr Gretta Howard / Veterinarian Twitter: @DrGrettaVet
