Dog with anal gland tumor

Has anyone had/has a dog with an anal gland tumor? Our 8 year old lab was diagnosed with one about a month ago. We don’t know if it’s cancer because our vet advised us against a fine needle test due to the size of the tumor and the possibility of it coming back inconclusive. Just trying to see if there’s anyone who did not have the tumor removed and what their baby’s life looked like and how long they lived for. We are devastated because we also had to just put down our 11 year old hound unexpectedly after being diagnosed with splenic cancer so we are trying to do anything we can to increase our labs chances without surgery or chemo/radiation due to the expense.