Just read the update...no cancer...Praise God!
I never heard of this blasto condition before. And you get it from the river? How weird.
I should say “around” the river, or the lakes and such here. It’s naturally occuring and the spores are released in the fall. So, if you’re hiking, fishing, swimming, etc... you can come in contact with it. The spores are inhaled and it usually shows up in the lungs, but for some reason it decided to hang around her body for a while and set up shop in a her hip and calf... Even just tripping into a pile of leaves for instance could send up an invisible cloud of spores, you inhale it, and you’ve got it. It can’t be spread from person to person unless the actual “pus” (fungal stuff) is oozing out of the body and comes in contact with someone’s bloodstream. If it settles in your lungs you body can’t get it out on its own for some reason. Hence the need for very long term anti-fungals.
Our dog actually had this same condition 3 years ago, and was deathly ill for several weeks — he survived thank God as the vet was very familiar with this. You can’t get it from your pet or anything, but it’s common in animals around here, too.
I don’t know how common it is in other parts of the country, but it’s just one of those things that’s always around - nothing you can do to prevent it unless you want to stay inside 365 days/year! LOL