My cat has cancer - I need advice.

BrendaH

Jedi
Hello. A month ago I found a lump in my cat's neck and I immediately called his vet. He gave him antibiotics for 10 days to see if the size of the lump changed but nothing happened. After an ultrasound scan, I had the news that it was a tumor, and the size of it is 4,4 x 3,8 x 3,4 cm. It's a big tumor in a small place full of very delicate parts and it's affecting him. Surgery is dangerous and before that, the surgeon wants to make sure that the size of the tumor is reduced, the vet gave him corticoids to see if that helped but nothing happened, and here is where I need advice because the surgeon suggested chemotherapy. It really is not what I want to do, I'm not even sure if my cat would be able to survive that, he mentioned one session but I know it is going to be more than one, and that would be too much for my cat. For now, he is having a normal life though the tumor started to affect his right eye because of the pressure on the neck and part of the face. After chemo, if it works, surgery is the next step, which still will be dangerous, if the tumor is very attached to his neck and different parts of it, then there's nothing the surgeon can do, he will cancel the surgery. I don't want to put my cat through all that suffering but I also think 'What if it works?' He is a young cat, he's about to turn 6 and that also hurts me, what if he can have a second chance? But deep down I know that won't be the case and at the same time, I know nothing because there's nothing certain. But I know that when humans have chemo, they have more than one session and most of the time it doesn't work, they end up very debilitated, and shortly after what follows is death. It's stupid of me to think that my cat has better odds, but doing nothing makes me feel like I'm abandoning him, but is there something that I can do differently than taking this decision that can lead him to a sooner death? And at the same time, what if I'm wrong and this treatment helps him? I can't think with clarity as you can notice, I feel like either decision is wrong.
 
Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your cat, BrendaH. I have no advice to give, but am sure that other forum members have experience and can give you support what may help your cat. What I can do, and am doing, is to include your cat and you in my prayer. 🙏💞

What his name ?
 
After an ultrasound scan, I had the news that it was a tumor, and the size of it is 4,4 x 3,8 x 3,4 cm. It's a big tumor in a small place full of very delicate parts and it's affecting him.

I am very sorry that your kitty has such a problem. :hug2:

It's hard to give an advice, because there is not enough information, like what kind of tumor it is, if it is benign or cancerous. Usually an ultrasound scan isn't enough to reach this conclusion, and a lab test (biopsy) of the tissue is required. Unless it was done and you haven't included it in your post. Sometimes it's possible to reach a fairly accurate conclusion based on several factors without doing biopsy, but in general this is one of the required steps before deciding on the treatment.

But if the doctor proposed chemotherapy, it's possible that he thinks that it is feline lymphoma. Here's information about it. But, as I said, not enough info to give a more accurate answer.


As for alternative treatments, here's a video and also an article about a dewormer Panacur being used to manage or even shrink tumors. Don't know if your vet is open to try this kind of treatment, maybe if you'll do research and show papers that show the effectiveness of this treatment. But this is one possibility to consider. Just make sure to do research beforehand and also make sure not to mix several treatments together, in order to avoid problems of multi-drugs interactions.


 
What his name ?
Thank you! His name is Dante.
I am very sorry that your kitty has such a problem. :hug2:

It's hard to give an advice, because there is not enough information, like what kind of tumor it is, if it is benign or cancerous. Usually an ultrasound scan isn't enough to reach this conclusion, and a lab test (biopsy) of the tissue is required. Unless it was done and you haven't included it in your post. Sometimes it's possible to reach a fairly accurate conclusion based on several factors without doing biopsy, but in general this is one of the required steps before deciding on the treatment.

But if the doctor proposed chemotherapy, it's possible that he thinks that it is feline lymphoma. Here's information about it. But, as I said, not enough info to give a more accurate answer.
Thank you! The vet suspects that is cancerous because of its characteristics, and now that he wants to give him chemotherapy, he needs to do a biopsy first. But I haven't said yes to chemo yet, I told him that I was going to think about it, but I don't know what to do. Also, we don't know the origin of the tumor, because of its size it was difficult to see in the ultrasound, but this is what the results of the test said:

Cervical neoformation suggests neoplasia of which the origin cannot be determined; consider thyroid neoplasia/neoplasia of the carotid body among the possible differential diagnoses (histopathology is confirmatory).
 
Je vais mettre votre petit DANTE dans mes prières, une photo de lui serait la bienvenue... Merci
Courage...

I will put your little DANTE in my prayers, a picture of him would be welcome... Thank you
Have courage...
 
Thank you! The vet suspects that is cancerous because of its characteristics, and now that he wants to give him chemotherapy, he needs to do a biopsy first. But I haven't said yes to chemo yet, I told him that I was going to think about it, but I don't know what to do. Also, we don't know the origin of the tumor, because of its size it was difficult to see in the ultrasound, but this is what the results of the test said:

Well, biopsy would be able to answer the question if it's benign or cancerous, regardless if you agree to a chemotherapy. Treatment considerations should come after you identify the nature of the tumor.

Also, if the origin isn't clear, CT scan would be ideal. It would clearly show everything. But I don't know if it's possible in your case. And it may be pricey. Not to mention the fact that it requires short anaesthesia.

In any case, it's advisable to do a blood count, biochemistry, and detailed thyroid checkup (TSH, T4, T3), if thyroid neoplasia is suspected. But your vet probably told you so.

If I were in your situation, I would do all the necessary diagnostic tests in order to find out what kind of tumor it is. If you have this information, you can do research and check up various options. Both allopathic or alternative. You could also look up a natural or alternative vet in the area and see what they can offer.

But if money is an issue, since tests can be very pricey, you could decide to forgo any testing or chemotherapy and go the natural route first and try dewarmer+antioxidants and see how it goes. Or do research and see if there are other alternative solutions that can control tumor growths or have evidence of shrinkage. In any case, it would require a bunch of preparation and research.

For example, Ivermectin is also an option. And it can be combined with chemotherapy.


Thank you! His name is Dante.

Is he a black kitty? :-P We need picture or pictures. ;-D Will also add him to my prayers. :hug2:
 
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Agree, a photo would be good, we can send prayers and Reiki.

Boy this is a title that hits my heart. We have gone to wholistic vets for 30 years and haven't had cats with cancer but our dog, Epic, lived with it for 3 years, a soft tissue sarcoma. We used homeopathy, oxygen drops, the XII Schuesller tissue salts as advised by the vets, East York Animal Clinic in Toronto. It was almost 20 years ago that Epic died and I don't remember other specifics of his treatment. These remedies, though homeopathy usually is given apart from food, they work if added to the food or dropped on the skin in some cases just in case you have had to dose your cat before and the cat is highly resistent!

There is an excellent book by Dr. Pitcairn that our vets approved for the most part. The advice sounds like the prescriptions for Epic.

Dr. Pitcairn on cancer - avoid commercial foods, unprocessed, as much raw and note on diet, our dog Epic and other pets had appointment with the vet sensitivity tester. She said for cats that turkey test best for them, followed by chicken and lamb a distant third. To go on regarding Dr. Pitcairn's recommendations, he says high levels of vitamin C (2 to 6 grams daily) vitamin A and E. The 12 tissue salts, and an oat tincture. There is more and if you are at all interested I will add the whole protocol. It includes diluted 1:100 tincture of Goldenseal, and admonition to use only spring or distilled or other pure water.

Perhaps as Dr. Pitcairn recommends Goldenseal, looking at Essiac is another option. Having read a good deal about Essiac, I read all the testimonials that provided evidence for Rene Caisse's trial. I understand that Essiac basically helps kidney, liver and lymph to detox. It also works as an anti-depressant. There are some informative websites to use for animals. Here's one of them I liked. I use Essiac myself not only while I dealt with cancer but whenever detox needed after infection. Your Complete Guite to Giving Essiac Tea to Pets

We have had such good results from going the wholistic route over the last 30 years. We not only treated our own cats and dogs, but also rescue cats we fostered with these types of protocols and they worked out very well.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and for putting Dante in your prayers ❤️, I really appreciate it. Here are two pictures of him, the first one was taken at the end of August, and you can see that his fur was looking nice. The second picture was taken this Monday, his fur changed a lot and lost its color, and his eye looks like that because the tumor is pressing on that side of his face. I discovered the tumor on September 16 and his fur already looked like in the second pic, but the eye thing started a week ago.

Dante3.jpeg

Dante1.jpeg
It's very sad to see how he is deteriorating. Today I talked to his vet and I told him that I want the biopsy, so this week I'll be taking him to a clinic to do the test. The more I see the way everything is changing for him, the more I know that I don't want the chemo, he's very weak.

I read a little bit about Essiac (very interesting information, thank you @Lyndi Lama) and it looks promising, I'll keep searching for information about it and I already found where I can buy it here where I live. I also have some material that I've been downloading for the past few days about cancer in animals, so I made myself a cup of tea to keep me company during the long reading ahead of me. Maybe I won't be able to help Dante (I have hope though), but I also have other cats and a dog and who knows when this may happen again, I'm seeing cancer everywhere these days.
 
I was going to suggest red clover to shrink the tumor, but
Essiac is great...and I think red clover is one of the ingredients.

I'm so sorry, sweetie, all one has to do is look into the eyes of an animal companion, and you see a soul which looks back at you with love.
 
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