My cat Yuki is 12 years old female and was diagnosed with mammary gland cancer last December. Under the recommendation of our vet, we removed the tumors in hopes that they would go away. But unfortunately, it did not and it returned. The vet told us about the option of chemo therapy. She told us that the chances of survival are about 20%. Even if Yuki responds well to chemo, she will only live about 5-6 months. Also, the procedure would be very invasive and she would not have a good quality of life.
With the recommendation of our vet, we tried Chinese herbs like Stasis Breaker and Wei qi to battle it. Our vet recommended cbd oil for pets for pain management. And although she has been fighting, all of this has been partially successful. The tumors have slowed down but have also been spreading. The main one is very large (outward). Fortunately, as of now, there are no signs that it has metastasized onto any vital organs. The tumor is also now bleeding, so we have to get her wrapped every other day. Our vet told us to do a blood test and go to an oncologist.
The oncologist told us her recent blood work showed that she is showing signs of renal failure because of the cancer. she recommended a very powerful drug that has good chances of stopping the cancer growth. It is called Toceranib phosphate(10MG) to take 3 days a week (possibly for the rest of her life). But before we can use it we would have to do 3 days of iv fluid therapy to strengthen her kidney before the cancer drug. we have done 1 of the days, but she is very resistant to the vet visit so they have to sedate her. And since she was not eating and doing too well after the treatment, the oncologist suggested several days of recovery before the next iv fluid therapy.
over the weekend, my wife and I have discussed our choices and here they are:
1) we give her the strong cancer drug and take on the risks of kidney failure, hoping that the fluid therapy would be enough to mitigate the kidney failure. But that would require 2 more days of sedation - which has its own risks.
2) we continue with our Chinese herb medicine as it has been helping but obviously has not stopped it. And let her live whatever amount of time she has left, until the cancer affects her quality of life severely. Which would then mean we have to put her down.
3) We can try experimental drugs like ivermectin which neither the Vet or the Oncologist have any experience with. In general, there is just not enough research on it in cancer treatment for cats. The main problem with ivermectin would be, figuring out the correct dosage to help battle the cancer while not overloading her kidney.
At the end of the day, both of us want to give Yuki the best cat life - with whatever time she has left. Which is why we decided against chemo to begin with. We don't want the "cure" to be worse than the disease. This has all been very challenging, especially for my wife. We would appreciate any advice anyone here can provide. Thank you.
With the recommendation of our vet, we tried Chinese herbs like Stasis Breaker and Wei qi to battle it. Our vet recommended cbd oil for pets for pain management. And although she has been fighting, all of this has been partially successful. The tumors have slowed down but have also been spreading. The main one is very large (outward). Fortunately, as of now, there are no signs that it has metastasized onto any vital organs. The tumor is also now bleeding, so we have to get her wrapped every other day. Our vet told us to do a blood test and go to an oncologist.
The oncologist told us her recent blood work showed that she is showing signs of renal failure because of the cancer. she recommended a very powerful drug that has good chances of stopping the cancer growth. It is called Toceranib phosphate(10MG) to take 3 days a week (possibly for the rest of her life). But before we can use it we would have to do 3 days of iv fluid therapy to strengthen her kidney before the cancer drug. we have done 1 of the days, but she is very resistant to the vet visit so they have to sedate her. And since she was not eating and doing too well after the treatment, the oncologist suggested several days of recovery before the next iv fluid therapy.
over the weekend, my wife and I have discussed our choices and here they are:
1) we give her the strong cancer drug and take on the risks of kidney failure, hoping that the fluid therapy would be enough to mitigate the kidney failure. But that would require 2 more days of sedation - which has its own risks.
2) we continue with our Chinese herb medicine as it has been helping but obviously has not stopped it. And let her live whatever amount of time she has left, until the cancer affects her quality of life severely. Which would then mean we have to put her down.
3) We can try experimental drugs like ivermectin which neither the Vet or the Oncologist have any experience with. In general, there is just not enough research on it in cancer treatment for cats. The main problem with ivermectin would be, figuring out the correct dosage to help battle the cancer while not overloading her kidney.
At the end of the day, both of us want to give Yuki the best cat life - with whatever time she has left. Which is why we decided against chemo to begin with. We don't want the "cure" to be worse than the disease. This has all been very challenging, especially for my wife. We would appreciate any advice anyone here can provide. Thank you.
