Julie: I agreed to pose as mum seems to like
taking pictures of me.
See...sometimes I will co-operate!
This is a really nice place to relax. It is soft and comfy and
nicely lit in the evening.
I just like to hang around, keep mum company
and relax. Life is pretty good.
Question from the mum:
The Vet called to say that the lump removed from
Julie is cancer. The Vet says
"removing her other mammary chain or doing chemotherapy
can dramatically increase her survival time."
The chemotherapy that is used for this is doxorubicin and I have used this several times in dogs with lymphoma. It is given by placing an IV catheter and slowly infusing the medication. We usually keep them in the hospital for the day and monitor an ECG. This is done once every 3 weeks for a total of 5 treatments. Cats and dogs tolerate chemotherapy better than humans and don't tend to have as many side effects.
Any thoughts or advice if anyone has gone through this?
Julie is about 13 and I am not ready to lose her.
I also so not want her to be stressed.
I want her to be happy with whatever time she has.
33 comments:
I'm sorry to read this news. I don't have any experience with this, so can't help in that regard. You know Julie best -- would she be okay with this treatment? What would be the expected survival rate, i.e. how much extra time would you have with her? Could SHE live better with it, not just live longer? Because it's not just about living longer, of course. I also would want to do some research on the possible side effects (short and long-term)--what, how long, etc.
I truly am sorry you're in this position. I hope someone with experience with this type of feline cancer can chime in, but ultimately you have to trust your gut and just make the best decision you can, with the information you have. That's all we humans can do, regardless of the choices we make or their outcomes.
I'm keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. ♥
Kim
P.S. Is a second surgery out of the question? I follow Beemeadow Farm on Instagram (she used to blog) and one of her rescue cats has this cancer and has had the first surgery, will have the second one as well. But I can't think of the cat's age, though I think she IS younger.
I feel so bad for you and Julie. That is a hard thing to have to come to terms with. Ultimately, you as Mum and caretaker will have to be the proactive one in the best interests of your sweet and precious Julie.
My heart goes out to you at this difficult time.
I have no personal thoughts/experience of a fur-baby with cancer, though I have gone through it my self...
If you know Laura Strickland, she might be able to help or give advice. She is on faceboook, doesn't have a blog as far as I know.
Here is a link to her FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/catstermom
Hang in there Julie, we LOVE you!
((( ♥ )))
On no. Healing hugs and tons of prayers. ♥♥♥
Julie, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Nancy, you know Julie better than any vet.
Her quality of life, your quality of life, the odds versus hope.
Whatever decisions you make will be the right ones.
Hugs and purrs.
Sending love to you Julie and mum. I have no experience of this with cats, but my mother had a boxer with mammary cancer. She had one side removed, then a few months later the second side was removed. I can't remember how long she lived afterwards but it was several years.
I did google doxorubicin, and I think you need to before you make any decisions if you have not already done so.
Good luck with whichever route you decide to go.
Boy, my heart sure dropped at that news. We don't have any experience with that either so, for what it is worth, if you think she can tolerate it I'd sure give it a go. Purrs and prayers from all of us.
We send Julie and Mum all purrayers and Power of the Paw. We have no personal experience with this, but have watched a couple of the vet shows on TV that showed removal of the mammary chain and it did help, because the tumors tend to spread. You know Julie best and how hard the surgery and chemo treatment would be on her. We are sorry you both have to deal with this !
Julie, you are a beauty. I am sorry I have no advice to offer in this matter. You are wise to ask others- if you have FB you should ask on there too to find out how other cats tolerated chemo. My prayers are with Julie. XO
Poor Julie. We are sending prayers for our friend
Julie I have no experience with this. I can tell by your mom's words she 100% has your mom is carefully weighing the options....sending prayers
Hugs Cecilia aka Mom of Angel Madi
So sad yo read this…
Sending well wishes. Lee and Phod
I'm so sorry to hear this, Julie.
I think you need more information about risks and benefits. How long will she live without treatment and will she live longer with a good quality of life with it. I'm behind you whatever choice you make...
We are sending you lots of AireZen and healing vibes, Julie, and lots of hugs for your mom♥
I’m sorry for your bad news Julie.
All we can offer are our hugs, our prayers and soft purrs. It will be a difficult decision, knowing how much you love Julie ~ how much she loves you. Consultation with
other cat owners who have gone through this is good, and whatever path you choose know in your heart that it is the right one. Fondly, Ann and June
We have no experience with this but are sending our purrs and prayers.
The Florida Furkids and Mom Sharon
I am really sorry to hear this news. This is very similar to what Luna had. We did remove both mammary chains at the same time; we also did the chemotherapy, which gave us some more quality time together. She tolerated the chemo quite well (it's a much lower dose than for humans so fewer side effects). Luna's cancer was pretty advanced before we caught it, but I think doing these sooner rather than later would be good for Julie.
my honey sunshine had a cancerous tumor removed and when thru radiation and chemo and died 3 months after surgery, mainly because the chemo ruined her kidneys, she was 14. my 2 cents: i have seen animal that had mammary chain cancer but never heard of them doing chemo. if needed i would remove the other chain only if necessary and would forgo the chemo. most cats average lifespan is 14-15 years. personally i would not jeopardize the chemo effect on the kidneys, CKD will be fatal. just my opinion. in hindsite i would not have put my baby thru the chemo, it did her in. it all broke my heart and she was a real trooper.
https://raincatgirl.blogspot.com/
Oh dear me Julie and Mom we like everyone are so sorry to hear this. No, I don't have any experience with this, but I think Dorian's (Cat Lady Boxes) cat on FB just had chemotherapy (for what I am not sure) and did really well!
We will be purring and praying for you!!!!!
So sorry to hear this news but it seems the treatment plan isn't too extreme? Sending lots of purrs and prayers to both of you.
I did write a blog post about breast cancer in cats... https://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com/2017/10/the-purrfect-10-things-to-know-about.html
I'm sorry to hear about Julie. I don't have any experience in mammary cancer in cats, but I do know that cats usually tolerate the chemotherapy well. And if there is nausea, etc. there are meds that can help with that. Sending many good thoughts Julie's way. ~the mom
We do not have anny experience with this problem. So all we can do is purr for a good outcome...
Darn it, we are very sorry to read this news, but we do know that cats handle chemotherapy a lot better than humans. Mum Nancy, you know Julie the best, and we know you will do what is best for your beloved Julie. It sounds like there are some options, and hopefully your vet can help you make some well-informed decisions. Sending you and Julie so much love, and purrs and prayers of healing and encouragement.
Geez, that son of you-know-what cancer... The very thought of it enrages me. I can't provide advice on the subject, though it looks like many of Julie's friends are telling what they know, and that's excellent. I will give my best wishes to Julie and her mom. May recovery be swift and complete!
julie…we R troo lee sorree to heer about de bass terd cancer: and we sad lee
due knot noe how to help..we can offer st francis’ blessings, each day and
purrhaps mum could get a second opinionz frum nother vet? de food gurl
all wayz goez with what her callz her furst instinct, purrhapz mum doez all
sew and that can help her and ewe ? we sendz lovez and hugZ❤️🌸🦋
pee ezz….may bee a holistic vet, if one iz in de area, can offer sum add vize
We are so very sorry to read this. I think as others have said, you know Julie best and only you can decide what's best for her. Whatever you decide will be the best one for her. We have no experience with this type of cancer (though we worried Chey had it but because the lumps were benign fatty lumps and the results were so quick we didn't even investigate options) so we are no help. We will purr hard for Julie.
Such lovely shots of you, Julie!
We're sorry we're so late in commenting. Somehow, we missed the post. #1 says that it's common in dogs to remove the mammary chain and from what we have read, this can be a good solution to prevent recurrence of the cancer in cats too. We are sending lots of purrs to our dear friend.
Purrs,
The Chans (Ollie sends soft woofs and the horses gentle neighs)
I'm sorry to hear Julie had been diagnosed with cancer. That's aways a very difficult situation to deal with.
My cat Smokey had doxorubicin as part of a chemotherapy protocol for a large mass in her abdomen. It was a different drug every week, so I can't really speak to how she tolerated that particular drug versus the others. If I recall correctly, we did about 5 weeks of chemo before Smokey let me know that the weekly appointments were too much for her. The visits were stressful and she felt crappy for a few days each week after chemo. After stopping chemo, we continued with prednisolone at home for a few more months.
Others have made most of the comments I would have made. Quality of life is always the most important factor to me, so having some idea if her survival time will be weeks versus months longer would be important to know.
You can always begin chemotherapy, see how she tolerates the procedure and medications, and then decide whether or not it is the best option for her.
Whether you decide to proceed with treatment, or to choose palliative care until she lets you know it's her time, we know that you will make the best decision for the two of you. Each situation is so different in terms of what each cat will tolerate, how easy it is for you to access vet care, and how well she's doing.
We will keep you and Julie in our thoughts.
How are you today darling girl?
We just lost a kitty to mammary cancer in March 2020. We didn't do the treatment however as hers was well advanced (stage 4 terminal) when we found it and had invaded other tissues including blood vessels and lymph nodes. It was in her left mammary chain and recurred appx 4 mo after the first surgery to remove the mammary chain was done. She had 4 really good months after the initial surgery then 1 month where she slowly declined until we had her PTS. Lyds was a lovey kitty for the entire time right up until the day she died and only stopped eating a day or 2 beforehand. Mammary chain cancer is treatable if it's caught early and kitties def do better with chemo than humans do ...the biggest downside we saw was the actual cost of treatment.
So sorry. Hope it works out good for your baby. ♥️💔💔
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