Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treatment?

This came from one link...

"Results of this study suggest that flea control products, diet, and perhaps environmental tobacco smoke might be associated with risk of oral SCC and indicate that further investigation into these relationships is warranted."

You may have already been to this site and some of the links are dead, but you might give it a try.

http://="http://www.zzcat.com/resour...view.htm#oral"

Bullseye has always been given Advantage, eats Science Diet and Nutro, and has never been anound anyone who smokes. He also hasn't been an outside cat for the past 8 years. It would be a real shocker to eventually find out that some product we trusted caused these things.

Cinder,

Thanks for the link. Yes, I have been to that site, but I never followed their link to the actual research article...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=12892308

When I read it, this line caught my eye ...

"Compared to cats eating mostly dry food, those with high canned food intake had a 3-fold increase in risk (RR = 3.6; P = .014); canned tuna fish intake was independently associated with risk (RR = 4.7; P = .004)."

So, maybe there is something in their food...

I think you are on to something using a more wholistic treatment. I don't feel right about forcing him into a mandibulectomy.

I ordered some cesium chloride (the regular element not the radioactive isotope) online today. Maybe it's snake oil ... but then maybe it really does work. It is worth a try.

The odor from Smokey's mouth was becoming really overwhelming. Last night, I dissolved 1/4 tsp of baking soda in some distilled water and squirted it by dropperfuls over the tumor to rinse out his mouth. It stopped the stream of drool for a few hours and he ate for the first time in two days. He even climbed under the covers with me last night to sleep. Something he used to do all the time but hadn't done in a couple of weeks. (He has been hiding out in the linen closet.)

Smokey has been an indoor cat almost 100% of his life. He has occasionally streaked past me and ran outside, but I can usually coax him back inside. Nobody in my household smokes. He doesn't wear flea collars or get drops. The past few years of his life he has been on Science Diet, before that it was IAMS or Whiskas. Sometimes he ate dry food but mostly it was canned. He did love an occasional (1 or 2 times a year) treat of the water from a can of tuna fish. He doesn't like people food at all.

If you find any websites that show how many cases of SCC there are in different locations on earth, let me know.

Smokey saw the oncologist today. She said that there was nothing they could do. He probably has 2 weeks at best. In a way I'm kind of relieved that I don't have to decide about the deforming surgery, feeding tube, chemo & radiation that would probably only extend his life briefly anyways.

I've been in contact with several people who have successfully cured their own human cancers with Cesium Chloride. I haven't found anyone who has tried it on their pet and the vet had never even heard about it. If I can, I will try giving him a very very teeny tiny dose along with extra Potassium & Magnesium. Its worth a try.

The oncologist did mention the wholistic vet that you are taking your baby to and said that she is really good. I told her about your cat and running across your thread online. I also asked if she had seen an increase in oral SCC and she said that she hardly sees any cases of it.

You know, we are downstream from the Hanover Nuclear Dump site.

I'm sorry. I was thinking about you today and wondering how it went.

The cost, quality of life and short amount of time it often extends their lives might have something to do with why she sees so few cases.

I take Bullseye back in on Thursday. The lump is considerably larger than when it was orginally diagnosed a month ago. He's still eating soft food and seems happy with all the extra attention, but I know if it weren't for the Metacam he'd be gone already. Did they give you anything to keep him comfortable? I'll make a note to ask about the Cesium Chloride when I go in.

The receptionist at my local veterinary clinic has a dog with the same thing. I still wish there was a place we could submit information about our pets with cancer. I feel like I ought to be doing something other than crying and wondering what I did wrong.

added...I posted this last night and the post did add, but it still showed you in the forum as the last poster. I'm hoping this will bump it up. **shrug**

see above

Paperclip & Cinder..
Both Smokey & Bullseye will remain in my thoughts as you continue with this difficult struggle.

Hugs and vibes are on the way.
((((hugs))))

Thanks to everyone for their support. I hope that Bullseye and Smokey will do well. I bought a veterinary manual on cancer in dogs & cats. The surgeon is supposed to take careful precautions against spreading the tumor when they perform the biopsy. The spread of cancer this way is called "seeding". Smokey's cancer spread because of that I'm sure. It spread from being 2cm x .5cm before the biopsy to covering most of his lower jaw 2 weeks later.


I haven't given up on Smokey yet and he isn't giving up either. I went to Whole Foods and got him some ground up, dark turkey thigh meat and some chicken liver. I feed it to him raw and swap between the two. He loves it. It is very difficult for him to swallow. He gags and claws at his mouth until the food falls out. If I encourage him on, he will keep eating and lick the bowl clean when he is finished. Heck, who cares about parasites at this point. I'm just glad he is eating.

Here is an excellent site that mentions CsCl therapy.

http://www.krysalis.net/cancer4.htm

It seems to be especially toxic to cats, so I am terrified about trying it.

I know what you mean about crying. I've had many, many pets, but Smokey is the "One". We have an incredibly strong bond. My family has been saying for years, "Don't know what your gonna do when that cat dies!". Some days my hands are shaking so bad that I can't click the mouse buttons. Frantically researching, reading, reading reading...


Of course you know that you haven't done anything wrong. That's a normal stage that we go through to acceptance.

Smokey is doing something bizarre that I haven't read anyone elses cat do with this disease. He started pulling the hair (bits of skin and all) on his forepaws out with his teeth. I don't know why. Is it frustration? Pain? toxic reaction? deficiency? What?

My cat Buddy pulled out a circular patch of hair on his side a couple of months before his death. He was 18 and died of what was believed to be lymphoma. (we did not biopsy due to his age) At the time we didn't know why he did it. Actually, I guess I still don't know. I made him a little shirt to get him to stop, which he did.

Bullseye had acupuncture again today. He went from 9.9 to 9.5 pounds in a little over 2 weeks. The Dr didn't think the growth looked quite as inflamed as last time, but he has also been on antibiotics since Monday. In addition to all his current treatments, we added fish oil caps. She also didn't think the growth was significantly larger, although I thought it had grown.

I was surprised to see him eating hard food after we got home.

If you read back to the beginning of the thread you see how happy I was to find out that Spot was diagnosed with hyperthyroid instead of cancer. She lived ten days. I guess we don't always know what's going to happen just because that's what normally does. So you keep trying.

By the way, what is metacam? They gave me Buprinex to drop .2 ml under his tongue for pain every 12 hours. It only seems to make him loopy, anti-social and he doesn't seem to care if he starves to death. So now I only give him half a dose every 24 hours (right before I go to bed at night). He isn't as doped up and will eat the next day.

This is first time I've ever used Metacam. (meloxicam) According to the box it's a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for oral use in dogs only. When I questioned the receptionist, she told me that they give .3 ml to cats when they declaw for the pain. I started him on .3ml once daily and am now giving .2ml once daily. Dr Chattigre said it was okay to use with the holistic meds. Unlike some of the other pain killers I've used, I didn't notice any difference in Bullseye after he'd taken it, except he started eating. He doesn't object to the taste either.

Fingers crossed for everybody. Metacam isn't licenced for use in cats, but in small doses can be effective - you do have to watch with large doses though, as there is a potential risk to the kidneys then. I have used it on 2 cats, and had no issues, both have had blood tests after use and no probs - but we use drops in the UK, so the most I have used is 3 drops, I dont know what that would equate to in .ml.

I'm sorry to hear about Spot. 10 days is really fast. Peace be with you, Spot.

I really don't know what to say. You must have a heart of gold to care for so many.

As for Bullseye taking Metacam, Anti-inflammatory drugs are supposed to slow down the growth of cancer -- so Bullseye is getting a 2-for-1 deal.

Oh my heart goes out to you guys! We had a cat a few years ago, Gizmo, and she was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma in her ear. Unfortunately, she was an outdoor feral (born under our shed) that we took care of, so we didn't know about the problem right away... it wasn't until she stopped eating that we knew there was a problem... and by then... too late... it was so large it was pushing against her brain and causing excruciating pain for her. No time to decide on therapies. We ended up putting her down just to ease the pain.

So I know what you must be going through. I'll keep you and your kitties in my thoughts.

I know this thread was started a while back but if anyone is still battling with this our Lilly just was preliminarily diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma. We knew something was wrong when she started losing weight and was sticking out her tongue and having trouble swallowing. The vet will probably be doing a biopsy next week to confirm. First she is doing bloodwork to see if anything has spread. If it has we probably do not have long at all.

Lilly is only about 6 years old. We've only had her for 2 years.

My heart goes out to all of you who have had to face this. I never in a million years thought we'd be dealing with a case this bad so soon. This is one of my first pets and its going to be a rough couple of months.

I am sorry to hear that, I do hope the bloods and biopsy show something positive.

well we did get news that the bloods were ok. so its off for a teeth cleaning and biopsy next week.

Hi all, sorry to hear your sad news but I just wanted to share with you. I haven't posted for awhile but wanted to give a brief update. My furry best friend Pickles was diagnosed back in Nov of 04 with squamous cell carcinoma, he had a total ear ablation, which left him deaf in that ear. Well I am happy to say that he is still with us. He is truly amazing. The vets are even surprised as this is a rapid moving cancer. He is well running around and causing trouble, but back when they found out he had cancer they told us his prognosis was guarded to poor. We have dubbed him our miracle cat. We feel lumps on his body (which I am sure could be tumors), but we have decided that as long as he is acting happy we will leave him be. He was traumatized from having to go back and forth to the doctor when we first found out, that everytime we took him out he peed on the towel we held him in. We think it caused him too much stress, so we just don't want to do that to him. I did promise him if he started not looking well or losing weight that I would take him, and make the best decision I could for him. Just wanted to share and say my thoughts are with all of you. Keep the hope, you may never know you may have your own miracle.

well we did get news that the bloods were ok. so its off for a teeth cleaning and biopsy next week.

Click to expand...

berylayn, I was curious how the biopsy went. If it's posted in another thread, I apologize for missing it.

**ADDED** I'm sorry, I looked for a post about Lilly's treatment, but I didn't check the RB forum. So sorry for your loss.

That's amazing, l.trant. Pickles is a lucky kitty! I hope he continues to do well.

I've never heard from paperclip since her last post in this thread and I fear that Smokey has passed on to the Rainbow Bridge, as did my Bullseye. He lived slightly less than 3 months from the time of his diagnosis. It was a difficult time, but it was special time for us as well. It's unfortunate we don't always set aside extra time for our little friends until something like this happens, but I think Bullseye did enjoy those last three months.

Thanks for the comments. It was a hard 3 weeks but like you said, we really set aside time to love on our little girl in those weeks. Turns out it was SCC but Melanoma, another equally bad tumor that spread too rapidly for us to be able to really do anything. We know Lilly is having a great time over the RB.