I think my cat has mammary cancer, need help...

Hi everyone. I found a rather large lump beneath my cats nipple yesterday. I took her to the vet immediately and he thinks it's cancer. She's scheduled for surgery on Monday morning. I've read that pretty much all tumors in this area are malignant. My cat is 13 and is spayed but I think her previous owner waited until she had a few cycles before having it done. The mass is about the size and shape of a grape, hard and little lumpy. The vet also found a smaller mass underneath that he said was soft and probably half the size. He couldn't tell if it was a lymph node or another tumor. I was very surprised to even hear that this may be cancer since she has been her normal self, running around, eating, cleaning herself. She's not vomiting, no diarrhea and no discharge out of nipple. However, the area around the nipple is a little scabby, vet thinks she's licking it but I have yet to see her do that. He put her on antibiotics now and gave her a steroid shot since surgery couldn't be done until Monday. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me by what I described if there is a chance that this is a non malignant tumor. Any help is much appreciated!

I've seen a few cats come through the shelter with mammary tumors. They've all been removed & been benign. To my knowledge, none of them have had any further issues - but many were younger stray cats, too - around 5ish years old.

I hope it will be benign

Lots of vibes for the surgery on monday

Best wishes for a successful procedure and good news!

Sending happy, healing vibes

Thanks everyone for your help and good wishes! Tomorrow is Hootie's surgery, I'm pretty nervous. She's in such a happy mood today and it's killing me that this is happening to her. I'll post an update, thanks again!

My Stripe had borderline breast cancer.
The tissue was sent to Uc Davis an it had cancer cells in it.
The vet removed 2 breasts and a month later there was a small lump on the other side and it was removed.
She was 4 at the time and she beat it.
I lost her to Crf at age 11.
i hope your cat will be ok.

many many good for your kitty.

Here is an article I wrote when I lost a cat to mammary cancer - I think the statistics i found while researching showed 80% of mammary tumours are cancerous, I do hope your cats are in the other 20%, and also that they dont recur.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...mammary+cancer

My Kitty had breast cancer (like a grape as you say) when she was around 10yo. The vet took out the entire row on one side. I did not have it biopsied. Later, when she was around 16yo, she got it on the other side. By that time, I just let it go. She lived to 18yo and died of CRF, not breast cancer.

Thanks again everyone. My vet just called, the cancer is malignant adenocarcinoma. The second lump he found under her mammary gland turned out to be a lymph node with adenocarcinoma in it as well. Not good news at all. He offered to remove the whole mammary chain but said since it spread to lymph node that surgery may be for nothing. So I decided against that, after a lot of thinking. He basically said the cancer is going to win and we may buy time but who knows how long. I'm just going to try to be positive and hope for the miracle that would be the cancer not spreading any further. I saw a few homeopathic treatments online that supposedly stop the spread of lymph node cancer, does anyone have any experience with these products?

take a look at this - there is a lot of success that have been reported with this, including against cancer... The best formula would be the human transfer factor plus - that is the most powerful one...
Quite a few people in this forum have used for different reasons - I hope it helps!!!
I am so sorry you are having to deal with this... It is heartbreaking to hear... all the vibes and hugs going your way!

i am sorry to hear the news wasn't more positive, but I do think you have done the right thing in not operating, it would be a lot of pain for her to go through, and if there is no real chance of it extending her lifespan, it woudlnt be worth it. fingers crossed she can have a decent amount of time, and spoil her rotten.

Thanks so much guys. I ordered the transfer factor just now. She's about 6 1/2 lbs, do you know how much I should give her? Booktigger, I was starting to wonder if my decision against operating was the right one but after reading your post I know I made the right decision. I have already started the extreme spoiling! She's a good girl. Thanks again.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat's recent diagnosis of cancer. I can empathize because the love of my life, Buster, passed away from bladder cancer on January 5, 2009. I did try the Transfer Factor and it did not do anything. I spent nearly $100.00 and it was a big waste of time (trying to force my poor cat to take it) and money.

Transfer Factor is not a cure for Cancer, but there are quite a few reports of being of great help... IMO, it will help some, but not all, like a lot of treatments out there... I would definitely give it to my cats, if they had a serious disease. For most diseases, 1 capsule a day is enough, for cancer I would give at least 2. What is does is it helps to regulate the immune system, so that the animal or person is better fit to fight the disease.
The best way to give it to them, is to open the capsule and mix the contents into wet food. Give one capsule in the morning, and another at night. There is no risk of overdosing, so you are fine. The taste is not bad either - Lucky had no problems taking it when mixed into soft chew treats.
Good Luck - I hope it helps!

Originally Posted by stacy_s

Thanks so much guys. I ordered the transfer factor just now. She's about 6 1/2 lbs, do you know how much I should give her? Booktigger, I was starting to wonder if my decision against operating was the right one but after reading your post I know I made the right decision. I have already started the extreme spoiling! She's a good girl. Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Your very welcome - it was the decision I had to make with Blackie, as she wouldnt have coped with the aftercare of such a major op, and to put her through so much pain for potentially nothing isn't fair. I am glad she will be spoilt, and make sure you take lots of pics. I Can't help on the Transfer factor I'm afraid, but it might be worth a try.

I'm sorry about your kitty having cancer. Mine does as well. They did surgery right after Christmas to remove the tumor from his colon. Luckily, it hadn't spread to the liver or nearby lymph nodes and we're now doing chemo. He's doing remarkably well. The oncologist has him taking lixotinic, which is a supplement. It has a lot of iron and B12, and other vitamins and minerals. It is supposed to also help with appetite. You can actually buy it online at a few select places and it's not expensive at all. I think it's called Pet Tinic online. I also read about something called Essiac Tea. There are mixed reviews out there as far as it truly working against the cancer, but do some research. These aren't things that can hurt.

I hope you find some strength during this and that your kitty feels well.
Michelle

My 12-year old cat Katie has a marble sized lump on a nipple on the lower right side. I read the stories here and am afraid to take her to the vet and possibly hear that she has cancer. I adopted her (a stray) at about 15 months old. She came into the shelter pregnant and had 4 little black babies just like her. They all got adopted and Katie became very depressed. A shelter girl told me to pick her and I did! She was spayed and chipped and I took her home. She had an upper respiratory infection when I adopted her (they didn't know anything about it) and after meds and 10 days isolation in 2nd bathroom, she was fine. She has had no medical issues all these years. She is very loving and sweet (doesn't like men much). When I adopted an 8-week old black kitten 6 years ago, Katie immediately layed down and let Woowoo nurse on her (no milk) for a few weeks. Her nipples were raw from "feeding" Woowoo. So sweet!
She is an indoor cat who spends most of her time in the porch. I don't want to lose her. I will update after we see the vet.