Fibrosarcoma

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Back around the holidays, I was visiting my mom and noticed her cat (Grim) had a small lump (pinky-fingertip diameter) over his right hind leg. We took him to his regular vet in January, and they told us that it was probably not a cause for concern and to bring him back if the lump grew and they would remove cells for analysis.

Last week, we took him to a different vet. They removed the lump (which had doubled in size), and it turns out that it's a cancerous tumor. I'm angry that I didn't ask for the lump to be removed back in January, when we first took him to have it checked out. My mom had him boarded at the regular vet in May 2008, and I think they may have given him a rabies vaccination at the time. He's an indoor cat, and I think this may have been the third time in his 10 years that he was given this vaccination. I'm wondering if the tumor wasn't caused by vaccinations?

I'm very upset. I keep thinking, maybe if we had done this or that he wouldn't have cancer. The vet says fibrosarcomas are aggressive and there's a possibility the tumor will regrow. He also said that he removed enough tissue around the tumor that the cells on the outer part of the mass were not cancerous.

Please send vibes for Grim (or prayers if you pray). He's 10 years old, but still plays like a kitten.
 

mews2much

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
13,424
Purraise
27
Location
Central Valley,California
Linda ,
I was afraid it would be that.
Do not blame yourself.
My friends cat did get cancer from a Rabies shot.
I think I told you about her in a im when we were talking about your cat.
Tell your mom I am sorry its cancer.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by mews2much

Linda ,
I was afraid it would be that.
Do not blame yourself.
My friends cat did get cancer from a Rabies shot.
I think I told you about her in a im when we were talking about your cat.
Tell your mom I am sorry its cancer.
Thanks Jacky. My mom doesn't want to accept that it was cancer, but she's letting him scratch the carpets now because he likes to do that. I feel sad for Grim and for my mom too.
 

carolina

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
14,759
Purraise
215
Location
Corinth, TX
Originally Posted by Going Nova

Thanks Jacky. My mom doesn't want to accept that it was cancer, but she's letting him scratch the carpets now because he likes to do that. I feel sad for Grim and for my mom too.
Did they remove the whole tumor? Are they going to test her for more?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by carolinalima

Did they remove the whole tumor? Are they going to test her for more?
They removed the whole tumor. The vet said he tried to get all of it and then some to try to keep it from coming back. We didn't feel any other tumors. Do you know how they might be able to test for more?
 

littleraven7726

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2002
Messages
3,339
Purraise
12
Location
Next to the World's Largest 6-pack
More will show in an xray. I'm so sorry your Mom's kitty is going through this.

I lost a cat in December of 2007 to this horrible disease. His was untreatable, his first tumor showed up on the spine and was completely inoperable. I've been told the tumors will come back, even when removed, most of the time. We initially thought Raven
had an abcess and were stunned when the biopsy came back cancer. We had Raven another 6 months after he was diagnosed, and we had to put him to sleep. The cancer had spread everywhere.


I hope your Mom has plenty of time with her kitty before he goes to the Bridge.

http://www.zzcat.com/ is a good resource on cats and cancer.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
I think they didn't check him for other tumors. We're just waiting and hoping that he doesn't have others and that it doesn't come back. I'll ask the vet about checking for other tumors so we can at least know if more surgery would be appropriate. I really hope we got it in time, but so many months went by between when we first found it and when we had it removed. I feel so bad.
 

sashacat421

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
4,606
Purraise
5
Location
Scott Lake, Washington State
Originally Posted by Going Nova

I think they didn't check him for other tumors. We're just waiting and hoping that he doesn't have others and that it doesn't come back. I'll ask the vet about checking for other tumors so we can at least know if more surgery would be appropriate. I really hope we got it in time, but so many months went by between when we first found it and when we had it removed. I feel so bad.
Please do not blame yourself. I flagged your post because my own mother (human) died from Fibro sarcoma, after she had her legs amputated, it jut metastasized in her body. Fibro sarcoma, for humans, is the rarest form of cancer in the world pretty much, it's a diffused muscle cancer that is so random that when the doctor's laid out my family tree they said I'd have a better chance of being struck by lightning twice then getting it. And they know so little about it that I can't tell if it makes me more vulnerable to other cancers or just so random - they feel it's just so random. I had not heard of it ever in cats!! Thank you for being brave and sharing, even though you are hurting.


They'll be able to tell if the cancer is elsewhere through a blood test which will show the antigens of cancer if it's still present, as well as an elevated white blood cell count. If they see those two indicators then they'll do more.

I am sending you prayers, you're such a blessed angel for this little one.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Sashacat, I am sorry about your mom.
(I didn't know that cats could get cancer until I joined TCS.) I spoke with another vet, and he said that Grim's best chance would be chemotherapy or radiation. I can't afford to take him to a specialist, and I feel guilty. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words.
 

sashacat421

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
4,606
Purraise
5
Location
Scott Lake, Washington State
Originally Posted by Going Nova

Sashacat, I am sorry about your mom.
(I didn't know that cats could get cancer until I joined TCS.) I spoke with another vet, and he said that Grim's best chance would be chemotherapy or radiation. I can't afford to take him to a specialist, and I feel guilty. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words.
My Sasha lived to age 14 - being the elder statesman of our household the loss was a tough one, as I had him since he was born from his mama, SiSi.
Sasha was a 21 lb big, strapping boy and never sick a day in his life. In the Spring of 2006, he started to drop weight very quickly, and was diagnosed with a diffused liver cancer. No tumors, just diffused. They also recommended radiation and chemo but when I asked them how much longer it would prolong his life, they said maybe 6-8 months. And he would suffer side affects. So my husband and I decided to give him the happiest, most comfortable life we could without chemo until he passed just six weeks later. I know this is not what you need or want to hear, but my point is more that we declined therapies and we had huge guilt... until we realized he was so happy just being Sasha without wires taped to him and cancer side affects. He did not suffer and we knew we had made the best choice for him. Every situation is different. You cannot let guilt eat you because cats don't care how much money or treatment they get, honestly, they care that they are loved and comfy - that's something they will feel instantly. I used to wake up in the middle of the night from that kind of guilt and when I saw how peaceful Sasha was beside me, it started to go away.
 

abbycats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
2,544
Purraise
19
Location
Nebraska
I had a wonderful scottish fold that died of fibosarcoma. She was only six years old. She had her leg amputated but it came back. I posted this recently and was given a hard time by somebody on the forum named twisty chic and I swore would never answer again about this. My cat did wind up dying after all we went through with her. It was so sad and there was nothing I could do to help her. She was put to rest after we did all we could for her. I miss her very much. It was the most heart breaking experience I have ever lived though. Always listen to your vet and and ask as many questions as possible. Fibrosarcoma is an agressive disease.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

going nova

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by abbycats

I had a wonderful scottish fold that died of fibosarcoma. She was only six years old. She had her leg amputated but it came back. I posted this recently and was given a hard time by somebody on the forum named twisty chic and I swore would never answer again about this. My cat did wind up dying after all we went through with her. It was so sad and there was nothing I could do to help her. She was put to rest after we did all we could for her. I miss her very much. It was the most heart breaking experience I have ever lived though. Always listen to your vet and and ask as many questions as possible. Fibrosarcoma is an agressive disease.
I'm very sorry about your Scottish fold kitty, especially after you went through so much to try to save her.
(I looked for the post you were referring to and I think what she meant was that she would be devastated, not anything against you.
) I hope you're able to continue sharing your experience, it might help others who don't know how serious a lump can be.
 
Top