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- Feb 11, 2014
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Our beloved Sid Vicious was just diagnosed with lung cancer. He threw a blood clot to his front paw and was in so much pain. The veterinary ER thought he was in heart failure, which has a grim enough prognosis. Further testing revealed the tumor. We're waiting to hear from the oncologist about next steps, but after doing some reading we aren't at all optimistic. It seems it will cost us hundreds if not thousands just to figure out exactly what we're dealing with--above and beyond the $1,600 we've already spent. It's not about the money--we're already just about bankrupt, though we have a credit card--but we don't want to flog Sid with invasive procedures and chemo and radiation just so we can have a few more months with him. The various vets and specialists have been very kind, but they always seem to push aggressive, high-cost treatment. I've been through this before--I had a cat with lymphoma, and the oncologist wanted $5,000-$6,000 for chemo, etc. (Actually, he never gave me the big picture--he priced it out per treatment and let me do the math.) After doing some research, I discovered that this would likely give me less than a year with my cat, during which time she would be sick and miserable. And still they made me feel guilty for not doing it. I don't expect charity, but I do expect honesty and compassion. I also want appropriate palliative treatment during the time we have left, in the likely event we decide not to go through with additional invasive procedures. I'm going to ask Sid's primary vet what she thinks (she was very supportive of my decision not to do chemo before) but I wanted to see if anyone out there has had any success or advice to offer when it comes to this particular cancer. Given that Sid had a rough start in life (he was found beaten half to death with half his ear ripped off after spending god knows how many years on the streets) and we know nothing of his history or even how old he really is, I can't imagine we're going to be able to do anything other than make him comfortable. The surgery alone is $3,000. If that were the end of it, we'd probably just go into hock, but that's before the cancer is even biopsied or staged. And of course, no one can give us any guarantees. Sid is just getting back to his old self after the ER visit, so we're loathe to put him through anything that doesn't ultimately add to his quality of life.
Right now we are doing exercises to see if we can get Sid the use of his paw. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I think he's a little depressed about it--he really likes to use his paws to grab things and play, more so than any of our other cats. We do range of motion exercises every six hours, and the paw has definitely loosened up, but his forelimb is totally limp. He's had breathing problems since we rescued him four years ago, so we're hoping it's a slow growing cancer. Right now the x-ray shows only a single tumor, which is positive. But... his paw paralysis could be due to a metastasis, not a clot, which would likely render a surgery to remove the tumor in his lung useless. We figured we'd keep working on the paw for a few weeks to see what happens. If he clears the clot and regains use of the paw, that makes the decision harder. If it's a metastasis, he likely won't regain use of the paw, making the decision somewhat clearer. Anyway... any words of wisdom would be much appreciated, especially from people who have been where we are. Sid is responding well to taking meds and being less active, but it seems cruel to put him through too much else. I guess I just feel bad because Sid has had to overcome so many challenges, and he deserves so much better. I feel cheated that we've only had four years with him. And I feel helpless.
Thanks...
Right now we are doing exercises to see if we can get Sid the use of his paw. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I think he's a little depressed about it--he really likes to use his paws to grab things and play, more so than any of our other cats. We do range of motion exercises every six hours, and the paw has definitely loosened up, but his forelimb is totally limp. He's had breathing problems since we rescued him four years ago, so we're hoping it's a slow growing cancer. Right now the x-ray shows only a single tumor, which is positive. But... his paw paralysis could be due to a metastasis, not a clot, which would likely render a surgery to remove the tumor in his lung useless. We figured we'd keep working on the paw for a few weeks to see what happens. If he clears the clot and regains use of the paw, that makes the decision harder. If it's a metastasis, he likely won't regain use of the paw, making the decision somewhat clearer. Anyway... any words of wisdom would be much appreciated, especially from people who have been where we are. Sid is responding well to taking meds and being less active, but it seems cruel to put him through too much else. I guess I just feel bad because Sid has had to overcome so many challenges, and he deserves so much better. I feel cheated that we've only had four years with him. And I feel helpless.
Thanks...
