Mammary tumors...

elisabethch

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Hi, I'm new to this site, and apparently not very smart :p
I've been reading about mammary tumors and scared myself.

My cat got two mammary tumors when she was 5 years old. I was young and stupid and didn't have her spayed. We were told that it was safe to have her on the pill for a little bit, so that's what caused it, probably. (So angry at myself for this)
Anyway, I noticed the lumps when they were very small. Like grains of rice. 

She had surgery and the vet said it hadn't spread, removed two nipples and had her spayed. I didn't get a lot of information.

For some reason I started reading about it, and it says that the average survival is just two-three years.

It's now been 9 years since her surgery, and she seems perfectly healthy. She's turning 14 this year, and I take her in for tooth cleaning once a year, with full bloodwork. I haven't asked for x-rays since I thought (foolishly apparenty) that she would be "cured" after the surgery.

I don't know what I want with this post... Is it ulikely that her cancer would come back? Can I consider her "cured" since it's been so many years?

(English isn't my first language, so sorry for any mistakes)

Thank you for reading :)

Elisabeth

 
 

vball91

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Hi and welcome to TCS. I can totally understand the concern because we're all caring cat owners here, but if it's been 9 years since the surgery, it sounds like you definitely caught it early and it has not come back. There is the possibility of the cancer recurring, but in this situation, it seems low. I would maybe just do a monthly check for any lumps like you do for human females and try not to worry about it too much. :)
 
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elisabethch

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Hi and welcome to TCS. I can totally understand the concern because we're all caring cat owners here, but if it's been 9 years since the surgery, it sounds like you definitely caught it early and it has not come back. There is the possibility of the cancer recurring, but in this situation, it seems low. I would maybe just do a monthly check for any lumps like you do for human females and try not to worry about it too much.
Thank you so much! 

I'm usually pretty good at thinking in a logical way when it's other peoples pets, but when it comes to my own I get pretty obsessive...

Logic tells me that there is a low chance, especially since 65% of recurring tumors come back within the first year.

I realize my post make me seem like a pretty irresponsible cat owner, I'm really not. I was 14 when I got her and just not that smart about it, I guess. She's had a lot of trips to the vet, since she is clumsy and strange, and always get weird problems (like getting a straw stuck in her throat, social anxiety when it came to certain people, etc) and they have all felt her up and checked her.

I feel it's strange that no one has ever commented on her cancer, since I've informed the current vet I use about it.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Thank you for your reply.
 
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