Cancer/enlarged lymph nodes

My lil man Serj has breast cancer. He will be 11 Feb 14th. We got the mass taken out and was 1cm and Grade II adenocarcinoma. Per research online and with the vet, it was good we caught it while it is small but the grade is not the best of news. Margins were clear and no veins attached.

When he got his stitches removed we did the ultrasound to determine if we saw any advancement in the tumor. The ultrasound showed his lymph nodes (3-4 detected) were enlarged.

His first vet visit was on the 10th. Surgery on the 15th ultrasound on the 28th.

It looks as I'd the cancer did spread, but I am holding out hope I went out of town the 18th-21st and took him with. We went to a farm between two grain bins and they were mixing the corn, as mold was starting to grow on it (hasn't been cold enough to kill the mold). My car got blanketed with something (from the mixing). My son has issues w allergies that weekend as well. I looked up and saw it is possible to have enlarged lymph nodes from fungal/bacterial infection. Maybe a stretch but I can't lose hope yet.

Last night I noticed I could see his axillary lymph node on the left side (opposite side of surgery). 3 weeks ago they couldn't feel them and now I can see the one. Either the cancer has started to go crazy or he has a secondary infection.

He is back to his old self about 99.9%, playful, being awake longer, ect. It is hard to believe the cancer has progressed that much and he is acting better then he has in a while. His eating/drinking/potty has all stayed about the same, that part never really changed at all.

Any advice? Has anyone dealt with fungal infections or cancer? I have had another cat w cancer but it was only in her lungs, never spread.

The preliminary results from the aspiration did not show cancer. Of course this isn't the official and it is possible there is cancer and we didn't get any in the sample, but in consider this good.
Found out his lymph nodes that are enlarged are 4mm, average size is 1-2mm, so they arent ridiculously huge. Should have the official results Monday as my vet is closed tomorrow.

I have no experience with cancer in kitties, but I'm thankful that you're Serj's human!  I'll bump this up and hopefully someone will come along who can help you.

I don't personally have any experience with this.  I did find a thread that may give you some ideas or help:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306907/mammary-cancer-anyone-had-their-cat-go-through-this

What did the blood tests show? As far as I know, there are indicators for cancer that can be discovered via blood tests in humans, so possibly in cats too? A blood count should at least be able to tell the vet if there's an infection in the background as well. I think it's good news that they couldn't find any cancerous cells in the biopsy so staying optimistic is good. Do let us know what the vet said. 

And I agree, Serj is very luck to have you by his side! 

I'm so sorry your little Serj is going through this, but I am so glad you are taking care of him. Hugs.

I can only share what I've experienced with my kitty. She recently had terminal cancer and we had to say goodbye to her, but as far as I understood the vet said adenocarcinoma is one of the feline cancers with the best prognosis. Unfortunately, she did not have that type of cancer. He also said that cancer is often very silent in cats and it is very hard to detect and it is not often painful or detected until it has progressed.

A blood test may indicate something but will not always tell you if there is cancer. For instance, my cat had tumours in her lungs and abdomen by the time we caught it and her blood tests were all perfectly normal.

I'm not sure about the lymph nodes, but I imagine it is similar with humans - when we have an infection or virus, they swell up to fight the disease.

Ask your vet any and every question you have. I found it was very hard to think clearly while this was going on, but it helped me to make a list of questions for my vet ahead of time and bring them with me to check off and go through.

I wish you and Serj the best of luck.