Cancer treatment for cats

As you probably know, my little girl, Pollýanna, might have cancer.
The vet told me that here in Iceland there is yet no treatment available for cats with cancer, except for just cutting the tumor/-s away, and then again cutting the tumors away when they regrow. She also said that even with an op to remove the tumors the life expectancy would probable not be more than a year, if the cancer has allready spread, as it has if this is cancer in Pollýanna, since her "cysts" are growing fast and multiplying, so there would even be a question of letting her go through the op.

As Pollýanna is the love of my life and so unbelievable important to me, I would do anything to help her. I would even consider taking her abroad for treatment. The downside to that, is that she would have to be in quarantee (sp?) for 6 weeks on the arrival back (and the recently deduced that from A LOT longer time).

Do you know what kind of cancer treatments there is awailable? Do you know of any alternative treatments, something that might help her and make her feel better?????

Just something to keep in mind, that any change and any stress for this cat can be to the detriment of her health. Shipping her abroad, and her not being able to be with the humans she loves, could mean, well it just could really harm her.

I know that you love her, and you will do the best possible thing for her. But my thought is she is better off with you, no matter how long of a time she has left to be in the center of your love.

Originally posted by hissy
Just something to keep in mind, that any change and any stress for this cat can be to the detriment of her health. Shipping her abroad, and her not being able to be with the humans she loves, could mean, well it just could really harm her.

I know that you love her, and you will do the best possible thing for her. But my thought is she is better off with you, no matter how long of a time she has left to be in the center of your love.

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If I were to get some med. help for her abroad, I would never do that unless I could find a way to stay with her through it all, well as much of the time as possible anyway, depending on how long time it would take. I dont have a steady job, witch would make this hard moneywise, but on the other side I would be free to go away for some time.

Well, anyway, this is just a thought, I dont know what really is wrong with her, and if so, how spread and intence the cancer would be, and what options for treatment are available.

I agree with you, it´s most important that she stays with her loved ones!

I'm sorry to hear that Pollyanna might have cancer. Gus was diagnosed with Lymphoma in August and we have been undergoing chemotherapy since then. Luckily Lymphoma responds very well to chemo,so far he is having very positive results with it although I am holding my breath. I had no idea that cancer was so common in cats until I had to deal with it myself and discovered that some types of cancer have a higher rate in animals than humans.

If Pollyanna is very ill then travelling with her might only jeopardize her health further due to the stress. There are very good vet clinics and veterinarian colleges that can do both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It would depend on the type of cancer, and how advanced it is. Life expectancy also varies but the average estimate is 6 months to 2 years.

There are definitely holistic approaches to cancer treatment as well, if you have a holistic vet in your area it would be well worth checking out.

Any type of therapy is going to be very expensive. Gus's chemo costs approximately $200 per treatment with a one year estimate of $7000. My friends and family think I am nuts for "wasting" so much money on "just a cat" but he is my baby and he's been there for me when no one else was so I will do anything I can to make his quality of life better for the time we have left.

Keep us posted, I know exactly how you feel and my heart goes out to you.

Oh I forgot, here's a link to a useful sight

http://www.gcvs.com/oncology/pwc/index.htm

Originally posted by Gus's Mom
There are definitely holistic approaches to cancer treatment as well, if you have a holistic vet in your area it would be well worth checking out.

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Thanx, Gus´s Mom! (What is your real life name?) I also have that "wasting money on the cat" attitude from people around me. People are shocked how often I take Pollýanna to the vet and how much I spend on her having ops. I didnt even tell anybody (except my s/o, he understands) that since she was put to sleep for an op the other day anyway, I payed a lot extra to get her teeth cleaned as well....

I am sure there are not holistic vets in Iceland, what is it they would be doing, can you give me some examples of their methods?

My real name is Catherine. There are different herbal/natural supplements that can help with cancer. Spirulina is one that I am trying to help Gus naturally build his immune system (he has other ideas however as it smells awful) Flax Seed oil is another I've heard of.

I think it's really important though that you work with your veterinarian before trying anything to make sure it's the right thing for Pollyanna. Even if you don't have a holistic/homeopathic vet, your own vet should have access to resources that would get you started on a treatment. Have you tried to get a second opinion? You mentioned that your vet said no treatment is available, I would not accept that as an answer, keep pushing him and if he won't help, find someone else.

Here's another link, it's not the greatest site but I can't find the one that I used before