We took in a feral FIV positive cat from a rescue about 3 years ago. Yesterday Callie was diagnosed with oral cancer. Vet took x-rays and an an aspirate. Will not have results until Monday or Tuesday. Vet did not offer much hope initially. When the aspirate results come back the vet said she would reach out to the local oncologist in our area. Unfortunately I have previous experience with the oncologist. The oncologist is good, but the end results rarely are. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone knew of any new treatments that may be out? With gene therapy and computer simulations things are coming out all the time. Only one I have found is http://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_column/mouth-cancer-cats/. She is still eating good, playing, and being social. I am just scared we do not have much time left with her because the tumor appears to be growing fast. Please say a prayer for Callie, she had it rough before and only now is enjoying life. If anyone knows of anything we can do for her, please let me know.
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Approx 14 Year Old Cat Diagnosed With Oral Cancer - Treatment?
- Thread starter edandjill
- Start Date
Hi edandjill !
"If anyone knows"...well, if anyone is going to know, it's bound to be the folks in the specialized online feline cancer group - they've been active since 1999 and have had over 3000 members and their cats. These special focus groups will have info on the latest treatments/drug trials too. I would be joining up and putting Callie's story to them.
You'll find them here: For people whose cats (may) have cancer - Yahoo Groups
(Just click the purple + Join Group button there. I'd suggest a brand new email account to use exclusively for the group - it can help manage the info flow. Yahoo works well.)
Keep us posted too !
.
"If anyone knows"...well, if anyone is going to know, it's bound to be the folks in the specialized online feline cancer group - they've been active since 1999 and have had over 3000 members and their cats. These special focus groups will have info on the latest treatments/drug trials too. I would be joining up and putting Callie's story to them.
You'll find them here: For people whose cats (may) have cancer - Yahoo Groups
(Just click the purple + Join Group button there. I'd suggest a brand new email account to use exclusively for the group - it can help manage the info flow. Yahoo works well.)
Keep us posted too !
.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you White Shadow, I did join the group and made a post for Callie. She ate her food today and is still being social. Hope we hear for the radiologist tomorrow.
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hi, i don't know anything about the Cancer, i just wanted to send Callie some well wishes, and prayers! sometimes we cannot change the outcome, but we can make the time we have as special as possible.
I wish to thank
Ardina
for mentioning me, I didn't know she knew my story.
I'm deeply and terribly sorry for your Callie. I know what it does mean because last year this period I was crying over the fact that I felt my days with my sweet Lola were numbered.
She was officially diagnosed with an oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in early October 2016, though my first suspect was at least 20 days earlier.
We had a visit with an oncologist a few days later. She prepared our plan of intervention and sent me and Lola to a clinic specialized in radiation therapies. Unfortunately I already knew that clinic, because my Lola had been a patient of theirs 5 years before for the first carcinoma she developed inside her nose. For the first carcinoma they gave me a life expectancy of 12 months post therapy. Lola was still absolutely fine 5 years later. So I was totally positive that we could have made it again with the SCC.
The doctors at the radiation therapy clinic were straight and sincere. There's no way to escape from an SCC. We could have just given Lola some weeks more to live. And it would have been expensive.
I didn't give up and agreed for the therapy, which was of 10 sessions of radiations, 2 each day for a week. Lola had to be put on an anesthesia twice a day for 5 days in a row. This was the riskiest part of all. Lola was past 16 yo when she went through this nightmare. She also had CKD and was recently diagnosed with a mild HCM. She survived, came back home and had to begin a chemo therapy course for 10 weeks.
At first, things were going very well. After the radiations, the oral mass was visibly reduced and she was even able to eat something on her own. This strengthened my feeling that we defied cancer one more time. Unfortunately 6-7 weeks later the situation was going worse and worse and during the past Christmas week I was sure Lola wouldn't have seen the new year. This was also the week for her last chemo injection.
It was the worst week of my life, I think I aged 10 years during that week.
Surprisingly Lola bounced back again, and she spent the whole month of January in rather good shape. It all went down quickly in the second week of February.
I want to save you the details. For me and Lola it was worse than hell for the following 6 weeks. Until she left me at the end of March, aged 16 years 10 months 2 weeks.
My health deteriorated a lot during those last three months, I totally neglected myself, I got older than my age. My heart broke, my body broke, my mind broke. I have never recovered from that experience.
Would I do that again? Yes, I would.
I learned a lesson from my Lola that I will never forget - fight till the end, whatever comes upon you. She fought hard, she never let go. She proved to be braver than me, stronger than me. Had I given up I would have failed her. I did whatever was possible and tried even the most unusual things, things that I haven't told anybody. I was full of hopes.
I kept a log of the last 6 weeks of this nightmare. I joined TCS too late, but I received an incredible support from everybody.
My threads on the subject:
Lola's fight with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (I'm going to say goodbye to my cat)
My Sweet Lola is at the Rainbow Bridge
https://thecatsite.com/threads/my-sweet-lola-is-at-the-rainbow-bridge.337103/
I very very sorry...
My Lola was FIV too, but we found it out only 11 months before she died.
Ardina
for mentioning me, I didn't know she knew my story.I'm deeply and terribly sorry for your Callie. I know what it does mean because last year this period I was crying over the fact that I felt my days with my sweet Lola were numbered.
She was officially diagnosed with an oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in early October 2016, though my first suspect was at least 20 days earlier.
We had a visit with an oncologist a few days later. She prepared our plan of intervention and sent me and Lola to a clinic specialized in radiation therapies. Unfortunately I already knew that clinic, because my Lola had been a patient of theirs 5 years before for the first carcinoma she developed inside her nose. For the first carcinoma they gave me a life expectancy of 12 months post therapy. Lola was still absolutely fine 5 years later. So I was totally positive that we could have made it again with the SCC.
The doctors at the radiation therapy clinic were straight and sincere. There's no way to escape from an SCC. We could have just given Lola some weeks more to live. And it would have been expensive.
I didn't give up and agreed for the therapy, which was of 10 sessions of radiations, 2 each day for a week. Lola had to be put on an anesthesia twice a day for 5 days in a row. This was the riskiest part of all. Lola was past 16 yo when she went through this nightmare. She also had CKD and was recently diagnosed with a mild HCM. She survived, came back home and had to begin a chemo therapy course for 10 weeks.
At first, things were going very well. After the radiations, the oral mass was visibly reduced and she was even able to eat something on her own. This strengthened my feeling that we defied cancer one more time. Unfortunately 6-7 weeks later the situation was going worse and worse and during the past Christmas week I was sure Lola wouldn't have seen the new year. This was also the week for her last chemo injection.
It was the worst week of my life, I think I aged 10 years during that week.
Surprisingly Lola bounced back again, and she spent the whole month of January in rather good shape. It all went down quickly in the second week of February.
I want to save you the details. For me and Lola it was worse than hell for the following 6 weeks. Until she left me at the end of March, aged 16 years 10 months 2 weeks.
My health deteriorated a lot during those last three months, I totally neglected myself, I got older than my age. My heart broke, my body broke, my mind broke. I have never recovered from that experience.
Would I do that again? Yes, I would.
I learned a lesson from my Lola that I will never forget - fight till the end, whatever comes upon you. She fought hard, she never let go. She proved to be braver than me, stronger than me. Had I given up I would have failed her. I did whatever was possible and tried even the most unusual things, things that I haven't told anybody. I was full of hopes.
I kept a log of the last 6 weeks of this nightmare. I joined TCS too late, but I received an incredible support from everybody.
My threads on the subject:
Lola's fight with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (I'm going to say goodbye to my cat)
My Sweet Lola is at the Rainbow Bridge
https://thecatsite.com/threads/my-sweet-lola-is-at-the-rainbow-bridge.337103/
I very very sorry...
My Lola was FIV too, but we found it out only 11 months before she died.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
We did get the radiologist report today... as feared it is osteosarcoma. The vet did not offer much hope but is going to conatct SEVO SEVO-Med Southeast Veterinary Oncology & Internal Medicine of North Florida which is about a mile away from us. We have been there before when our dog Holly developed primary lung cancer and one of our cats Neptune contracted a rare fungal disease. If anybody can do anything they can. Antonio65, thank you for your detailed log of Lola's battle. I hope you have found some comfort. It always takes me years to feel somewhat at peace when cancer takes a loved one. My wife and I will do everything we can for Callie. Please say a prayer for her.
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- #9
Our local vet contacted SEVO today and the sent the x-rays and aspirate and she said SEVO has some new medication for osteosarcoma. They want us to bring Callie in. Apparently it will consist of radiation and this new chemo drug. No details yet. Going to make the consolation appointment tomorrow.
I'd encourage you to also get as much info as possible from the oncologist - especially the name of this new drug/therapy and post it to the Yahoo group. There may be people there who are familiar/have experience with it - perhaps they'll have additional info for you.....or, perhaps, you'll be able to share something new for the benefit of someone else there.
I have to tell you - what you said about her having finally being able to enjoy life....well, that was really touching. Yes, I'll certainly be thinking of her.
You could always post a picture or two, you know
I have to tell you - what you said about her having finally being able to enjoy life....well, that was really touching. Yes, I'll certainly be thinking of her.
You could always post a picture or two, you know
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
White Shadow, we just got back from the oncologist. Turns out SEVO SEVO-Med Southeast Veterinary Oncology & Internal Medicine of North Florida partnered with PetCure Oncology which has 8 locations around the country. PetCure seems to be the one that spearheaded getting SRS (stereotactic-radiosurgery) History of Animal Cancer Treatment | PetCure Oncology for veterinary use. It turns out that SRS is really the only option for her since the cancer has invaded across the mid-section of the jaw bone so removal by surgery is not an option. Oncologist was confident this would help. In fact her biggest concern was that SRS would "melt" the tumor and there might not be enough good bone left for a functioning jaw. She said this would be an edge case but possible. But after looking at the CT scan they took later today, she was much relieved because there appears to be enough good bone left. Osteo generally does not metastasize and the CT scan did not show any cancer any where else. I believe she said the type of cancer Callie has, to her knowledge, has not been treated with SRS yet. But she has treated other cats with osteo in other areas using SRS with great success. The only issue is they cannot perform the treatment until Jan 3. Radiologist is being sent the CT scan and from there they decide if she needs 1 or 3 treatments of SRS. They either give 1 treatment at full power or 3 treatments at 1/3 power. All depends what the radiologist and computer model shows. If it is 3 they would be done consecutively. I will definitely post this to the yahoo group. I posted pictures of Callie. When we got her she had a broken and shortened tail and a cracked eye tooth.
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- #12
Wanted to add.. when I first called this morning the earliest they could see her was Jan 6th. I pulled my trump card and told the person on the phone that we were previous clients and that I had talked to Dr. LaDue a few times in her office when our dog Holly was going through lung cancer. I got a call about 1/2 hour later saying that we could bring her in at 1pm today which was Dr. LaDue's lunch hour. Thank you Dr. LaDue!!!!!!
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Well, I don't think there are any bases you haven't covered !
Waiting with hope..........and, thanks for the pix...she does look quite 'at home' !
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Waiting with hope..........and, thanks for the pix...she does look quite 'at home' !
.
I do hope that this innovative therapy is effective.
Too bad you have to wait two more weeks to have Callie treated. In these cases one would like to see their cat treated right now.
I'm following this thread with my heart!
Too bad you have to wait two more weeks to have Callie treated. In these cases one would like to see their cat treated right now.
I'm following this thread with my heart!
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- #15
I agree Antonio65. They were able to bump it up one day so it is now Jan 2nd. The official radiologist report came back and other than the jaw tumor she is cancer free. I am hopeful the price of this therapy comes down soon so more animals can benefit from it. The actual procedure will only take about 15 - 20 minutes. My guess is once the cost of the machines are fully recuperated then the price will be lowered.
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- #16
Had the SRS procedure done yesterday. Dropped Callie off at 11:30 am and picked her up at 1:45 pm. According to the oncologist things went well. Before the procedure they take another CT scan called a "Cone CT scan". This scan is overlayed on the original CT scan taken from 2 weeks ago. It's purpose is to account for any change in size or location of the tumor. The computer model called for one session at full strength. The oncologist told us of a dog with a jaw tumor that was treated 3 weeks ago at SEVO and already the tumor had begun breaking down and shrinking in size. When we got home Callie ate food and was playing. She had actually gained weight in the 2 weeks probably because my wife and I were off for the holidays and were making sure she ate as much as possible. They gave us an anti-inflammatory prescription because as the dead tumor cells begin being consumed by the body there will be some inflammation. Go back in 2 weeks for a checkup and an injection of a drug (forgot the name) that helps with bone regeneration.
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- #17
It is with great sadness that I report that Callie lost her battle with osteosarcoma. The SRT treatment worked for about five months and then the tumor began growing back. Must have been some cancer tissue missed. We thought about doing a 2nd dose, called a "boost" when we first saw the tumor progression beginning but decided against it because of the fear of causing radiation damage to her nasal area. But we did get seven good months before things started to get bad. Tried carboplatin, which is chemo 101 for osterosarcoma, but the tumor did not respond at all. Oncologist said that there is not a large amount of information on feline mandible osteosarcoma and that Callie was the first patient she knew of to receive SRT for mandible osteosarcoma. Oncologist said that Callie's report can be used to help future cats that may face this horrible disease. That made me feel good. One thing I would have done differently is after the SRT was done, wait a few months for full recovery, then hit the tumor with some chemotherapy, even if there did not appear to be any progression. Not wait until you see progression before trying it. I found out that is what they do for human patients. She tolerated the chemo very well.
Over the seven and one half months Callie had a good life full of play and affection. The bond between us grew greatly over this time. It was very difficult for us to let her go but we had to do what was right for her. She is healed now and waiting for us.
Over the seven and one half months Callie had a good life full of play and affection. The bond between us grew greatly over this time. It was very difficult for us to let her go but we had to do what was right for her. She is healed now and waiting for us.
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I'm so sorry to hear this. Callie was such a very lucky girl to have had such amazing custodians. In my line of work I see so many cats that don't have homes and don't see much kindness in their difficult lives. You gave Callie a home, food, safety and love, and that right there is so much more than many get. On top of that you gave her medical care that eased her pain and lengthened her days. You did everything you could for her and should have no regrets. I am so sorry for your loss.
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I am so very sorry for your loss of Callie! She was loved, and cared for, she will be missed until you meet again. None of us can ask for more than that! Sending you hugs 
I am so sorry to hear about Callie's death. I'm glad she had you to care for her during the last years of her life. You made her life secure, with a warm bed, plenty of food and nothing to fear ever. I'll light a candle for her this evening.
