Leo a 12 year old silver tabby diagnosed with Nasal Lymphoma needs treatment advise

[joseph griffin]

USA expats living in Singapore.  Price of Chemo treatments here at $18,000 SD at home they would be $15,000 USD.  Either way expensive.  Leo has great blood work and a healthy weight of 14 lbs.  He is very active.  The tumor was located in only one nostril.  Most of it was removed when the biopsy was taken.

Vet recommended weekly chemo treatments for one year.  It goes into remission but then comes back.  That would mean a second round but the cancer will win in the end.

Friends that I have spoken to that have done the chemo have mixed feelings.  Most said if they had to do it over again they would opt for Steriods and interferon.  One friend in particular had the cancer reoccur in her 3 year old.  Rather than a second round of Chemo she is going with the steriod and interferon option.  SHE IS FEELING QUALITY OF TIME OVER QUANTITY.  She said to me that if she had a cat 12 years old she would have to think really hard about even doing the first round of chemo.  She would opt for Steriod and interferon.

The first go round the chemo did not make her sick per say.  She became very tramatised by all the injections, doctor office visits and the feel of the potent chemo going into her body.  It became very difficult for the cat to handle the treatments.  On the other hand she is tolerating the at home steriod and interferon treatment well.  She is happy healthy and good weight 4 months out.  The vet had told them she would only live 2 months.

I have heard several similar stories from feline owners of dire consequences of less than 2 months if they do not do Chemo.  All the felines seemed to outlast the expiration date that the vets implied should be on their paws.

My conference visit with the vet is in a few days on July 29th.  Any share experiences out there?

I really want quality life for my furkin before he crosses the bridge.  Not the sense we made his life hell before he crossed over.

Thanks

Joe and Anthony

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm sorry to hear that Leo has Nasal Lymphoma, and surprised that you have friends who have cats with the same thing.  I thought that was pretty rare.  I know of only one cat here on TCS that was diagnosed with it, and am not sure that they ended up doing anything, as from diagnosis to end of life was very quick for THAT cat

. (don't know ANY of the circumstances)

We have had a couple of cats with Nasal Polyps, but even those are few and far between.  But maybe someone new will pop up, or someone old.

I totally agree with the Quality of Life vs Quantity of Life.  Best of luck to you and Leo

 

[whatever]

Hi!

My beautiful Mia crossed that Rainbow bridge a few months ago now.   She had just turned 13.   She had polyps or lymphoma and I watched her suffer thinking at first it was just a URI and treated that but then she started with nosebleeds, weakness and breathing issues too.  She lost over 4 pounds.   It was the hardest thing to take her to be euthanized but even harder to prod, poke and make her more unhappy as she was really bad with people other than myself and just the trips to the vet were hell for her.    Again, we all have to make our choices on what we think is best for the darlings we love so much.   I just know I did what was right for my Mia.

 

[zen warrior]

I currently have a cat with nasal lymphoma. She was diagnosed in December 2013. She went into full remission 1 month later in January 2014. She will be 10 years old Feb 2016 and is doing marvelous. Contrary to what people are saying , nasal lymphoma is not rare in cats and if one must have a cancer, lymphoma is the best one to have. There are 3 different types of lymphoma and nasal has the highest success rate. This is my second pet with lymphoma so I am extraordinarily smarter and sharper this time around. We did radiation, chemo and major nutritional supplements. My cat developed the expected cataracts from radiation and was completely blind ( as expected) for 3 months. I researched and did both nutrition based on an arginine diet and later a L Lysine diet and brought her to a top ophthalmologist who charted her progess. It's been exactly 1 year and her cataracts fully reabsorbed. No surgery! This is the first cat in my ophthalmologist's practice to do this. She can see clearly out of both eyes. Where are you in the chemo protocol? Are you looking for help?

 

[joseph griffin]

Advice like this is hard to come by. We tried everything we could but on December 19th 2015 we lost our beloved Leo of 12 years to the cancer. We also know a shelter who went the chemo and radiation treatment for their 3 year old female. After a year of treatments she went into remission. She stayed that way for 8 months and the cancer returned. She is now finding her way to the rainbow bridge.

We are very happy that you have had success. Each cat is different. Please share your story as much as you can. I would have loved to find this kind of information much earlier as it might have made a difference.

 

[ruthm]

Advice like this is hard to come by. We tried everything we could but on December 19th 2015 we lost our beloved Leo of 12 years to the cancer. We also know a shelter who went the chemo and radiation treatment for their 3 year old female. After a year of treatments she went into remission. She stayed that way for 8 months and the cancer returned. She is now finding her way to the rainbow bridge.

We are very happy that you have had success. Each cat is different. Please share your story as much as you can. I would have loved to find this kind of information much earlier as it might have made a difference.

I am so sorry for your loss. No matter their age, there is just never enough time with our precious furbabies :-(

Fly Free Leo, and land softly- you were so loved.

 

[donutte]

I'm so sorry for your loss That is always so rough.

 

[berniejohnston]

Hello,

I too , have a 15 yrs .male just diagnosed w/nasal lymphoma. Would you be willing to share as much medical choices and treatments that you chose? This sad diagnosis is one that I would like to have some comparisons and feedback for.

Meowy Thanks,

Bernadette Johnston

 

[cat-tech]

berniejohnston,

This really depends, is it a diffuse form of lymphoma?  These tend to be rapidly progressive, and invade vital nasal tissues, bone structure and essentially, a great deal of the nasal passageway.  The biopsy should have stated the grade of the lymphoma, and it's characteristics for invasiveness.

There are a few options one can approach with either types of nasal lymphoma, depending on the grade - conservative care which would include steroids (prednisolone) and any palliative meds to alleviate discomfort;  chemo therapy alone; or radiation therapy with or without chemo.  The risk with radiation therapy is the potential for lesions or ulcerations in the nasal and oral areas where radiation targets, which can be quite painful during recovery, but otherwise, it might be a good choice and has been reported to offer remission rates perhaps better than chemo alone.

It is difficult to predict survival times for any cat with nasal lymphoma with or without treatment.  Every case is an individual, the oncologist is ultimately the one to help answer your questions based on your kitty's biopsy results, his overall health status, and the oncologist's experience in treating other cases like these.

Please speak with your oncologist in depth, he/she can help you make an informed choice that is best for your kitty.  (((HUGS)))