Nose probs

[beckiboo]

Oh, that is just wonderful! A diagnosis without any painful tests! YAY! Now to increase the drinking...I think I heard that putting a few stones in the water bowl can help.

I'm so glad that vet recognized what is happening on Pebbles' nose!

 

[booktigger]

It is, I am so pleased. Her temp and lungs are also fine, so no explanation for the dehydration or third eyelid being up, but I am just assuming now that she is just a sickly looking cat - she tested clear for FIV and FeLV, and has had 2 clear blood test results, so other than doing 6 - 12 monthly blood tests and 6 monthly weigh ins, there is nothing more they can do. She is the heaviest she has ever been, and her fur is nice and shiny, so I am happy. Meant to buy some coloured stones for that, but forgot. When she is eating dry food, she does drink a lot of water.

 

[booktigger]

She has been to see the vet again this morning, as the one that had cleared up has come back, and the scabs are still pre cancerous, but the fact that one has come back has made the vet mention cryotherapy (either that or it was just to pacify me). Apparently it is just one 10 min session once a week, and seh thinks she will just need 3 or 4 sessions. She claims it isn't painful and they don't need to sedate the cat, I don't envy the vets trying it with her!! They are going to try and freeze the scabs on the tip of her nose, but it doesn't always work there, so we will just have to see with that. I did forget to ask how long the effects would last. She can go to the branch I normally use, so I have to ring them on Mon to make an app. Fortunately I have at least one day off every week for the next three weeks, so will hopefully start it this week. She has also lost a bit of weight, so I think I am going to put her back on monthly weigh ins.

 

[beckiboo]

I know its not the same, but about 11 years ago I had cryosurgery following an abnormal PAP smear. I have had several abnormals since, but most years my PAP comes back normal. I think cryo is a great therapy!

Feel better soon, Pebbles. You are in good hands...and fortunate to have such an observant hooman.

 

[booktigger]

I have been told from someone else that it could be quite painful for her, and asking me to research it before deciding. so I am a bit confused, and can't find an awful lot about it, and not really anything about what it entails. This is the only bit I have found so far, and not really sur how I feel with the prognosis

Cryotherapy has been recommended as a treatment for SCC of the face in cats. In one study, however, this modality was considerably less effective than either surgery or radiation therapy in achieving local tumor control(a). Eleven of 15 cats had local tumor recurrence within a median of 6 months after cryotherapy. We recently completed a study involving 87 cats with squamous cell carcinomas of the head that were treated with cryotherapy. The median disease free interval was 14 months. Cats that had lesion less than 1 cm in diameter had a much higher probability of having tumors controlled than those with larger tumors. Therefore, we recommend that tumors that are larger than 1 cm in diameter be treated with other procedures other than cryothetherapy.

I don't know about under 1cm, but the vet said it was early stages, so she felt at least one would respond quite well. And I did read that there is stil a chance of it occuring in other places, so I would still have to continue with teh suncream, and it recommended keeping them out of the sun between 12 and 3.

Just found another study that says it is only 70% effective in noses, although nearly 100% in ears.

So, not sure whether to put her through it, as they are only pre cancerous, and maybe with suncream and keeping her out of the sun at certain times, it may never develop further.