official diagnosis: Feline diffuse iris melanoma

white shadow

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Hi there, I'm writing to let you know how helpful this post was for me. I have found out my cat has iris melanoma and they want to remove the eye. I have been having a hard time coping with that but after reading this you have made me realize what I need to do. I also need to know if it has spread. Also I am wondering how lovely ziggy is? I see this post was in 2007 I am wondering if he is still clear of any cancer?
Hi meemrose and welcome to the forum!

Yuna hasn't posted here since March 2011...............

You said that "They want to remove the eye......I do hope that a Veterinary Ophthalmologist has made that diagnosis, not simply a general practice Vet.

It's probably best for you to start a new thread here to tell your story and experience....instead of tacking it onto an old thread about a different cat.

That way, you'll be sure to focus everyone's attention on your kitty - less confusing, too.
 

rosieglow

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Dear

Your blog has almost certainly saved my cat, Bracken’s life.


I was concerned about a freckle on Bracken’s right eye which had grown bigger over the 5 years she’s been with me. You can just about see it in the picture. Researching on the net, I came across your blog. Bracken’s freckle was almost identical to Ziggy’s but not so pigmented around the edge of the eye.

I took Bracken straight to our local vet, who referred her to a vetinary opthalmist. After tests he told me that he couldn’t say whether there was a melanoma in the eye or not but he was worried because, along with the pigmentation, her pupil was slightly distorted.

The usual process here in the UK is to monitor the eye until there is an obvious rate of change, so they then know for sure it is melanoma, and then perform an enucleation (remove the eye) before the cancer can spread. I decided (the vet left the decision with me) to have Bracken’s eye removed straight away. Very very hard decision for every reason you can think of but so very glad now that I took this route.

The results from pathology of Bracken’s eye have just come back and her eye did have a melanoma. The opthalmist who performed the operation thinks we may have caught it early enough for the cancer not to have spread. He had found no traces in her lungs, having performed an X-ray to check before making the operation. Only time will tell on that one but 6 days after the op. she’s looking fine, bouncing around and eating loads.

For anyone reading this who has noticed any  unusual pigmentation in your cat’s eye, I reinforce Yuna’s message. Like Ziggy and Bracken – it could save your cat’s life.  

EndFragment
 

panna

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One of my lovely cats has a dark red rim around one of her eyes, I'm grateful that you haven't written about Bracken with a picture as my cats eye looks very similar - we are going to the vet tomorrow - thanks
 
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