Radiation cancer therapy worth it? Side Effects?

[iPappy]

Thank you.
He demanded 90minutes straight on my lap getting neck scratches, not weird for him.

The other four cats, inversely, are acting very weird for the past few days.

90 minutes! That's a wonderful amount of time and I'm so glad he's demanding those neck scratches
The other cats may sense your stress and your worry and aren't sure what's going on. Are they avoiding either you or Luke?

 

[syzygycat]

..The other cats may sense your stress and your worry and aren't sure what's going on. Are they avoiding either you or Luke?

Cats ages 14yr,13yr(Luke),10yr,4yr,and 20mo.

They all have very reliable idiosyncrasies. None of them are behaving like the cats I know. The 14 y/o has stopped howling at sunrise. The kitten is not following Luke around. None of them are hanging out in the bedroom. The 10yr old is nowhere to be seen hes normally hyperactive running up and down the stars all day.
The 4y/o is being the most unusual of all. She had emotional issues when we got her, took months of work to get her comfortable. Since then, she usually sits 10feet away and stares at me constantly like my personal gargoyle. She stands outside the door when I use the bathroom. She Climbs on top of me every single night (shed wait for me to be asleep the 1st year, then when we turn out the lights. Luke usually sleeps with us, she always does. I've barely seen her all week. Luke hid under the bed when we were going to sleep last night, It's the 1st time in 6 days the 4y/o crawled in to bed. By morning Luke had come back on the bed and the 4y/o was gone.

 

[iPappy]

Do you think they know something isn't right with Luke? He also might smell differently from the vet and his treatment, making them wary of him.

 

[syzygycat]

Do you think they know something isn't right with Luke? He also might smell differently from the vet and his treatment, making them wary of him.

I don't honestly know why but could be a lot of things.
He demands everyone pet him, so aside from the potential medical smells. Hes ben vigorously pet and held by a dozen nurses & vet staff has their scent all over him. 20 years of working in a chem. Labs desensitized me to odors but even I can get a hint of a few different purfumes on him.
Also, It used to take 10min to prep each of their 4 meals, in the basement kitchen. They'd wait as I stir and distribute the bowls. Now it takes 90min per meal with all the blending, grinding, straining multiple food options for Luke and he gets fed depending . If cats think like human children it'd invoke frustration and jealousy.
Then again, I haven't been acting sad and manically attentive/dotingm Im definitely stressing out my and worrying my wife probaby freaking out the cats too.

 

[syzygycat]

UPDATE: Luke survived all his radiation treatments. Still minimal side effects. Tumor has a delayed response to radiation. Hadnt changed day off treatment 3. Has shrank 3-6% by treatment 4.
Food prep and feeding him is a full time job but we managed to keep him eating without a feeding tube. His weight was at an all time adult low 29days ago (11.8lbs). He's now at 12.6.. the same weight gain rate of a 3-9mo old kitten.

At least for today he's doing great. Things turn bad at anytime and could be fast or slow, no guarantees how long he'll last but the oncologist is optimistic he'll be ok for at least 2 weeks. As long as he doesn't take a turn we follow up in 4 weeks. It's extremely unlikely for him to last 6mos. But if he does he can do another round of radiation then.

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

I am so sorry. My cat( the one in my avatar) did not have cancer, but was on the same drugs for immune mediated hemolytic anemia. Very difficult to treat in cats. We tried everything , he did not tolerate anything well. Prednisolone, Cancer meds and finally a blood transfusion. We were SOL in 3 months.I had to end it for him because his quality of life was gone. I know they have some success with certain cancers but not others. Whatever, you decide to do I wish the best.

 

[syzygycat]

I am so sorry. My cat( the one in my avatar) did not have cancer, but was on the same drugs for immune mediated hemolytic anemia. Very difficult to treat in cats. We tried everything , he did not tolerate anything well. Prednisolone, Cancer meds and finally a blood transfusion. We were SOL in 3 months.I had to end it for him because his quality of life was gone. I know they have some success with certain cancers but not others. Whatever, you decide to do I wish the best.

We were in tears for weeks when we got the news and full of worry when we started the radiation, but the shock has worn down.
We have to give him daily oral prednisolone, which makes him very congested, he drools his little nose whistles for hours after taking pred. And he can only eat soft mushy food. But in every other way he is back to being the same cat he was before getting sick. Even his mischievous behaviors are back he tries eat anything I eat, back to stealing bread and chips off unattended plates and running under the bed with it (so we can't take it away). He had claimed 3 of our 11 litter boxes as his, for the past few months he stopped caring about who uses which litter boxes but now he's back to peeing on his litter boxes if another cat used it.
We accepted that he is going to get sicker and sicker and have to be put down. So all of this extra time with him, and him actually himself for now is a huge win. It very unlikely but not impossible for him to last another 6mos.

Honestly the biggest fear now is if the cancer returns so aggressively that we have to euthanize him while he's not acting sick. it's one thing to euthanize a pet when he/she's too weak to move,a nightmare to have to do it to a pet full of energy and trying to flee.

My in-law's had to go through that with their dog. Had tumor removed a year earlier, looked fine on a friday, had a 1cm lump on her head saturday night (went to the 24hr clinic) by the time the MRI was available that Monday the lump was 4cm. It was rapidly spreading in her stem, she had 4days max. But the neuroglial symptoms would cripple her much sooner, the humane thing would be to euthanize the next morning. She had a limp and trouble opening one eye that morning but was still eating, running, playing and since she went to the vet twice in the past 3 days she was weary of getting in the car again. Tried to flee, hide, resist every step of that final visit. I can't even imagine what that was like for them.

We already found a service that, when the time comes. will come and do it at our home for $800.
It would be unbearable to have to chase after him to euthanize. It's weird to think this but hopefully he stop eating and gets lethargic first before the pain starts and euthanizing is necessary .

 

[IzzysfureverMom]

We were in tears for weeks when we got the news and full of worry when we started the radiation, but the shock has worn down.
We have to give him daily oral prednisolone, which makes him very congested, he drools his little nose whistles for hours after taking pred. And he can only eat soft mushy food. But in every other way he is back to being the same cat he was before getting sick. Even his mischievous behaviors are back he tries eat anything I eat, back to stealing bread and chips off unattended plates and running under the bed with it (so we can't take it away). He had claimed 3 of our 11 litter boxes as his, for the past few months he stopped caring about who uses which litter boxes but now he's back to peeing on his litter boxes if another cat used it.
We accepted that he is going to get sicker and sicker and have to be put down. So all of this extra time with him, and him actually himself for now is a huge win. It very unlikely but not impossible for him to last another 6mos.

Honestly the biggest fear now is if the cancer returns so aggressively that we have to euthanize him while he's not acting sick. it's one thing to euthanize a pet when he/she's too weak to move,a nightmare to have to do it to a pet full of energy and trying to flee.

My in-law's had to go through that with their dog. Had tumor removed a year earlier, looked fine on a friday, had a 1cm lump on her head saturday night (went to the 24hr clinic) by the time the MRI was available that Monday the lump was 4cm. It was rapidly spreading in her stem, she had 4days max. But the neuroglial symptoms would cripple her much sooner, the humane thing would be to euthanize the next morning. She had a limp and trouble opening one eye that morning but was still eating, running, playing and since she went to the vet twice in the past 3 days she was weary of getting in the car again. Tried to flee, hide, resist every step of that final visit. I can't even imagine what that was like for them.

We already found a service that, when the time comes. will come and do it at our home for $800.
It would be unbearable to have to chase after him to euthanize. It's weird to think this but hopefully he stop eating and gets lethargic first before the pain starts and euthanizing is necessary .

I wish you all the best in the coming days. It is the hardest part of loving them.But I would to it all over again. Of coarse when I got Valentino I said to him that I hope we would be together for a long time. I jinxed myself. He was only ten when we lost him. He was my cat soulmate.You will be in my thoughts in the coming days.

 

[fionasmom]

Try to focus on the fact that you are doing everything which is humanely possible for him and it seems as if you are getting some results which will give him more time.

Having a service selected is very forward thinking and will prevent that final trip to the vet's. Often a very sick animal will sometimes "perk up" at the vet's only because there is something new and momentarily interesting which makes everything much harder even if you know that what you are doing is right.

Honestly the biggest fear now is if the cancer returns so aggressively that we have to euthanize him while he's not acting sick.

If this were to happen, you have to make yourself understand that any display of energy does not negate the fact that the condition has reached a critical stage.