Tiger's Home! 'The butter incident!'

[Emeraldgreen]

Hi guys, well here's the scoop. I have been on the phone and emailing back and forth with my vet and the hospital staff and we finally came to a decision.
A few days ago I spoke with the clinic and they told me that they had heard of a tool called the Cryo Pen and they were going to see if they could get it shipped to Canada. During that time I looked into it on the internet and found a company in Florida that makes a similar device called the Cryoprobe. I called them for more info and the woman on the phone told me that one of the company's owners was a retired veterinarian and she had him call me. He was very helpful and after hearing Tiger's whole story he said that the cryoprobe would not work well going in through the nose because the vet wouldn't be able to see clearly enough and Tiger's nasal turbinates could be damaged. He said that if the vet went through Tiger's palate which was the plan anyway, he might as well just remove the tumor in it's entirety and skip the cryosurgery. I was really surprised to hear him say this since this guy sells these instruments. But he said that removing the tumor should be sufficient enough.
It was going to take about 2 weeks for my clinic to get the Cryoprobe in and Tiger isn't doing that well and I have to do something now. So, I'm keeping the St. Patty's appointment and instead of removing 'part' of the tumor through his nose just as they have two times before, they are instead going to split his palate and remove as much of the tumor as they can, hopefully all of it. This will be a big deal so I'm really nervous but if it's successful, it should buy him much more time than the 2 months that the last surgery gave him.
My vet said that it was going to be painful but doing cryosurgery in conjunction with removing the tumor would be even more painful. They will be keeping him overnight and possibly two days to make sure they have lots of pain meds on board for him. I'm going to ask them to give him the Convenia antibiotic injection so I don't have to try and pill him or sneak meds into his food. My biggest mission is going to be to get him eating after this thing. I'm so relieved that we are going to do more than the 'debulking' of the tumor but actual tumor removal itself. I'm praying this gives him many months with us.

[Catty1]

{{{{HUGS}}}} My mom and I have been in your shoes. I really hope this gives Tiger much more time with you - and with some of the preventatives you have on hand, you have a chance of being able to work against a recurrence.

I think there is an amino acid - lysine? Arginine? that is supposed to help as well.

He will need pain meds...my mom's cat was on a pain patch - Phentonol or something? - and her cat didn't bother it.

Maybe the patch would work for the pain; I wonder if antbiotics can be compounded?

Deep and heartfelt prayers going out to all, and especially to Tiger!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update and I sure hope that his surgery will go smoothly and that he'll heal up quickly. He continues to remain in my thoughts and prayers.

[Catty1]

I get my cats' omega oil in pump form from my vet. It's made by Bioniche.

Main page is www.bionicheanimalhealth.com, then you find the tab for Products and select Companion Animals.

I found this....

http://www.bionicheanimalhealth.com/...tientTypeID=12

Here is the fact sheet on this drug: http://www.bionicheanimalhealth.com/...ct%20Sheet.pdf

See if your vet knows about Regressin.

This works in combination with surgery...and if you want to try it and it is mucho dinero, PLEASE let us help you with it.

hugs

[Medusa]

We'll keep the prayers going and the candles burning for sweet Tiger and you. Keep the faith that he'll come through this easily and w/minimal or no pain.

[Catlady711]

I hope removing the whole tumor gives much more relief than in the past. I know this surgery is going to be more invasive, but hopefully it will take care of the problem for a very long time.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks for the info about the Regressin Catty1. I checked it out and learned more about it. It says that if the Regressin is to be used in conjunction with surgery that it should be given 2 weeks prior to the surgery and then up to 3 times after the surgery. We don't have the time (or I should say, Tiger doesn't have the time) to postpone this surgery so we can't opt for this. Also, the remaining injections would need to be given at the tumor site which would require the specialized endoscopic equipment that my vet has but it is quite the ordeal getting Tiger sent over there by car and then by plane and would be expensive above and beyond the cost of the drug itself. There is also some information in there that stated that it is not effective on all types of tumors but it didn't go into detail with regard to which tumors. The S.C.C. tumor is the most aggressive with the poorest outcome and it's my guess that this is probably one of the tumors that it may not work well with.
I wonder if there is a similar drug that could be given post op without having to go directly into the tumor site itself. That way my local vet could order it and give the injections herself without the aid of endoscopic equipment.

But, I'm definitely going to use a multi faceted and aggressive approach to treating him once the tumor has been removed and I feel really hopeful that he will have some time with us. I will be using the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory suspension (Piroxicam) that also has the cancer fighting and tumor inhibiting properties to it every 48 hours and I will continue using the L-arginine and look into the Lysine. I didn't know about this one for cancer and will check it out. I also found some info today about red clover and something called p'au d'arco which is supposed to be helpful. I will also request a pain patch when I speak with them on Monday.
He's quite lethargic these passed two days so I've been telling him to hang on, help is on the way. Thanks again for your research on this and all your help. And thanks everybody for your well wishes for Tiggy. I'll post an update on Monday when I call in the hospital in the afternoon to check on him.

[Catty1]

OH dear...I didn't know Regressin was so fussy of a drug! IF - IF your vet has heard of it and has used it, he might think of a way it could still be used, perhaps in conjunction with everything else you will do.

I can see it needing to be in the system prior to surgery...but two weeks? WOW.

I wish they could just squirt it on the area!

Found this recommended use of Regressin in urinary cancer in cats:

EXAMPLE 11

Hyaluronic Acid Treatment of Malignancy Associated Cystitis

Patients with cystitis associated with a malignancy of the urinary bladder and associated structures receive intravesical instillation of hyaluronic acid having an average molecular weight of 6.5×105 Daltons in an amount effective to treat the cystitis and containing an amount of the anticancer immunotherapeutic agent mycobacterial cell wall extract preparation (Regressin™, Vetrepharm, Inc., London, Ontario, Canada) effective to treat the malignancy. Outcome criteria include improvement of symptoms based on decreases in pre-therapy symptoms and regression in the malignancy as indicated by urinary cytology.

Fifty ml of normal saline (USP) containing 40 mg of hyaluronic acid having an average molecular weight of 6.5×105 Daltons and 4 mg of the anticancer immunotherapeutic agent mycobacterial cell wall (Regressin™) is instilled into the urinary bladder under aseptic conditions using a urethral catheter. The catheter is removed and the hyaluronic acid-mycobacterial cell wall solution is maintained in the urinary bladder for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The treatment is repeated as needed. After treatment, there is a marked improvement in pre-therapy symptoms and urinary cytological examination is negative for cancerous and precancerous cells. No adverse side effects of the treatment are reported.

http://www.allanimalsexoticorsmall.c...ncerPage4.html
(Written in 1992)

"Regressin (October, 1984) is an emulsion of mycobacterial cell walls which have been modified to reduce their toxic and allergic effects, and retain their antitumor activity...88% effective for immunotherapy of mixed mammary tumors and mammary adenocarcinomas of dogs." Injected directly into the tumor. The tumor dies and drains. Other tumors typically regress even though not injected. i.e. Same principle as homeopathy and nosodes.

I'll shut up after this...this site is not too over-the-top, but it might be a product for you to research and consider.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/tf.htm

Two testimonials - and they have email addresses, so what the heck.
Cat cured of squamous cell tumor

Feline Tumor Gone!

"My cat Bodger, who is now16, has been taking the Transfer Factors Advanced Plus. Now, nearly 18 months later I've taken him back to the vet practice for a check up. He still has some discharge from the right side, but no blood and is generally in good health. I saw a different vet this time and he told me there was no way my cat had a nasal tumor of the type diagnosed back in August 2004, because if he had, he'd be dead due to the agressive nature of these type of tumor! He reckons he has sinusitus, due to the previous nasal damage as a kitten, which I always knew he had, but definitely NO TUMOR! So, what can I say but a fantastic result. You are very welcome to include this on your website if it will help others to help their pets. Incidentaly, the vet took all the information on Transfer Factors and was really interested having seen Bodger today." Judith Sexton torteval2 @ hotmail.com

Feline squamous cell tumor in remission
From Bethany in Texas email: fingerpaint<at>gmail.com

A year and a half ago, my cat was diagnosed with a squamous cell tumor. The doctor told me that given the location of this tumor and the aggressive nature of it, there really was nothing I could do. He told me to bring her back for weekly steroid shots and keep her comfortable until she died, which he said would most likely be within a month. She did nothing but lay around. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't play, wouldn't respond to affection. I did as he said, for one week. And then I decided I wasn't going to accept "there's nothing you can do" as an answer. I got on the internet. I googled furiously. What I found, was your site, and Transfer Factor.

I started her out on two (Transfer Factor Advanced Plus) pills a day, and within a week, she was back to her normal energy level. Within a month, she'd stopped clawing at her face. After three months, I went down to one pill a day, and that's where we are now, a year and a half later. She won't be fooled by putting the contents in her food, so I've used her fastidious nature against her: I mix the TF with a pinch of butter and put the mixture on her paws. She hates it, and licks it off immediately. She's learned to live with this daily ritual for the most part, but she still gets this "Oh mom, not AGAIN" look on her face. She's responded so wonderfully. It's like she's a kitten again, playing with her yarn and rubbing against my face. I look at her every day and am simply amazed, that the veterinian was going to be content with steroids until the poor thing finally died.

I recommended the Transfer Factor to my neighbor, whose 11 year old dog was diagnosed with bone cancer and given less than three months to live. That was a year ago - the dog is doing fine!

http://wellnesscafe.my4life.com/prod...?id1=1&id2=895

[Emeraldgreen]

The Tranferfactor sounds very promising! I will order some and begin giving it to him once his appetite is back. Hopefully he will have that back in a week or so. Thank you for letting me know about it Catty1. . It's affordable too which is awesome!

[Catty1]

Hi, EG - I am sure you could email those two cat owners and see if a) the addresses are still current, and b) about getting details and how the cats are doing now, etc.

Thanks for being so gracious...I really went on overload there for Tiger baby! But you are doing everything you can for him. :-)

Hey - if the TFs turn out to really work - your vet would be thrilled!

[Emeraldgreen]

Wow has this been a long day. Tiger made it through the surgery!!!!
My husband and I got up at 4:30 to get everything ready, including ourselves and then headed out on the first ferry at 6:15. Drove for 2 hours with Tiger meowling the whole time. Poor guy. My husband had to drive like Mario Andretti to get us to the float plane on time. The flight was at 8:15 and by 8:10 we were a minute or so away. I called them and asked them to hold the plane and we got there with one minute to spare. Way too stressful!!!
We watched the plane take off and I was in a bit of a panic. Took me hours to calm down.
They ended up doing his surgery around 1:30 so we could have put him on a later flight. But, at least it was finally happening. My vet called me about an hour ago and said it was a long surgery and Tiger was under anesthesia for quite some time. He said that they cut through the soft palate and removed as much of the tumor as they could see. He said they removed about 6 times more than the first two times, in all, about half the size of a ping pong ball. He said that it was growing in two directions, towards the sinuses and down towards the throat, which would explain why he was starting to choke a bit on food and stuff in the last few weeks.
My vet warned me that there may be some blood coming from Tiger's nose over the next few days to a week. He said that Tiger started hemorraging a couple of times during the surgery because of all the blood vessels in the area that were being cut in the process of the tumor removal but that they managed to get it under control each time. That scared me!
He said that it was a really complicated surgery and asked me if I knew what a big deal it was. I told him I did and that I'd been praying alot!
I also think that was his way of prepping me for the bill, which I don't have yet.
The biggest hurdle right now is going to be the swelling that Tiger is going to have to contend with from the surgery. My vet said that it might become so bad that he will have to breathe through his mouth. That is going to be so difficult for him but I'm praying that each day it gets a little better. He wants me to keep him on the pred for the swelling and he thought Piroxicam was a waste of time. He also said I couldn't mix it with the pred. He said that there was no real evidence that it had much of an effect on Squamous Cell Carcinoma and that it can cause ulcers in the stomach. So, I'm ordering the Transfer Factor a.s.a.p. and will begin mixing that in with his food once he's eating without struggling. I will wean him off the prednisone over the next few weeks.
My vet is sending home some painreliever that just involves putting one drop in his mouth so that won't be too hard to administer.
He didn't know how much time this might give Tiger because he said that this kind of cancer gets 'angry' when you mess with it. He said each time you resect it, it seems to come back stronger and more aggressive so it will be a wait and see thing. But, I'm not waiting, I'm going to attack this thing with the Transfer Factor and the L-Arginine and anything else that is safe. (thanks Catty1!)
In the meantime, he is staying the night at the vet and I have to call them tomorrow to make sure he is well enough to travel back home. Hopefully all will go well and Tiggys will be home with us by tomorrow night around 7:00.
Please pray that he will be able to get through the worst of this swelling and be able to breath okay. Thank you so much!!!

[Medusa]

You're right, it was a long day. Poor sweet little Tiger. I'll be sure to say an extra special prayer for our boy tonight and always until this thing stops giving him so much grief. No swelling. No swelling. No swelling.

[Freedom]

Oh my, what a lot for one we cat to get through! Healing prayers for Tiger from RI.

[jennielynn1970]

Goodness... Tiger has been through so much, I really hope he comes out of this ok and it will not come back quickly or at all.

Big thoughts and prayers going out to you, Tiger and your family!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that Tiger's surgery went well and I hope that he'll make a quick recovery. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.