Angel Poppy - was My Poppy has cancer

[cats4ever]

Just a thought: Is chemo therapy an option?

[phesina]

She wasn't acting as if she was feeling poorly until Tuesday last week, when she didn't eat all her dinner, even after I'd arranged it the way she liked several times. (There's a whole story there.) Then last Wednesday evening she left about half of it. Thursday I called the regular vet, just to have her checked out. I had no idea something serious might be going on.

They didn't have any open appointments until this Tuesday (yesterday) but advised me not to wait, to take her to the emergency vets and have this checked out now. So off we went to the emergency vets, and.. after a couple of x-rays and blood work.. and then an ultrasound.. that's when the news came out.

We came home with a steroid suspension for me to give her some every day.. and an appetite stimulant pill.. and a can of A/D which supposedly is meant for cats to like. Well, she didn't like that, didn't like anything I offered her that evening. She's been eating better since then, so I think (hope) she was just unwinding from all the stuff that day, the blood work and x-rays and ultrasound AND an enema and then some sub-Q fluids, and then that evening a squirt of the steroid.

The next day (last Friday), I went shopping at Petco and Kroger, buying all kinds of kitty junk food, Fancy Feast and Friskies and Meow Mix and store brands and such, that I hoped she might find yummy-licious. No need for the organic, grain-free, gluten-free, yada-yada, stuff at this point... She gobbled up her Friskies Chicken & Tuna Pate Dinner that evening, and she's been eating fine since. Tonight she got some tasty Trader Joe's Ocean Fish, Salmon & Rice Dinner, which she ate right up.

I gave her an appetite stimulant pill the first night but haven't needed to since then. She's getting her steroid suspension squirts each evening.

She moves around just fine when she feels like moving around, and she jumps up on my bed with no trouble. And she loves it, as she has been, when I lean down and rest my head along her side and pet her and breathe some warm air into her fur... she purrrs away!

So we're hanging in there!..

[phesina]

Just a thought: Is chemo therapy an option?

Thanks, Heidi. Both vets (emergency and regular) and I talked about that. It's not an option for her, I guess with this kind of cancer. She'd need to come to the hospital every week and stay for several hours while she's hooked up and stuff is shot into her. It might give her a little more time but not much, and a lot of the time she would be miserable. So we're going with the steroids and keeping her as comfortable and happy as can be.

[Randi]

I'm glad she gobbled up her Friskies Chicken & Tuna Pate Dinner and the Trader Joe's Ocean Fish, Salmon & Rice Dinner, too. Also good that she moves around and wants to jump on your bed.

I hope she will have some more quality with you and Sparkler. Please give her lots of kisses for me.

Sending big ((((hugs)))) to you.

[phesina]

Thank you, Randi. Kisses delivered!

[cats4ever]

I'm glad that Poppy is eating her "junk food", and that she seems to be feeling ok.
According to Willa's vet, her lifelong IBD had probably turned into intestinal lymphoma. Under this presumption ( she never had a biopsy done to prove that), her vet put her on the chemo drug Chlorambucil. It's not delivered by IV, but is an oral chemo drug, and it was compounded into a seafood flavored treat, which Willa gobbled right up.
Like you, I would have never done weekly IV drugs, she would not have tolerated that.
It resolved her diarrhea, and it gave her an additional 7 month of good quality life.

[phesina]

Thanks, Heidi, that's good to know. I'm glad it worked so well with Willa. I think I'll ask Poppy's vet about Chlorambucil, if he knows about it and if it might be suitable for Poppy or not.

[cassiesmom]

Please give her lots of kisses for me.

Sending big ((((hugs)))) to you.

For me too, please! And I am sending more hugs!

[phesina]

Thank you, Elyse, for the hugs and kisses, from Poppy and me (Sparkler, too)!

[phesina]

I'm glad that Poppy is eating her "junk food", and that she seems to be feeling ok.
According to Willa's vet, her lifelong IBD had probably turned into intestinal lymphoma. Under this presumption ( she never had a biopsy done to prove that), her vet put her on the chemo drug Chlorambucil. It's not delivered by IV, but is an oral chemo drug, and it was compounded into a seafood flavored treat, which Willa gobbled right up.
Like you, I would have never done weekly IV drugs, she would not have tolerated that.
It resolved her diarrhea, and it gave her an additional 7 month of good quality life.

Thank you, Heidi. Last evening I spoke with the emergency vet about Chlorambucil. She said she did not think it was appropriate for Poppy's disease. If it looked like intestinal lymphoma, she would have prescribed it, which she has done for many animals, but this looks like something else, and she doesn't think the Chlorambucil would help. She told me the ultrasound vet said the intestines look clean. Also, Poppy doesn't have diarrhea. The ER vet said she'd prescribe it if I really want her to, but if Poppy were her cat, she wouldn't use it. I will talk with the regular vets next week and see what they think. (A bit tricky right now: the one who'd been seeing Poppy left the practice recently to move to Colorado; she wanted to live near the mountains. And the one who looked over her records after the ER visit just went on vacation.)

I did talk with one of the assistants there today, told her what the ER vet said. She wondered, are there side effects, and if so, what kinds. I didn't find that out last night. Do you know, Heidi, about side effects of Chlorambucil?

Poppy is doing all right now, and I am treasuring the time we have together.

Thanks, everyone..

from Poppy and me (and Sparkler too, of course).

[Karen]

Sounds like the vet was just being honest, but I do not blame you for wanting a second opinion. Hugs to you all!

[phesina]

Thank you, Karen.

[cats4ever]

There are quite a few side effects, I found a site that lists them.
Willa's biggest problem was that the drug suppresses the immune system, so she got several urinary tract infections, until we had lowered the dose enough (2mg every 4 days) where it wouldn't affect her anymore. After that, she didn't have any problems.
If her kidneys wouldn't have given out, the drug would have extended her life even a bit longer.
I'm glad that Poppy is doing so well. Please give her lots of hugs and kisses!

https://www.vetinfo.com/chlorambucil-for-cats.html

[phesina]

Thank you, Heidi. Looks like it is a very careful balancing act working with that. I don't know that that would be good with Poppy.

I will talk with one of the other vets this week, hopefully Monday.

[cats4ever]

Thank you, Heidi. Looks like it is a very careful balancing act working with that. I don't know that that would be good with Poppy.

I will talk with one of the other vets this week, hopefully Monday.

That is a fact. And each cat will tolerate it differently. I'm sure you will get good advice from your vets.