FRANTIC!!! Please help! Can cancer grow this fast????

(Gigi - My 7 years old, non-diabetic, healthy kitty.)
Something is happening with Gigi and her lymph nodes and I don't know where to turn! She had a URI a couple weeks ago and the vet noticed a lump on her throat. It went from the size of a pea to the size of a marble in a week's time. Now, there are three marble sized lumps on both sides of her throat and the vet doesn't know what it is.

They did two needle asperations/cytologies (?) and both came back confirming that it is lymphatic tissue with "abnormal" cells, but they couldn't tell any more than that.

This vet told me lymphatic cancer is most likely, but can it grow this fast??? Two of the lumps went from rice sized to marble size in less than 2 days! Is the cancer spreading that fast? OMG, I'm frantic and don't know who can help us I can't lose another kitty

Please...anyone who has knowledge about this...I"m desperate and feel like time is running out.

thank you for your input....

 

Mr. Darcy has lymph nodes that large. Vet drained them and within a week they were marbles again. His did not have any strange cells, but he did test positive for Bartonella which would have been caught from fleas.

He was supposed to be on ABs for a while but at the time I was losing another kitty and things got hectic so he didn't get his ABs properly. He will be starting them again now that things have calmed down.

Presently all four lymph nodes are enlarged, the neck ones are the biggest, being the size of marbles, one may even be a bit larger.

I do not know if it's the same thing, but maybe you could ask your vet about Bartonella and if that could be what's causing your kitty to have enlarged lymph nodes.

I hope it's nothing serious for your kitty.

 

Hi Lynn,

You can't really know what it is without more input. As I said to you in a PM, I think you need a specialist, and probably X-Rays and another needle aspiration/pathology. Too bad the pathologist on the first one couldn't do any better than "abnormal." Maybe your vet could ask for another pathologist in the group to look at the slides to see what s/he might think. At least with human cancer patients, asking for another pathology opinion from the same group usually doesn't cost anything.

It could be related to an infection, and you do say she had a URI. Perhaps that infection is not completely gone. What ABs was she on and for how long?

Here's an article on feline Lymphosarcoma (Lymphoma) that you might want to look through. Besides the enlargement of the external lymph nodes and the difficulty breathing which you vet said was a URI, are you seeing any vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, or increased thirst or urination.

That article suggests these tests to help with diagnosis:

There's no way that Gigi is going to need all those; I just wanted to bring the complete list here.

I understand that with unemployment, the costs of determining what is going on and treating it will seem impossible. Folks will tell you about CareCredit and IMOM (which I spoke to you about in my PM and which is only funding life threatening situations at this time).

I know there is a list somewhere on the net of various sources for funding in these types of situations. Maybe someone here has it bookmarked, or I can look for it later.

Even though Gigi isn't diabetic, Diabetic Cats in Need's mission involves "helping diabetic cats and their people." The "people" is in there on purpose. You are one of our people and you need help. I can move the cobwebs around in the bank account and find a couple hundred dollars to help with the next steps. If anyone wants to contribute through DCIN to help Lynn's Gigi, information to do that is on the DCIN blog here. You may not know Lynn because she hasn't been around much after losing Sufi, but back in the day, she was one of those names you often saw on the Board.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses! Here is some more information on Gigi:

She was on amoxicillin for 10 days for the URI. She got over the URI completely. Now she's back on the same AB. I have noticed that every once in a while, she'll vomit after eating. It comes on without warning, unlike a hairball situation. She's been playful and eating well since getting over the URI. I haven't noticed any increase in her water consumption or urination. It's hard to tell though with two cats using the litter box.

I just got off the phone with the vet who last saw her and here is what she told me:
The blood test they did a couple of weeks ago was to test for FIV and FeLV. Both were negative.
The first and second needle aspirations showed the same levels of plasma cells. To them, this indicated that the lymph node was not reacting to an infection. The pathologist's report said, "Suspicious for low to intermediate grade lymphoma."
Chemotherapy will help shrink the nodes and should make Gigi more comfortable (She has started coughing/clearing her throat today, which is probably due to the pressure on her throat from all these big nodes). With luck, chemo may extend her life beyond what will happen if she doesn't get any treatment.
This vet also suggested I contact the local oncology vet hospital to get their opinion.

The ONLY thing keeping from getting her to the specialist is the cost. I hate that it has come to this. I'm so frustrated, but the hospital requires payment before any treatment or testing.

Thanks again for all your input. I'll be closing monitoring the message board for additional responses. Please keep Gigi in your thoughts and prayers...

Hugs to all,
Lynn

 

Lynn, can you get a cost estimate from the oncology hospital?

Can you ask them what their rescue discount is, or PM me their phone number so I can ask about it on behalf of DCIN?

V

 

Lynn, I'm sorry to hear this. Is it just the lymph nodes near her mouth which are affected?

I understand cost is a concern. As the specialty hospital will be more expensive (maybe, depending on a discount there and if your regular vet will give a discount), see if you can do the following at your regular vet tomorrow:

Blood chemistry/CBC (if not done within a week or two)
Chest x-rays (if they have digital?)--three views, right lateral, left lateral, and ventral-dorsal (these are standard). Ask if they can include the neck. This is possible in a cooperative cat without sedation.
Abdominal x-rays
Urinalysis (you can catch this and bring it in to them tomorrow)

BTW, if they say they do full-body x-rays, say no thanks and don't have them do the x-rays. This is because the chest and the abdomen need different exposures to show very good detail, so places that do full-body usually end up with so-so (and therefore somewhat worthless) x-rays if you are looking for a lot of detail, which you are if you are screening for cancer.

With just local lymph nodes affected, I'm a little hopeful that maybe it's not cancer, but I honestly think it's a great possiblity right now. On the other hand, lymphoma in cats can be wonderfully responsive to chemo and the fact that she doesn't have all of her lymph nodes blown up may mean you can quash this more easily. Other concerns for a cat with huge upper neck lymph nodes (called sub-mandibular lymph nodes, the same ones that we refer to as "glands" when you feel your glands are swollen when you're sick) can be local infection such as an infection in the throat or mouth, or even something small stuck there (do your cats eat raw food?). She did have an upper respiratory recently so that might be related somehow ...

Talk to your vet tomorrow to see if there is any test you can get out of the way there ok? If not, it's not the end of the world -- the specialist can "prescribe" tests for you to do at your vet and then review them with your vet later. The only thing they may want to do themselves, if you haven't done them already, is x-rays because they don't want to send you to your vet to get x-rays and end up with crappy ones they can't use.

Who is your appt with, BTW? Which doctor?

 

Lynn, This is my Jibber who had a lymph node mass that you can see on the right side of his shoulder and neck area, that grew very quickly. It was affecting his breathing. This was in October of 2007. He was about six years old. I was going to have to put him down, as I did not have the money to have the surgery done on him to save his life. His breathing was getting very bad, and I told someone on this board about him, and that person along with another person were able to save my Jibber's life by their financial help. Otherwise he would still not be alive today. The vet, who was a highly skilled surgeon in Annapolis, MD said he never saw anything like this in a cat before! It was massive, the surgery was very extensive, and the lymph node was hemorrhagic, but benign. The lump started from the top of his back behind his head, and went all the way around to the front of his neck in the middle. It was gigantic.

Don't panic, although I know just how you feel. I also one month later, had an orange cat, name Woodee, who had a large lump on his side (he was only 4 yrs. old at the time in 2007) that was 4 inches by 4 inches by 3 inches. It was hard as a rock. My vet operated on it, and again I had outside financial help (bless these Angels' hearts!!!!) and Woodee is still alive today. His tumor was Fibrosarcoma, cancer, with a very poor prognosis. My vet is still amazed today that Woodee is still alive. Two years and 3 months later!!!

Never give up hope when you still have options and still have life in your furbaby!

If you need any other information, just PM to me. I would be more than happy to tell you how their surgeries went and the recovery time, etc. Jibber had major surgery on Oct. 23, 2007, then Woodee's surgery was Dec. 13, 2007. It was quite a rough year, but we got through it by the Grace of God.

Take care! Good luck!
Hugs,
Jean and Charcoal (GA)

 

Chemo extended my Abbey's life by over 4 more years so it was well worth the effort for us. She had a large abdominal tumor and probably would have stopped eating and defecating within a week if we hadn't discovered it when we did. Luckily, her first dose of chemo shrunk it down to an undetectable level and it stayed that way for the 4+ years.

 

Re: Gigi - FRANTIC!!! More information on her

Thank you all for your input! I'll try to cover the questions posted regarding Gigi and her current lymph node situation...

The only nodes that the vets and I have been able to find are on both sides of her throat, under the jaw. She does have one "bad" tooth that the vet said when she first examined Gigi when I brought her in for the URI, needed to be extracted as soon as Gigi was well enough. The tooth looks almost bloody, like the gum has grown up the side of the tooth and is very inflamed. This tooth is on the right side of her mouth, which is the side where the lymph glands started to become enlarged.

We have an appointment with California Veterinary Specialists in Carlsbad on Monday afternoon. I haven't called my local vet to request bloodwork or x-rays because I really have lost all faith in their office. Even though I've been taking kitties there for more than 15 years, they WILL NOT offer any discount or financial aid for Gigi I am hoping that CVS will be able to do the proper x-rays and blood testing for a comparable cost (keeping fingers and toes crossed!).

I can't figure out how to post a picture on this new forum. I have some really great photos of Gigi that I"d love to put up here. Right now, she sort has a chipmunk look due to the swelling.

Hugs to all,
Lynn

 

Re: Gigi - FRANTIC!!! More information on her

I'm inclined to hope that is the problem. But that doesn't square up with the pathology report.

Email them to me and I will post them. vmaewood @ att.net (remove spaces)