Diane update- need positive thoughts!

Haley&Diane

Haley&Diane

Member Since 2015
Hi all. Diane has been doing fine off the juice!

Unfortunately last night I found a lump On Diane's chest. Dropped her off at the vet and they did bloodwork and x-rays. They are concerned it's a mammary tumor and cancerous. They think they found another lump in another gland. They are doing what they can today to remove as much as possible. My vet said it's a matter of how aggressive the cancer is at this point.

I'm so upset right now. Not going to make it through work today I don't think.

I feel so upset especially after getting her off insulin finally. She sleeps next to me every night and is probably the cat I'm most bonded to.

Just breaks my heart.
 
Haley&Diane said:
Hi all. Diane has been doing fine off the juice!

Unfortunately last night I found a lump On Diane's chest. Dropped her off at the vet and they did bloodwork and x-rays. They are concerned it's a mammary tumor and cancerous. They think they found another lump in another gland. They are doing what they can today to remove as much as possible. My vet said it's a matter of how aggressive the cancer is at this point.

I'm so upset right now. Not going to make it through work today I don't think.

I feel so upset especially after getting her off insulin finally. She sleeps next to me every night and is probably the cat I'm most bonded to.

Just breaks my heart.
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@AliceMeowliss&Cassandra s kitty Alice went through a mammary tumour surgery earlier this year. FWIW she is still doing well and so cute!!

Cassandra, do you have any insight for Haley? Pro tips?

Haley I’m so sorry you’re going through this but don’t lose hope! You’ve caught it and now the vet will do what they can to treat it, I’m sending all the vetty vines and healing vibes I can. Diane is a fighter, she went into remission with diabetes and I think she will be able to fight this cancer too!!

Thinking of you both :bighug:
 
Thank you all! The x-rays showed some fuzziness in the lungs that was a concern but the radiologist said it looked okay and isn't worried about metastisis to the lungs so that's good.

She's under full anesthesia now and will have one mammary gland removed today. The growth will be sent to the pathologist.

I'm not sure where we go after that. My mind is all over the place since this has all transpired in the past 16 hours.
 
Update: out of surgery. My sister (also my vet) sent me a picture of the incision. It looks terrible and was huge. I would share the pic but it could be too gross for some.

They had to use staples and she will go back in two weeks for removal. She's bruised and shaved and it just breaks my heart even more.

They removed two glands. Fingers crossed pathology report is good...
 
I am so sorry to hear this for your beloved Diane. It seems it is often the ones we are closest to that get the very scary diagnoses. I hope she can maintain her OTJ status, would be one less thing to worry about during this tense time. Cats can often respond very well to chemo, with few side effects, depending upon the type of cancer, if it is. Perhaps it is not, would be a blessing for both of you.

Simba and I send our love and prayers for both of you.
 
Mariella Ross said:
I am so sorry to hear this for your beloved Diane. It seems it is often the ones we are closest to that get the very scary diagnoses. I hope she can maintain her OTJ status, would be one less thing to worry about during this tense time. Cats can often respond very well to chemo, with few side effects, depending upon the type of cancer, if it is. Perhaps it is not, would be a blessing for both of you.

Simba and I send our love and prayers for both of you.
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Thank you.

Yes, in the midst of all of this I later remembered that this could cause her to go out of remission. I truly hope it doesn't. But I'd much rather her go back into diabetes than to have cancer, so we will wait and see what happens.
 
Love,Light Healing Lots of prayers being sent:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug: There are Numerous Pet Organizations that will help with Cancer Needs They are all around the USA. Google Cats with Cancer and that should give you a list:)
 
Haley&Diane said:
If you don't mind me asking, how much was chemo?

I'm just not sure we will be financially able to do chemo if it's needed. :(
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I'm so sorry, but I honestly don't remember the cost. It was many years ago. Also, I think it depends on the type of cancer. Some forms of chemo require more frequent visits. I really hope you don't have to worry about it at all. :bighug:
 
I’m sorry for this new thing happening! I know I’m late to the condo but I had a couple of tags.
So to your worry that she could end up back on insulin, in Alice’s case it reduced her insulin needs by 60% after she had her mammary tumor and uterus removed. The pathology report wasn’t bad. The margins were clear and I wish we had had it removed when it was smaller, but it was grade 2 at the time that we were able. When she was unregulated and emaciated it didn’t grow and it started growing again when she started gaining weight after our Lantus switch. We haven’t done chemo and there isn’t really a board certified veterinary oncologist nearby, plus we get DCIN assistance as it is. But it sounds first of all like you caught it really early. That’s important. And it’s better to remove as much of the mammary chain as possible, so that’s another check in the positive column.

So I can’t offer a whole lot of info, but maybe a little comfort. Alice has several layers of stitches, her belly looked pretty gnarly, but then it healed. Way faster than I ever expected actually. She had one spot we had to add a staple to at her recheck because there was still some tension on the skin. She took that out herself after a couple days and it healed all fine. She is pretty happy and seems to be doing just fine. Her 3 month post tumor removal bloodwork all checked out great.

The fact that your sister is your vet seems like it may put you in a much better position than we were, and we really are doing okay now, even without the chemo. I think that should help you monitor her in the future more easily. I hope the pathology report has a good outlook. Mine said there was only a chance of metastasis but she hasn’t exhibited any signs thus far.

Vines for you both. :bighug:
 
AliceMeowliss&Cassandra said:
I’m sorry for this new thing happening! I know I’m late to the condo but I had a couple of tags.
So to your worry that she could end up back on insulin, in Alice’s case it reduced her insulin needs by 60% after she had her mammary tumor and uterus removed. The pathology report wasn’t bad. The margins were clear and I wish we had had it removed when it was smaller, but it was grade 2 at the time that we were able. When she was unregulated and emaciated it didn’t grow and it started growing again when she started gaining weight after our Lantus switch. We haven’t done chemo and there isn’t really a board certified veterinary oncologist nearby, plus we get DCIN assistance as it is. But it sounds first of all like you caught it really early. That’s important. And it’s better to remove as much of the mammary chain as possible, so that’s another check in the positive column.

So I can’t offer a whole lot of info, but maybe a little comfort. Alice has several layers of stitches, her belly looked pretty gnarly, but then it healed. Way faster than I ever expected actually. She had one spot we had to add a staple to at her recheck because there was still some tension on the skin. She took that out herself after a couple days and it healed all fine. She is pretty happy and seems to be doing just fine. Her 3 month post tumor removal bloodwork all checked out great.

The fact that your sister is your vet seems like it may put you in a much better position than we were, and we really are doing okay now, even without the chemo. I think that should help you monitor her in the future more easily. I hope the pathology report has a good outlook. Mine said there was only a chance of metastasis but she hasn’t exhibited any signs thus far.

Vines for you both. :bighug:
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Thank you!! This does give me some comfort knowing that it may not be so bad. The tumors found were very tiny I was told and they are out. I just hate waiting for the results. I'm glad that Alice has done so well! And it is reassuring to hear that her insulin needs actually decreased. I do wonder if Diane's tumors showed up so quickly after remission due to the healthy weight she gained making them more noticeable.
 
Update: Blood results

Diane is home and doing well. She was cranky last night but this morning is her old self. She's kept in a large crate to restrict movement. I will be going out today to get her a new litterbox and bed that are smaller so she can more easily move around and not strain herself/the incision.

Her blood results came in today! Unfortunately, her kidneys aren't doing great and she now has kidney disease. :( Her levels were great in June but somehow rose significantly in just the past few months. Her water intake increased mid October though so this does explain that. Just odd that her kidneys are doing so poorly after she goes off insulin.

We will have to do fluids at home 3x a week for a month to help flush them out. The hope is then maybe once a week we can do fluids and manage it. Kind of nervous as I've never done fluids before. Can't figure out if kidney disease is worse or better than dealing with high blood sugar levels.

Bright side, her glucose was at 176 which seems pretty good figuring they were a bit higher possibly from all of the stress of being at a clinic all day. Her liver values are also normal again (they were elevated in June) now that her glucose is controlled.

When we adopted her I was told she was 2. I'm definitely starting to think that she may have been older than they thought now. She seems to be having a lot of issues for just a 10 year old. I'm wondering now if she may be more like 13 or so...
 
Haley, I was so sorry to read about Diane. I'm sending a ton of healing vines to Diane and strength and comfort to you to help you deal with her health issues.
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Haley, prayers continue for you and Diane. Tell her she's beautiful!
I just started giving Tina fluids every other day about 3 weeks ago. I cried when I walked out of the vets office with my bag and supplies, thinking about what all this means. Her BUN and creatinine had risen a lot in 3 months after starting insulin (also thyroid imbalance). I had a complete turn around after support here, and watching a video @Marje and Gracie made with her Gus. I've done it about 10 times now, and Tina feels so much better - started seeing improvement almost immediately in her appetite and activity level. It is no big deal after you have a little experience and see it make Diane feel better.

Marje giving Gus subq fluids
 
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Tina Marie and Jan said:
Haley, prayers continue for you and Diane. Tell her she's beautiful!
I just started giving Tina fluids every other day about 3 weeks ago. I cried when I walked out of the vets office with my bag and supplies, thinking about what all this means. Her BUN and creatinine had risen a lot in 3 months after starting insulin (also thyroid imbalance). I had a complete turn around after support here, and watching a video @Marje and Gracie made with her Gus. I've done it about 10 times now, and Tina feels so much better - started seeing improvement almost immediately in her appetite and activity level. It is no big deal after you have a little experience and see it make Diane feel better.

Marje giving Gus subq fluids
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Thank you!! This seems easy so hopefully it goes smoothly. I will start probably on Monday with the fluids....giving her a few days to decompress after surgery before I start poking her again. lol
 
Thanks again to everyone! Here is a picture of Diane enjoying her new bed and a break from crate life. :)
 

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Oh Haley! I'm so glad she's feeling better! Our 'patients' look so much alike! Luci seem to be doing better too...although she's confined as well and doesn't like for me to poke her for any reason - I think she was traumatized at the vet and just needs a little time to get over that - and of course heal up her broken foot. I think these two could be sistahs from another mother...so similar in their faces! Sending prayers for continued healing and supporting vines for fluid administration - I've never done it either - but so many others do and apparently it's not as difficult as it sounds...although I feel your pain! :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:

LuciOnHearth.jpg
 
Sue and Luci said:
Oh Haley! I'm so glad she's feeling better! Our 'patients' look so much alike! Luci seem to be doing better too...although she's confined as well and doesn't like for me to poke her for any reason - I think she was traumatized at the vet and just needs a little time to get over that - and of course heal up her broken foot. I think these two could be sistahs from another mother...so similar in their faces! Sending prayers for continued healing and supporting vines for fluid administration - I've never done it either - but so many others do and apparently it's not as difficult as it sounds...although I feel your pain! :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:

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Thank you! Luci is gorgeous, and she and Diane definitely do have similar markings. She actually looks like a cross between Diane and our other kitty who has long hair. I'm glad Luci is doing better! A broken does not sound fun at all. Poor girl. :(
 
Unfortunately, it looks like Diane may have been pushed out of remission. Levels were 256 after eating. Not sure why I tested right after dinner....I wasn't thinking since I haven't had to test for higher numbers recently.

I will test again before bed. If the numbers are higher then should I proceed back with insulin or wait til she's recovered a bit more?

She is still a bit out of it due to the pain meds and i don't want to overwhelm her....
 
Prayers & thoughts to you:bighug:. We had a cat in the past who had CKD. Just like BG testing, you will master the fluids :). The cool thing is Sasha would look and feel so much better after getting them so she became really good about getting them. It also made us feel better about it when we would see her perk up & feel so peppy after they were given :)
 
Update:

Finally got the pathology report back today. It was cancer and the worst kind (some type of carcinoma). But, the margins all were good so they think we got it all. And the blood vessels were clear so they don't feel like it had a chance to spread.

I feel better but think I will forever be anxious that it'll pop up someplace else.

She's doing okay a week later. Has a nasty infection in one of the incisions that smells terrible. She's on antibiotics for it now. She's also sneezing so I think an upper respiratory infection has set in.

Hoping those antibiotics will kick in soon. I feel awful about the incision being infected (she now has her cone on ALL the time)...
 
Oh Haley, I am so happy to hear that the margins were good and they think they got it all.I hope the antibiotics kick in soon, that poor baby. She has my name
. Praying for her to start feeling better
 
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