Amanda, first off, I want to say that I am sorry... And here
these always help!
Secondly, I know how you are feeling. I remember when I first got Pig's diagnosis. I cried almost all night and just laid in the floor with him for hours because I thought that the Acro dx was pretty much the end of the story. Everything I had heard was so very doom and gloom with little prospect of hope. Yet, as time went on and I did a massive amount of research I learned one very key thing. Most of the research on Acros is very, very new. I believe in 2007 there were only 50 or so reported cases. This means that there were not a whole lot of treatments available to report on in those studies, but currently? Well, I can personally attest to the fact that I know of at least 3 kitties outside of this board who have gone OTJ with SRT. So, no. Remission is possible. His prognosis is not 0. He has you and the love that you give him and I will tell you this, that in the fight against Acro, that is your biggest weapon.
You got this! And we can all help! You are very blessed to be a member of this board before Shmee's dx. Now you have some of the most valuable resources at your beck and call. It is going to be okay!
Listen to
@Wendy&Neko .. I cannot tell you how many times she has saved my butt and served as my voice of reason in this. She absolutely knows her stuff and at times you will find yourself wondering if she does not have a crystal ball of all things cat!
As far as treatment goes, there are options. I recently took Pig to WSU for SRT and their procedure is quite different than some of the more costly clinics. I researched them. I know of 1 kitty in the past two years that have gone OTJ with their protocol and I know of 2 more that have gone since Pig. They are very knowledgeable and Dr. Fidel is amazing! Now, the best part? I only paid about 3 dollars shy of $2,000 and I had a whole ton of extras done including an echo and ultra sound. With travel (half-way across country) and every supply imaginable, I paid about $6,500 in total, $1,500 shy of what CSU initially quotes for the procedure alone.
Here is what I posted on another thread, but it pretty much sums up the Washington State U experience very well:
I did want to chime in as it seems that cost will be a factor for you, just as it was for Pig and I. I recently drove Pig across country from Oklahoma to Washington to seek SRT treatment at WSU. Even with the travel costs, my overall cost came in far lower than the treatment protocol at CSU. Now, you will need to keep in mind that the SRT protocol at WSU is very different than most.
While WSU is far cheaper than most protocols, there is a certain bit of risk in it as well. Not a risk to the cat, of course, but a bit of a gamble. The difference is that where CSU uses moving MRI technology to adapt the SRT beam to the shape of the kitties pituitary tumor, WSU works in the opposite way. They do use a moving SRT beam, but rather than conforming the beam to the tumor, they look for tumors that conform to their beam. Basically, they use a circular, rotating beam to wrap the tumor. While this sounds like a pretty big gamble, because what if you travel there and the tumor does not fit the beam? Well, most of these pituitary tumors are more round than anything. At least, in WSU's research. In fact, per Dr. Fidel, there are very few kitties that have proven to not be good candidates. I believe they see more dogs with tumors not conforming to the beam than they do cats. Pig's tumor was even slightly square, but still round enough to make him the perfect candidate.
Furthermore, where places such as CSU do lowered doses of radiation of the course of 3 days, WSU uses a larger dose of radiation over the course of just one day. Not specifically speaking of any particular treatment facility, the basic premise here is that many places do something like 8,000gm x 3 to equal 24,000gm total. However, in the biologic world, 8,000 x 3 is not necessarily equal to 24,000 x 1, with the 24,000 x 1 being the far stronger. In fact, per Dr. Fidel, this is what most oncologists strive for in the human world. Given that the brain can handle 15,000gm of radiation in a single setting, this is the measurement of therapy that WSU has chosen to use. They have found that a singular sitting of a stronger dose is sometimes more effective in cats, especially, than the more fractionated regimes. If you have any questions regarding the protocol specifically, here is the
link to Pig's Dr. explaining precisely how they do it at WSU.
While there is no one on the board, currently, that has treated at WSU other than Pig, I am in contact with 3 other people who have sought treatment there. One about 2 years ago, one about 3 months before Pig, and one precisely a month after Pig. Actually, the one who sought treatment after Pig and I is on the board, but I cannot be sure of her screen name. I followed the lead of the wonderful lady who went there about 2 years ago and while individual results do not necessarily speak to personal success, her kitty is now OTJ and went so only 1.5 years after treatment.
Currently, we have nearly halved Pig's dose of 59uL in only a month following treatment. We have stalled a bit on 26uL and I am working out some diet kinks, but the reduction is undeniable. Granted, results and reduction times will vary and they do come in spits and starts, to half his dose not even 2 months following treatment is a major win!! We still have about a month to go before we are even suppose to see results!
I sincerely hope this helps.
Oh! Costs... I am working on putting together a summary of procedures and prices for his forum in the high dose thread. But, for the moment... I had them run several other tests over the bare minimum for treatment and even with the additional tests, we walked from WSU paying right at 2,000$. Travel cost me a little more than that and supplies ran about $1500. Total cost for a cross country drive and treatment for Pig (plus numerous ancillary tests) came in about 6,500$. Just shy of the treatment cost @ CSU, I believe...
Currently, though? Pig has dropped from 59uL to just 18uL in less than 2 months, with the bulk of results expected after the 2 month mark. I suspect he will earn another reduction very soon. He is going through a bout of UTI / Bladder infection and constipation that are causing his numbers to be a bit higher, I am convinced. I cannot speak any more highly of WSU and Dr. Fidel.
Please.. Let me know if I can do anyting to help! Even if it is just to listen! I understand how awful this all feels at first, but this board saved my Pig. There is hope! Never doubt that!
There are several places that do SRT, most of them are now priced a lot higher than when I went. Sarah took her Pig to Washington State University for around $2000, much more reasonably priced. Though there would be travel involved. Cabergoline is a drug that many are trying here. We've seen three cats go OTJ and most go on lower doses. It's a new drug treatment for acromegaly, it was designed to abort pregnacies in cats, so only a one time use. There is no long term data on it's use in cats. That's the one unknown potential risk. MJW did correspond with RVC who said they have had some success adding octreotide to cabergoline for those cats who did not see impact with cabergoline alone.
Most inconvenient of her.
