12/1 Kai AMPS 147, +2 99, PMPS 227, +2 216, +5 117 NOT CANCER!

Got a call from Kai’s vet today about the results from his latest FNA on the mass on his side. She asked if I believed in Christmas miracles - because I was about to get one. The mass on Kai’s side is not cancer. I repeat: NOT CANCER. It’s a trichoepithelioma/trichoblastoma, a benign growth that comes from hair follicles. Praise God, praise Jesus, praise everyone. My kitty does not have cancer on top of everything else… and it only took eight months to find out. I’ve been waiting for the other damn shoe to drop for eight months - and the shoe doesn’t even exist. Jesus Christ, I am exhausted.

Long story short:
Back in February we saw an internal-medicine specialist for Kai’s diabetes. The appointment didn’t help with his regulation, but it did reveal a small mass on his side and early signs of CKD in his bloodwork. The CKD took months to confirm because he had no symptoms and his ultrasound looked normal. Meanwhile, the first FNA on the mass was inconclusive but suspicious for fibrosarcoma. By late April I was being told Kai likely had only months left and that surgery or a punch biopsy was too risky with his CKD. We also believed that if it was fibrosarcoma, it was probably too late to remove it completely - fibrosarcoma is aggressive, invasive, and can spread internally fast. Through all of this, Kai acted totally normal, showing zero signs of CKD or cancer.

For the next six months I waited for a decline that never came. The mass didn’t grow until October, and when it finally did, it grew outward and felt oddly fluid-filled - totally unlike fibrosarcoma. A week ago I pushed for another FNA, and now here we are: Kai does NOT have fibrosarcoma. Diabetes and CKD are manageable; cancer is an entirely different beast. The relief is indescribable.

We celebrated tonight with some Fancy Feast carbs - which I’ll probably regret tomorrow morning, but right now I’m completely elated. I wish I could hug every single person on the message board. :bighug:This is the best and only Christmas present I could ask for.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
 
OMG, Maddie, such great news!!!! I'm so happy for you and Kai! That deserves a celebration.

I totally missed that this was Kai's prognosis, unless you didn't share it here. You must be so relieved. Give Kai a big ol' hug.
 
Wonderful news, Maddie! ❤️ Good for you for advocating and pushing for another FNA. You must feel like a thousand pounds has been lifted off your shoulders.

Doing a happy dance for Kai!! 🥳🤗💕
 
Oh, Maddie! How wonderful!!! Celebrating with you on the no-cancer diagnosis! Here's Jude with a happy dance. Go Kai!!! Happy for you, little guy!
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Fantastic news!!! I can't believe that took 8 months to get that answer. :banghead:. Is the mass going to be removed?
I really want to have it remove. I can’t stand feeling it there when I pet him. You can't see it cause his long hair covers it up so well. You can see it now cause they shaved the area around it for the FNA but before you wouldn't have know it was there without feeling it, even though it is almost the size of a pingpong ball now. I’m sure it bothers me far more than it does Kai; he doesn’t scratch or pick at it, and the only time he has tried to mess with it was this past week after it bled from the FNA. I bought him a little shirt so he’d stop licking it and let it heal. The hair has already starting to grow back over it now. My biggest worry about leaving it is that it’ll keep growing and eventually become a real problem. So the plan is to remove it. His vet is just concerned about how his kidneys will handle anesthesia. We’re doing his annual senior labs on the 10th along with some heart tests, and if everything looks “okay” (as okay as it can look for a cat with his issues) he is scheduled to have it removed on January 8th.

Here is one of the shirts I bought him 🤣

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Squishy had a trichoblastoma once. It was on the top of a front paw between two toes and an angry red color. I sent the pic to the vet and he immediately made me bring Squishy in. Surgery was scheduled for not too long afterwards. Post-surgery I put a baby sock on the paw to keep it clean but you can imagine how that went :rolleyes:

Hope Kai does well for surgery :bighug:
 
Yay!!!! What incredible news 😁 What a stressful 8 months it must have been, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But I’m elated you’ve received such great news and that Kai is doing well and is generally unbothered by this. He’s a strong guy!! ❤️‍🩹🤗
 
I'm so glad it's not cancer! I had a cancer scare with Gen earlier this fall (a preliminary diagnosis before test results came back), and even just a week of that was horrible. Congratulations. ❤️
 
Such wonderful news! I'm crying happy tears and doing a happy dance for you and Kai!
🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️
I know how scary a cancer diagnosis can be and to have that off your mind and off your shoulders is huge.
Definitely believe in Christmas miracles. What a great way to finish off this year ✨🥳😻🥂
 
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