? Anyone have experience with feline oral squamous cell carcinoma - with photo

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Jane & Boo (GA)

Jane & Boo (GA)

Member Since 2009
I've also posted this over in the General Health section, but thought I'd ask here too.

I don't have a diagnosis. At this point it's a very strong suspicion. Will take Boo to the vet next week to find out. Basically, I'm just interested to know if there is a forum devoted to this. I did an internet search and haven't found anything. I thought this to be odd since there is a forum for everything these days.
 
I unfortunately have experience with that. I also hope it doesn't turn out to be this.
 
It progressed very quickly in my cat Rocky. It wasn't pretty. :( But if you have questions, I could answer with my short experience.
 
My Spike and my Boomer both had Squamous Cell. Spike's was located on his gum, tongue near the real molar. Boomer's, soft tissue of the palate. It's a nasty disease. My prayers you're wrong.

Marilyn
 
Thank you all! I'm seeing a fast growing mass at the very front of her lower mandible. Her chin has grown from what was once a normal chin to what I would describe now as a Jay Leno chin. This has happened within the past 60 days and I'm seeing some drooling that didn't exit last week. So far it isn't effecting her eating. You can see the enlarged chin in this picture.This is what has me so concerned.
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Punkin had a growth in his mouth, right side seeming to be in the cheek pocket. Looking at it, it appeared to be a ball-shape.We had every expectation that it was Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Initially we didn't do anything - he had already been treated for acro, he'd developed anemia, his thyroid was low, he had arthritis . . . so we just waited for the inevitable. We had decided we would not have part of his jaw removed because he was already fragile and had so many health concerns. After about a month he didn't seem sicker, but that growth had gotten bigger and now he was biting it and it was bleeding when he ate. I couldn't tolerate that.

So we made an appointment at the university vet school to have it removed. They took it out - and if i remember right I think it was only $400, which for punkin was cheap - and did a biopsy. Turned out to be nothing more than inflammatory cells. We saw the little bugger and it actually looked far more like a corkscrew than a ball. It had attached to the point where the cheek and gum join. We really thought we were going to lose him, so were of course overjoyed when it wasn't malignant.

All of that to say that while Boos' growth doesn't look good, you won't know until you have it biopsied. You have all my best wishes for it to be benign. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Thanks Julie - Punkin sure went through a lot and was so fortunate to have had you looking out for him. I'm glad it turned out that SCC wasn't one of his issues. I'm holding out for the best, but am preparing for the worse.
 
Hi Jane. I am so sorry Boo have that thing on her lips. Tačka had carcinoma on her lips bit more than a year ago, but it didnt look like that. Is it possible that this is some kind of abscess? This looks quite a big and swollen thing. I will try to find pictures of Tačkas carcinoma to show you. Acctually we didnt know that it was carcinoma before surgery. After they gave that thing away we decided to put it on biopsy and report showed that it was cancerous.
Does Boo still have all her teeth? Maybe this is something related to teeth.
 
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I found it. That was few days before surgery. Her tumor was growing very slowly at first (and even vet thought it was nothing) and than suddenly last month before surgery it has grown to this size. In last stage there was opened wound in the middle of that tumor (fortunately we allready had a date for surgery when that happened). In 30minutes surgery they has removed all tumor and some surrounding tissue. She was eating normally next day.

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:(My cat Zoe had it in her jaw, she had a swollen chin which is what I first noticed. The area was very hard and firm. It didn't effect her eating either. Sadly it was on her jaw bone which was inoperable. It continued to grow pretty quickly. They treated her with steroids and antibiotics. She started drooling and it caused sores and infection in her mouth.We had to let her go. It was less than 4 months. I pray that's not what it is. Hugs for you and prayers for your sweet Boo.
 
mucacopatarica said:
Hi Jane. I am so sorry Boo have that thing on her lips. Tačka had carcinoma on her lips bit more than a year ago, but it didnt look like that. Is it possible that this is some kind of abscess? This looks quite a big and swollen thing. I will try to find pictures of Tačkas carcinoma to show you. Acctually we didnt know that it was carcinoma before surgery. After they gave that thing away we decided to put it on biopsy and report showed that it was cancerous.
Does Boo still have all her teeth? Maybe this is something related to teeth.
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I'm sure it isn't an abscess. It's hard as a rock and so far, she doesn't react when I probe at it, so there must not be any pain. She had a full dental with extractions back in May. The vet didn't indicate that the x-rays showed anything out of the ordinary at that time.
 
mucacopatarica said:
I found it. That was few days before surgery. Her tumor was growing very slowly at first (and even vet thought it was nothing) and than suddenly last month before surgery it has grown to this size. In last stage there was opened wound in the middle of that tumor (fortunately we allready had a date for surgery when that happened). In 30minutes surgery they has removed all tumor and some surrounding tissue. She was eating normally next day.
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You were soooo fortunate. All that I have read about oral cancers in cats reads like a death sentence. I'm so glad yours had a happy ending.
 
Jerida said:
:(My cat Zoe had it in her jaw, she had a swollen chin which is what I first noticed. The area was very hard and firm. It didn't effect her eating either. Sadly it was on her jaw bone which was inoperable. It continued to grow pretty quickly. They treated her with steroids and antibiotics. She started drooling and it caused sores and infection in her mouth.We had to let her go. It was less than 4 months. I pray that's not what it is. Hugs for you and prayers for your sweet Boo.
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Yes, what you describe as hard and firm is exactly what this is. So far it is having no effect on her eating, but she's drooling some. Were the steroids and antibiotics because of the sores? Did they help?
 
Than this is different thing as Tačka had. Her thing was soft and it was growing outside of her lip. She was drooling too before surgery. But it was 100% cancerous as biopsy showed. Vet removed all and some healthy tissue around the tumor too. I think its not necessarily death sentence. I read few stories with good endings. But maybe its not even cancerous. Did you call vet?
I will keep fingers crossed it is just some kind of infection or something like that.
 
Steroids helped slow it a bit from growing in the beginning. But as it grew it ulcered the inside of her mouth (that's why they gave her antibiotics). They would have had to remove her whole lower jaw and she was 16..so no way was I putting her through that. She ate up till the end. But she lost a lot of weight and the drooling got worse and her breath was bad. Its was hard to let her go cause she still was eating and being herself, but she looked so miserable. After she passed I was with her and looked in her mouth and I knew that I had done the right thing for her. She was a trooper.:smuggrin: I pray you get good news and its something that can be helped. Its a scary thing.
 
I noticed a very tiny tiny bump on the jaw of my kitty, Rocky, one day when I was scratching his chin. It was a small hard bump. I took him in thinking it was an abscess. They sedated him and took a biopsy. It came back as caner. Unfortunately, it was inoperable as they would have had to remove a portion of his lower jaw. I did not treat it with anything except for pain meds to help keep him comfortable. The lump grew very quickly. By two months after finding the tiny bump, it was large and he couldn't close his mouth any longer. He was still eating, but drooling and his mouth had a horrible smell. He was still eating and behaving normal when I put him down, but I could tell he was uncomfortable and the pain meds just made him so groggy and I knew it was a matter of days before the skin would rupture because the tumor had grown so much.

I hope you don't have to go though this. We will all be here for you no matter what! :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
My sweet girl, Asia, had SCC. They were able to make her comfortable for a bit but it escalated quickly. I sure hope your baby has something else. I don't know a lot about it but sounds like there are a bunch of us that know a little bit. Feel free to ask questions.
 
mucacopatarica said:
Did you try to find lymph nodes in her neck? Are they swollen?
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We're just ending a long holiday weekend, so can't call vet for appointment until tomorrow. The growth isn't what I would call "hot". She doesn't act like anything is wrong. I would think that if she were in any pain from it, I would see it reflected in her BG numbers. Her numbers are beautiful. I don't know how to look for lymph nodes and if I even found them I don't know what normal is.
 
Jerida said:
Steroids helped slow it a bit from growing in the beginning. But as it grew it ulcered the inside of her mouth (that's why they gave her antibiotics). They would have had to remove her whole lower jaw and she was 16..so no way was I putting her through that. She ate up till the end. But she lost a lot of weight and the drooling got worse and her breath was bad. Its was hard to let her go cause she still was eating and being herself, but she looked so miserable. After she passed I was with her and looked in her mouth and I knew that I had done the right thing for her. She was a trooper.:smuggrin: I pray you get good news and its something that can be helped. Its a scary thing.
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I'm sorry you went through that with Zoe. I had a similar experience with a kitty that I had inherited from a favorite aunt who had passed away. Little Diamond's cancer was on her tongue. She too was quite the trooper up to the end. I imagine her sitting on Aunt Mary's lap on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
 
Osha said:
I noticed a very tiny tiny bump on the jaw of my kitty, Rocky, one day when I was scratching his chin. It was a small hard bump. I took him in thinking it was an abscess. They sedated him and took a biopsy. It came back as caner. Unfortunately, it was inoperable as they would have had to remove a portion of his lower jaw. I did not treat it with anything except for pain meds to help keep him comfortable. The lump grew very quickly. By two months after finding the tiny bump, it was large and he couldn't close his mouth any longer. He was still eating, but drooling and his mouth had a horrible smell. He was still eating and behaving normal when I put him down, but I could tell he was uncomfortable and the pain meds just made him so groggy and I knew it was a matter of days before the skin would rupture because the tumor had grown so much.

I hope you don't have to go though this. We will all be here for you no matter what! :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
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You certainly demonstrated your love for him when you let him go and ended his suffering. Cancer sucks!
 
Jeannie & Cairo said:
My sweet girl, Asia, had SCC. They were able to make her comfortable for a bit but it escalated quickly. I sure hope your baby has something else. I don't know a lot about it but sounds like there are a bunch of us that know a little bit. Feel free to ask questions.
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Thank you Jeannie! I hope to have a diagnosis by the end of the week. I'll reach out if my suspicions are confirmed and I have questions. I find that veterinarians are good at diagnosing, but they aren't so good at conveying the reality of what is to come as a result of that diagnosis. Thank you for your concern and offer to answer questions. :bighug:
 
I took Boo to the vet yesterday afternoon. In an effort to determine it's density and composition, she attempted to get a quick "punch" of cells to look at. The only thing she got was a very angry kitty. She isn't offering up any guesses but is clearly concerned not only because of the size, but because it has grown so rapidly. We've made another appointment for Friday so that Boo can be sedated, x-rayed, and a biopsy scraping can be acquired. I've been told that the biopsy results could take as much as 10 days to receive. So, for now, I still don't know for sure what we're dealing with.
 
Boo why so angry? Vet wanna help you.
I am sorry Jane Boo was so angry and you still dont know what you are dealing with. I hope you will know more after fridays appointment and that result will be good and treatable. Hugs :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
So sorry, Jane - the waiting during testing can be so hard. Try to stay as positive as you can. Many times in my life I was convinced the worst was coming given the evidence, and pleasantly surprised/relieved when end results were much more minor. Here is hoping for a happy ending here, after all tests are in.
 
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