Diabetic 16 yr old with bone cancer

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sleepycoons

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First off, thanks for having this board. Years ago my cat was diagnosed with diabetes and I used the info on this board. I'm glad to say he's been off insulin for over two years. However, yesterday he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his front leg. I'm taking him to an oncologist today but not sure what to do. His brother died from cancer two years ago despite many surgeries and treatments and not sure I can put another cat through cancer therapy. The tumor in his leg has spread into much of the muscle tissue so my primary vet isn't sure surgery would even be an option but she preferred that I get him evaluated at the cancer center. Does anyone have experience with an elderly diabetic, in remission though, cat going through front leg amputation and chemo?

The survival rates after amputation seem to range at 2 years but not sure if that applies to older kitties. He seems happy and healthy right now, if there hadn't been a growth on his leg, I wouldn't have known to take him to the vet at all. Thank you for any advice you can give!
 
My condolences on an obviously stressful diagnosis...

With absolutely zero experience with cancer in cats, but lots of reading here, I'd consider the amputation option. Lots of cats do very well on 3 legs and if your cat is otherwise healthy despite the fairly advanced age, it might be an option for you.

Jen
 
I also have no experience with this. My diabetic who wasn't in remission got cancer in the nasal cavity and we chose not to treat. I am currently dealing with VAS in my Civie Ollie, and after his first and second surgeries were not easy on him, we are going to let this take it's course too.

I am beyond curious what the oncologist says.

I would worry less about the diabetes, because that is treatable and something you can easily deal with. When Em was dealing with her cancer, I gave her steroids and said I'd worry about what ever happened with the diabetes because of it (almost nothing) If you have to give insulin again, you can give insulin again..

Connie
 
I have no experience with cats and bone cancer, but we had a dog with bone cancer. Because of her advanced age, we did not amputate but did Aredia treatments. It helped slow the growth of the tumor. I know in dogs, amputation is considered the gold standard, followed by radiation and chemo. Also, bone cancer is very, very painful, so if you decide not to treat you should probably start pain meds asap. I'm very sorry for this sad situation. I hope you can find a way to keep your kitty comfortable and here a while longer.
 
Thank you everyone for your kind words. He's on buprehedine (sp?) for the pain which I think is helping as he is spending more time in the living room with the family now. I don't want to dismiss amputation and chemo if they are valid options for extending his life while still retaining quality of life...but it is hard to consider such things after losing his brother to cancer. In the end, I was feeding him every four hours through a tube in his neck and swore I wouldn't do that to another animal. But I will try and be open minded and see what they say tomorrow. Tas just walked in and meowed a hi to everyone. :) I'll report back tomorrow when I know more and again thanks to everyone for your support. It really means a lot to me that people I've never met care enough to read and reply.
CIndy
 
The specialists felt that as long as all his bloodwork comes back ok that he should be good to go for the surgery. So he is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday to have his front leg removed. Hoping I've made the right decision...
Thanks again to everyone who responded,
Cindy
 
I'm sorry to hear you're going through this with your kitty. Bone cancer (osteosarcoma) has actually a pretty good survival rate in cats, as opposed to dogs. Amputation is often curative. (In dogs, metastasis is common but cats seem to keep this in check somehow.) I would definitely do it -- make sure you've got good pain meds on board for the recovery -- two days in the hospital on fentanyl is a good idea.
 
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