Does cancer cause blood sugars to go down?

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tessielou

tessielou

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Hi all,
My kitty, Tessie Lou, has diabetes and we usually post to the Lantus forum. Last week, I took her to the vet because I noticed a growth near one of her mammary glands. The vet has put her on Amoxycillin for 2 weeks (we have 7 days left), to see if it's just an infection of some kind in her body causing the lymph nodes to be inflammed. If the ab doesn't work, she wants to do a biopsy to see if it's cancer (lymphoma).

My question is, can cancer cause blood sugars to go down? For the past 10 days or so, Tessie's numbers have been coming down and I have done no dose changes. She has been on 2 units for months. I don't know whether to be excited that she may be going into remission, or to be concerned that she has cancer and that is what's causing this BG change.

Thanks!
 
Cancer likes carbs.
Sometimes they recommend going as low carb as possible because of that. Also fish oil is supposed to be helpful - there is (or was) an Rx diet for dogs based on that.

Monitor the size of each of the mammary glands daily or twice daily. If you are feeling or seeing increases in size, lumpy sections, or new lumps ... it probably isn't infection.

If it is mammary cancer, that can move really fast. The only hope of slowing it down is a mastectomy, usually one side after the other (for recovery time) because of the lymph node linkages between each mammary chain. My former housemate and I lost RJ, a very sweet tortie, from mammary cancer. The metastasized tumors started ulcerating through the skin and she couldn't do another surgery to remove them so we helped her across the bridge.
 
Thanks, Larry. I hope that's not what's happening, but good to know...

BJM said:
Cancer likes carbs.
Sometimes they recommend going as low carb as possible because of that. Also fish oil is supposed to be helpful - there is (or was) an Rx diet for dogs based on that.

Monitor the size of each of the mammary glands daily or twice daily. If you are feeling or seeing increases in size, lumpy sections, or new lumps ... it probably isn't infection.

If it is mammary cancer, that can move really fast. The only hope of slowing it down is a mastectomy, usually one side after the other (for recovery time) because of the lymph node linkages between each mammary chain. My former housemate and I lost RJ, a very sweet tortie, from mammary cancer. The metastasized tumors started ulcerating through the skin and she couldn't do another surgery to remove them so we helped her across the bridge.
Click to expand...

Thank you, BJ, I hope it's not mammary cancer. I'm sorry you lost your kitty to it. My vet also said that it is very agressive, with a poor prognosis. I will monitor her glands, like you suggested. I've already got her on very low carb diet. I'll ask vet about fish oil, too. Thanks again,
Sandy
 
I did not notice any change in my Twigie's insulin needs dose due to her mammary cancer. The vet should be able take a sample with a needle and syringe and look at it under a microscope.
 
Hopefully it is just an infection and maybe the ab's are working. Since infection can cause the bgs to go up maybe the meds are having a good effect by removing the infection thus bringing the bgs back down. Keep us posted please.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
... The vet should be able take a sample with a needle and syringe and look at it under a microscope.
Click to expand...

Needle biopsies may not provide a sufficient sample if it is a tumor.

If, on the other hand, it seems "floculent" - sort of smushy, like a boil or abscess from infection might be - it may have a liquid center that would yield readily to a needle aspiration.
 
Frequently needle biopsies are inconclusive but very often they provide the diagnosis. It is relatively cheap and simple to do.
 
Thanks for the input. I asked the vet about both types of biopsy, and she recommends getting a tissue sample. The lumps are hard and do not move. After 10 days on Amoxycillin, the area is unchanged. Monday I take her back in to be examined. Her numbers continue to stay in the blues and some greens, and she is in very good spirits, eating and LB are both great. So from a behavioral standpoint, she doesn't seem ill at all.

Thanks again,
 
If a tumor is hard AND and anchored to other tissue, plus popped up quickly (characteristics of feline mammary cancer), I'd go directly to removal, because of how fast mammary cancer travels.

I wouldn't take 2 weeks for antibiotics to see if they work (particularly since it is hard and immobile); I'd do the excision now, while she is on antibiotics. I'd rather excise a benign tumor quickly, than wait only to discover it is cancer. Even it $500 or so was spent on a benign tumor excision.

To measure it, you might improvise calipers with a wrench or pair of pliers to set the distance, then use a ruler to measure the opening.
 
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your concern about Tessie Lou. I decided to postpone her vet visit yesterday, and instead have a call in to the vet to ask why it is necessary to see her again (and put her through the stress of another vet visit), when the growth hasn't responded to ABs and the growth itself has not changed in size. I called her yesterday, and she called me back this morning, but I missed her because I was outside rescuing a little wren that somehow got herself trapped on my screen porch. Anyway, vet will be out of surgery at 10am (CDT) and will call me back then to discuss Tessie. I'm hoping we can still do the biopsy in the next few days.

The only new physical development with Tessie Lou is I have noticed a tiny bit of moisture at the site, on two different occasions the past two days. Don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing...

Thanks again for checking on her.
 
Great that it doesn't seem to have changed in size!

Hmmn. Some moisture? Does it appear to be comming out of a duct? If so, you might try a warm compress to see if it would encourage drainage.
 
BJ, it is definitely coming from the nipple that the growth is next to. Very little amount, just a drop or two, and clear, no smell, but sticky.

After talking to the vet, I've decided to have her biopsy tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll get to take her home by mid-afternoon. The results will take a week.
 
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