Ebony has lymphoma in kidney... Please help

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Sara and Buttercup

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Just talked to the the vet. Ebony's biopsy came back. He has lymphoma in his kidney. He didn't biospty the smaller kidney but he said it is failing anyway. The vet said that the prognosis is very grave. He said that he thought chemo could make him crash and die. He suggested cortisone or some kind of steroid shot. He is calling the oncologist at WSU this morning to talk to him at my request. I am going to call WSU to see if I can get my appointment changed to be with the oncologist. He's getting his bloodwork redone this morning. the vet suggested euthanasia. I can't do that to any of my animals. I want to try to treat him.

I tried to join the lymphoma group that someone left a link to but I didn't see how to join? can someone help me with that? I am devastated. It's really hard for me to function now to try to help him because I am so down and scared. If you could offer any advice or help at this point it would be appreciated. I'm scared to bring him home and watch him die. I asked the vet how long he had and he said maybe a few weeks but if chemo worked he said it could be more.

I think what I want to do is go to a specialist. I guess that is what I'm going to work for. I want to feel like I have done everything I can to help him. Aslo, there is something else, that doesn';t matter at this point but there was a vet there (different vet) who saw him 6 months ago when he urinating a lot and had a high white count. this had been gong on for a year or more and i had brought him several times about this. I ASKED THE VET, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIS KIDNEYS or DOES HE HAVE CANCER and he said NO. I think this could have been caught earlier. I tried to get help for him sooner. I am not a frickin professional. I trusted him. He should have looked into it further with those symptoms and I should have pushed him to do so... but i trusted his judegment. I will never go to this other vet again.

Is there any hope for my cat to live a few months at least? Has anyone here had a cat with kidney lymphoma. I really need help now. I havne't had a cat die for about 6 years and that cat dropped dead of a heart attack so it was much different. That was easier in a way. this is torture. I actually don't know how I am going to get through this. Thank you so much.
 
(((Sara)))

I do not have kidney lymphoma in my background, but I did have a cancer kitty. I can't help you with treatment vs palliative care, though my gut reaction would be to ask around and see if I should start kidney support supplements and steroids to help with comfort.

I see you reeling from this news, and naturally going back to when did this happen?? ((((hugs)))) It can be very traumatizing when you set yourself into wondering if you could have stopped this. For now, those thoughts need to be pushed back, so you can focus and make a plan.

Sending you lots of love and prayers, and hoping you can get help and answers very soon.
 
Sara,

I'm so sorry to hear about your news. Quincy was diagnosed with a different type of lymphoma in April 08 and I know how devastating that news can be. While it is definitely grave news, you are right not to conclude it's a "death sentence." There are a lot of treatment options out there that may be able to extend your cat's life by months if not years. I think it's a great idea for you to see a feline oncologist who can tell you about your options and recommend treatment. Chemo may be intravenous or oral, btw, so it may be something you can administer at home. Whatever path you take, it'll require monitoring to ensure that bone marrow suppression doesn't happen.

Here are some feline lymphoma resources:
http://felinelymphomacaregivers.org/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline_lymphoma/
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1376&aid=219

Good luck and take care
 
I am very sorry to see this.

This is a link on lymphoma, which has a little information on chemo treatments for renal lymphoma and prognosis. http://maxshouse.com/Oncology/feline_ly ... kemias.htm (scroll down to the prognosis section at the bottom).

A veterinary oncologist would be the best person to talk to about treatments, prognosis, etc.
The ACVIM link that Jess posted in your earlier thread can help you locate an oncologist http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=3 Choose specialty: oncology. If there is none local to your area, ask your vet if he knows of and is willing to consult with an oncologist by phone - I believe Cornell does phone consults.
 
My cat, Shadow, had mediastinal lymphoma that was first discovered when she began regurgitating her food last year. I opted to have the enlarged lymph node near her esophagus removed because it was keeping her from eating well. When we got the positive biopsy back, I opted not to go for chemo, etc. because we also found out she was FELV+ at the same time and had other health issues too (none life-threatening, just quality-of-life threatening). We treated with prednisone and pain meds only, and she lived another six weeks past the diagnosis. :cry:

If you can afford the oncologist and you think Ebony had a good quality of life otherwise, I urge you to go with that avenue of treatment. Prednisone alone is not a treatment; it is basically just palliative a this point, though it's better than euthanasia if it will get her a few weeks.

I know how hard it is to watch your cat suffer; you have to do what is right for you. I'll keep you in my thoughts.
 
When one of our furbabies is diagnosed with cancer, it is utterly terrifying. I am sorry that you have a baby with this terrible diagnoses. However, there is no expiration date stamped on your baby's a$$. He is going to live as long as he is going to live, and just because you are given a "time frame" does not mean he is going to pass away anytime during that time frame. I have been thru it with 2 of my babies now.

Georgie was given 2 to 3 months when he was diagnosed with stage 3 mammary cancer. He was still alive 10 months post-diagnoses when he escaped the window. I have no idea how much longer he lived beyond that as I have not seen him since. He was on daily prednisone tablets (2.5mg) and gabapentin orally for pain. He also wore a fentanyl patch when the pain was really bad as he had progressed to stage 4 by the point of his escaping the house. He also took 2mg of cypro BID to keep his appetite up.

Sebastian has stage 3 Mast Cell Sarcoma (on his shoulder) and stage 2 Squamous Cell Carcinoma (on his eyelid). He has had his tumors removed twice now, but they always grow back even larger. He takes 2.5 mg of prednisone daily, but is not showing pain symptoms, (eats really well, playful, interacts with the other cats and the dogs), so he is not on pain meds at this time. He was given 12-18 months when he was diagnosed in June of '09. I fully expect that he will survive beyond the 18 month outside time frame he was originally given.

Honestly, I think treating supportively is probably the best way to way to go as I have found during my frantic studies that cats generally do not react well to chemotherapy and it generally does not buy them much more time. Not to mention the terrible way it usually decreases their quality of life. And it is often extremely expensive. Radiation *might* offer some help, but I am not sure if that is an option with a kidney lymphoma.

I sincerely wish you and Ebony the best and will keep you in my thoughts, and prayers.

~M
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. I answered the PM a little too quickly and hadn't seen this yet.

I've been there, but Sammy's was intestinal cancer, which is a fast progressing cancer. Cancer can also be difficult to diagnose. (I would not get too upset about the fact that they wouldn't know this 6 months ago. I'm really not sure there's any way they could have, assuming it even existed then. But anger is part of it all and sometimes we need a place to put it.)

It's definitely a low blow. Sammy had developed fluids on his abdomen, and when the vet detected them I was shocked and about fell on the floor. Cause I knew something causing fluids would be bad, whatever it was. That was a pretty big shock to go home with that day. (In fact, I don't even remember what I did when I left the clinic, sit in the car and cry, stay in shock, I don't know.)

I can see right now you're not ready to deal with some of this. Certainly get to a specialist. Others with that specific experience can help you there. At some point you will be less shocked and be able to think a little straighter. And I think seeing someone who specializes in this can help you put these pieces together - having some knowledge and possible options will give you something to focus on. This might sound nuts right now, but I think a sudden loss is harder - it's so unexpected, with no chance to even TRY anything. I was glad I knew what was going on, as it gave me time to adjust and deal.

I've been there, I know what this is like. I'm always sorry to see anyone else have to go through it. The best thing I could wish you is peace in your heart.
 
my goodness, of course it is worth it to see if there's anything you can do. cleo has multicentric lymphoma and in my studies i've seen different treatment protocols for the different types of lymphoma. most involve prednisolone and one of multiple types of chemo. many cats tolerate chemo very well.
i don't know how informative felinelymphomacaregivers.org is but it was my first stop. you'll find a link to the yahoo lymphoma group there. you apply for membership but it's almost immediately granted. i found it more supportive than informative but it helps to commune with others in the same boat.
it's important to find out what grade of lymphoma your cat has (small cell, large cell, low grade, high grade, etc) in order to determine a treatment approach.
definitely talk with a veterinary oncologist.
wishing you luck with this. let us know what you find out.
 
Flo's brother, Eddie, had nasal lymphoma. He received chemo and radiation at UC Davis. We dropped him off Monday and picked him up Friday. Strangely enough, he loved the 1 1/2 hour drive there and back, and seemed to have a pretty good time there. I'm convinced he was surrounded by cute vet students. In any case, he was so much happier and healthier once the treatment started. It took several weeks (and several vets) to get a diagnosis, and during that time he (and his dad and I) suffered almost unbearably. He was wasting away to nothing, would only eat tiny amounts of food from my fingers, and the subQs were really difficult. He literally cried, which of course made us cry. After several weeks of treatment, he was like a 3 year old again (he was almost 10 at diagnosis). He lived a ridiculously happy and healthy 18 months after that.

He died curled up in our back yard, for no apparent reason. Necropsy was inconclusive. The treatment cost a fortune, but I wouldn't have done it any other way (well, I probably would've gone straight to Davis rather than putzing around with other vets).

Keep in mind I know nothing about kidney cancer, but just wanted to put in my 2 cents.

Also, Eddie's oncologist was/is amazing. He's now at a clinic in Florida. I know that's geographically undesirable, but if you are in need of a phone consult or second opinion, he might be helpful.

All fingers/paws are crossed here and positive thoughts are headed in your direction.
 
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