Mass between civie's shoulder blades, home from surgery

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Jenny and Sue

Jenny and Sue

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I am freaking out. I have a female cat named Chicken who approx. 12-13 years old. I was just petting her and noticed that she had a large lump between her shoulder blades. Of course I googled it and came up with Vaccine associated sarcoma and now I'm really freaking out. I called the vet and left a message that I want an appt. ASAP. Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?

Thanks,
Jenny
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

I have no direct experience with VAS but from Yahoos feline cancer group the prognosis is not good if it is a VAS in the location you say. If surgically removed it tends to come back. That is why now that vaccinations are recommended below the shoulder so that if a VAS develops you can amputate which is frequently successful. The rabies vaccine seems to be the main culprit.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

i agree with your actions, get it looked at asap. buttttt, having a heart attack yourself tonight is no good either so again, gotta remember to breathe here.

i had a kitty with VAS but I'll leave it at that for now as we don't want to get ahead of ourselves just yet. should see what vet says first i think.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

Thanks, Cindy. I'm calming down now. She hasn't had any vaccines since Dec. 2009. I will let you know as soon as I can get an appt.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

Yes, do get it checked ASAP and let us know what the vet says. I also had a kitty that had VAS.
•The lump is larger than 2cms
•The lump persists for more than 3 months after vaccination
•Any lump which continues to grow one month after vaccination
Just things to consider on regards to VAS. Hoping it is anything other than VAS....like a fatty cyst.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

This lump showed up 11 months after being vaccinated, so hopefully it's not VAS, but I will post back as soon as I know. Thank you.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

It could also be a fatty tumor (benign). Two of my cats have had fatty tumors (removed and tested). One had a small lump that turned out to be malignant melanoma. It was removed, and 2.5 years later he had intestinal cancer (hemangiosarcoma) that was inoperable.

So it could be a benign lump of fat or it could be something nastier. Don't fret too much, but do get it checked out.

((((((hugs))))))
phoebe
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

Quite a few yers ago I had a small white cat who had a mass between her shoulder blades. A punch biopsy showed that it was a fibrous growth, not cancer, and she lived another 8 years. Scared me out of vaccines for her though. Good luck.
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades

A couple of years ago, we found a lump on my cat Tom in the exact spot as your cat (between the shoulder blades). We had it aspirated, and it turned out to be a fatty cyst. Not really sure, but they might run in families as his sister Lola has a couple of them also. Hoping for the same diagnosis for your cat, Chicken.

Nancy
 
Re: Mass between civvie's shoulder blades -update

The vet did not like the feel of the mass and is afraid that it is VAS. I have an appt with a board certified surgeon on Wed. Dec. 1. I am really sad about this, but I am trying not to worry because there is nothing I can do.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

The surgeon felt pretty certain that it is VAS. She said one good thing was that it didn't seem to be completely attached to the bone (?). Surgery is tomorrow
morning. She said she will aggressively (her word) remove everything she sees and maybe shave a piece of the bone if necessary and take 3 radiograph views as well and put in clips if I choose to radiate after (if it is VAS). $2000 :(
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

my harry has surgery tomorrow morning (lung mass for him), so i'll pray for both of them that the surgery is a success and gets all the bad stuff out.

(((Hugs)))
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Thank you! We'll be thinking of Harry as well!!! Healing vines for us all!!!!!
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Adding Chicken to the successful surgery prayers for tomorrow....all the bad stuff is going away vines coming from here.

All fingers and paws crossed.

Mel and furry hoard.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

You and Chicken will be in my thoughts and prayers today, along with Chris's Harry. Be safe, Chicken.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Good luck with Chicken's surgery. We've had VAS with two of our kitties - one diabetic, the other one not. The civvie just had the stitches removed from his second VAS surgery. The first one was benign but the second one was malignant. Both times, they were easy to remove and the vet was able to get them out completely. He has warned us that they'll return again, so we're prepared for that day. He hasn't had shots since 2009 either.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Thanks for the encouraging news, Our Gang. I am being super aggressive with this. The tumor was found less than two weeks ago, so hopefully luck is on our side. I will update this afternoon.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, update on surgery

The surgeon said things went really well. She said the tumor was still very movable and she did not need to cut any bone. She said that she did not see any evidence that it had spread and she put clips in so we can radiate. Yay!! Good news!

I can get her tomorrow or Saturday depending on how Chicken feels!!!! :-D
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Yay Chicken!!! So glad to hear it went well. flip_cat

Mel & Max
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

So happy to hear that it went well!
Congrats :thumbup cat_pet_icon flip_cat
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

I am glad surgery went well. I am so sorry it had to be VAS. May I suggest you join the yahoo VAS support group? So much great info, education, and advice there.
If you have an oncologist close by, I would get an opinion on what to do next. I know it can be expensive to do these treatments so talk to your vet about writing to the vaccine manufacturer about possibly getting some compensation(some will help out and others won't).
I could go on and on, but for now, best wishes and speedy recovery vibes being sent your way!
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

I joined the yahoo group! The biospy actually won't be back for 5-7 days, so I don't know for sure if it is VAS, but it is definitely suspected. I have her complete shot records for 2002-2009. I am going to the old vet after school tomorrow to get the mfg. info. I know the Felv was Leukocell 2 by Pfizer.
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

Glad to hear that the surgery went well! We'll keep our fingers (and paws) crossed for good results. I forgot to mention that it was several years between recurrences for us; best would be, of course, that you don't have to go through this with Chicken again. Let us know how it goes!
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

I will be dilligently checking her! Here's hoping that she'll be good from here on out!
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, met with surgeon t

adding you and Chicken to my prayer list. Hoping all is well with her now.
jeanne
 
Re: Mass between civie's shoulder blades, Chicken is home!

Chicken is home! Has eaten and peed so far and is resting in a room separate from the other kitties. I'm keeping her company! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. 5-7 days to wait now for the biopsy results...
 
Day 2 at home. She is doing well. Sleeping in her bed mostly, but is getting up and walking around a little sometimes. I'm giving her buprenorphine every 8 hours and clavamox twice a day. I've decided that I won't be vaccinating any of my kitties anymore. They are all indoor kitties. Here is a pic of Chicken from yesterday:

ChickenPostSurgery12-3-101715027.jpg


They were very aggressive with her surgery which makes me happy.

Jenny
 
Wow! and here i thought my LePew's incision was a big one :-)
http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz28 ... 0_0354.jpg

glad the surgeon feels confident about this. i will keep my fingers crossed yours comes back not VAS.

fwiw, i too chose long ago to no longer vaccinate my cats after losing Gizmo and learning about VAS. i've done kitten series on a few kitties since but that's all they get and my vet of the last several years agrees and supports my decision. when in 20 years the new vaccines haven't caused VAS, i may reconsider but for now, my kitties won't be the guinea pigs :smile:
 
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