Experience With Histiocytic Cancer?

[erinrose84]

Hi Friends, I have a 6-7 year old Tonkinese female named Sasha, that we have had for almost three years. She is completely indoors, and an anxious kitty. Back in late November, we noticed after a stressful family visit (that included a screaming toddler) that she was lethargic and had lost her appetite, which is typically her favorite pastime. About a month prior to this, she had two lower teeth removed due to decay, and at that time the vet didn't see any issues. We had a home vet visit in December, and found out she was anemic, so the next step was finding out what was causing that. She was put on pred and doxycycline for two weeks, but her levels continued to decrease and she needed transfusion. FIV, FIP and FeLV were ruled out. No kidney or lung issues, no infectious disease. She was diagnosed with non-regenerative hemolytic anemia, and her meds were changed to increased pred dosage and Atopica.

When she didn't respond to those either (meaning her red blood cells were still destroying each other) and she needed another transfusion, our vet recommended an ultrasound recheck for her liver and spleen, along with an aspirate, because those two organs were slightly enlarged. After the cytology came back from IDEXX, they feel strongly that it's histiocytic cancer because of the amount of macrophages (they had increased from the 1st ultrasound), and because she's not responding to any other treatment. This is appearing in her spleen and liver (and possibly bone marrow). She is now on Lomustine, and just started that this week, along with the pred.

From what we understand, this is very rare in cats, or at least rarely observed, so there isn't a lot of information on treatment, and the prognosis is generally not good as it's considered aggressive.

I would like to know if anyone else has dealt with this specifically. My heart is broken; I love this cat so much and cannot think of her not being here with me. She was literally in what we thought was perfect health, but this came on very quickly, and the vet thinks she had adjusted to being anemic long-term, so the symptoms weren't obvious, but it was brought out by stress.

P.S. Pic of my sweet angel attached.

 

[white shadow]

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In June 1999, before there were forums like TCS, a small group of people whose cats were diagnosed with cancer formed an online support group. Today, almost 20 years later, that group is still active having had over 3000 members.

If there's anywhere you're likely to hear about another case similar to Sasha's, it's likely there. They're still using email as an operating platform, and a new email account dedicated to the group (Yahoo works well) will help you manage the back-and-forth info flow.

The group is here: For People Whose Cats (may) Have Cancer - Yahoo Groups

Thinking of you both
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[erinrose84]

Wow thank you SO much for such a quick and helpful response! We have felt so lost with this, and knowing there are more out there to at least learn from, is comforting. Many, many thanks!

 

[neely]

Our dog was diagnosed with Reactive Histiocytosis which had not gone into the malignant stage yet. We were very fortunate to have a knowledgeable and compassionate veterinary specialist who worked with us. Our boy was part of a research study and through many tweaks with medication he lived a long and happy life, however, never went into remission. I realize this is not the same case with your Tonkinese, Sasha, but I would be more than happy to share his medical protocol if that would be helpful. Thinking of you and sending special thoughts your way.