Lump Near Nipple

[The Practical Cat]

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm sorry you all had to go through that! Unfortunately it's been bad news for Pandora. I got the results from her needle aspiration earlier this week and the cells came back looking very likely to be malignant . I've been kind of beside myself over this which is why I didn't post sooner.

Today we have x rays to see if the cancer has spread. If it has I've made the decision not to do chemo, if it hasn't spread I will look at surgery as an option, but unfortunately cost (in addition to recovery time and benefit to Pandora in the long run) will play a factor. It's been a really rough week. Pandora still appears healthy and has no idea why I've been so upset and fawning over her so much lately, heheh. My mom is going to come up to visit next week to help me out with some of this. It'll probably take til Monday to get X-ray results back, in the meanwhile I will look into surgeons in the area. I have the option to go with a surgeon that works at my vet's practice a few times a week, or to take her up to Tufts which has a veterinary oncology department. A friend of mine had a dog a couple years ago with lymphoma and told me her experience at Tufts was really good. She's made a phone call on my behalf to one of the oncologists that worked with her dog, though she hasn't heard back so we're not sure if this will pan out. She said that Tufts has some funds to help with costs if owners can't afford treatment, but it's not something easily applied for. Even if that doesn't pan out however I am starting to lean toward Tufts because my vet has admitted not knowing a lot about feline mammary cancer.

 

[arouetta]

I remember the first time the vet said it was cancer. It sounds like you are actually holding up very well, better than I did.

 

[The Practical Cat]

Heh, I have basically been crying for the past three days . I'm doing what I can to keep myself together, I'm really lucky I have a good support network around me.

 

[zygote]

So sorry to hear the bad news. I'm glad you have already started figuring out how to move forward.

The decision not to treat with chemo if it has spread makes a lot of sense. It would be a real gift to Pandora to keep her happy and comfortable as long as you can. Chemo can be rough and would not cure her. Just buy her time.

If it hasn't spread, I hope you are able to talk to someone at Tufts to hear your options. I will say, our cat did better with the surgery than the chemo. She got pain meds for a few days and felt so good it was a nightmare to keep her confined to one room while she healed, haha. But it is also very understandable if you choose not to put her through that. Like chemo, it will only give you time, not a cure. You know your cat best and what she can handle.

If you do decide you want to get her the surgery, I hope Tufts is able to work something out with you.

I have my fingers crossed for a good X-ray.

 

[The Practical Cat]

Thanks Zygote. The way I tend to deal with things like this is by researching and making plans. How long was the recovery time for your cat's surgery? And how extensive was it?

I saw my friend's dog go through chemo, it looked really rough for both her and my friend, though it did buy her a couple years more she always seemed tired and out of it and just not herself. I know my friend did what she thought was best for her pup and I don't judge her for it, but I also know Pandora is a pretty sensitive cat and wouldn't take that well at all. It doesn't seem worth it, for me at least, to buy Pandora time if she will just be miserable for it.

 

[zygote]

We chose to do a full kitty mastectomy. They do it in stages, one side at a time, because the mammary chains go down their entire abdomen. There's not enough skin to do it all in one surgery. We started with the side with the bigger lump. They took out the entire mammary chain and a related lymph node to do pathology. We knew it hadn't spread to other organs, but the fact that the surgery told us it wasn't in her lymph system either was a big relief. We dropped her off the night before for IV fluids because she also had early stage CKD. After the surgery, she stayed in the hospital two more nights before we took her home.

From all my googling, I saw some people advised to keep their cats in a dog crate for two weeks after the surgery. Our vets just wanted us to keep her somewhere she couldn't jump around. Our apartment doesn't have many rooms, so we ended up having to shut her in the living room and barricade the couch. That worked pretty well to keep her from jumping, but she kept meowing at the door and would run for it if we weren't paying attention coming in or out. She did escape once or twice and jump up on the bed, but it didn't seem to cause any issues with her recovery. She also had to keep a cone on so she wouldn't lick the incision.

The first few days she was at home, she was on pain meds. She was maybe a little loopy, but didn't seem to feel ill. I think she did have diarrhea once or twice but the vets weren't concerned about it unless it became frequent. She was mostly eating normally. Then after two weeks she had a checkup to make sure the incision was healing well and got free reign of the house again.

It was a pretty big incision, down her whole abdomen, and the surgeons said it can be a rough surgery. But throughout the process, she always seemed like herself in a way that she did not when she was going through chemo. Kind of like she felt fine in her core and was just annoyed by all these silly distractions. Same thing the second time, but she was even feistier. "This again? No thank you, I will jump over the couch barricade and run into the rest of the house."

This is just one cat, maybe not all of them handle it so well. But whereas I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat, I'm not sure I would choose chemo again.

 

[Cataria]

*hugs* I'm so, so sorry about the diagnosis! It's really hard, but you still have time. Not as much as you thought, but you still have time left with her! I hope you can get some good news about the state of the metastasis.

I think it was about a week to recover from the mastectomy surgeries for my cats. The incision looks scary, but I'll be completely honest, I had a terrible time trying to keep my cats from jumping around and playing like morons -- they were definitely on the good drugs! For Sweetie and Ember, since I lived in a small apartment, I finally gave up and left them loose because they were driving me nuts. They definitely did more moving around then they were supposed to, but they healed okay and managed to not hurt themselves. For Nenya, I ended up closing her in my bathroom which minimized the amount of trouble she could get into.

Sweetie and Nenya both handled chemo very well, no illness, unusual tiredness, or lack of eating at all (except for one case with Nenya). Sweetie did not do any vomiting, but Nenya sometimes did once after chemo. However, she'd always been a vomit-y, hairball-y cat. Sweetie lost all of her whiskers though from the chemo, that was rather odd, but fortunately it didn't make her klutzy or anything. The single time Nenya got sick was with the chemo that they injected directly into her pleural cavity -- probably a combination of it being the location where it was injected and that it was one of the stronger types of chemo. If circumstances had worked out that Nenya had another appointment with the oncologist, I wouldn't have done that type of chemo again, she was totally miserable after that one! I guess the only real way you can know how your pet will handle chemo is to try at least once and see if they can tolerate it, but that's only if you feel okay doing that and can afford the cost. I only mention it because my understanding is that if there is metastasis, chemo provides the better prognosis, but don't feel pressured to do something you don't feel comfortable with. What's important is that you enjoy all the time you have left with her (hopefully a lot!) and she's happy and doing well.

 

[Zandalee]

Just a reminder to check with your vet before trying any at home treatment on your cat. What works for one could be deadly for another.

I don't think you are understanding that it's drinking a minuscule amount. I check many resources before I try something and I asked my vet.

 

[Zandalee]

According to PetMD apple cider vinegar has no health benefits and some risks, such as burning the mucus membranes, causing ulcers, and a laxative effect. And if the cat has any kidney problems, known or unknown, that's when it really wreaks havoc.

I went to PetMD and that is not the article that came up. Can Pets Have Apple Cider Vinegar? | petMD They are so ignorant they warn about it's acidity, when just like lemons it too turns alkaline in the body when consumed. Do you know what cannot survive in an alkaline body - cancer. It cannot burn the body even if you drink it straight from the bottle. In this article they say it's fine to give it to your pets and that many are doing it.

 

[Zandalee]

First of all you are quoting from pet md

According to PetMD apple cider vinegar has no health benefits and some risks, such as burning the mucus membranes, causing ulcers, and a laxative effect. And if the cat has any kidney problems, known or unknown, that's when it really wreaks havoc.

I do not use PetMD and you have just demonstrated why. There is such a tiny amount that you cannot even taste it. It very much reads to me as if that is straight vinegar which no animal would drink, no owner who ever had any common sense would do, and illustrates the few hours on nutrition that vets are taught, and that mostly covered by Science Diet. You need to research this in other places, other vets, and a chemistry class wouldn't hurt. Apple cider vinegar with the mother has so many health benefits that books are written about it.

 

[AbbysMom]

The Practical Cat I'm so sorry about the diagnosis. Lots of for good results for the x-ray. I've heard good things about Tufts as well.

 

[AbbysMom]

I don't think you are understanding that it's drinking a minuscule amount. I check many resources before I try something and I asked my vet.

I went to PetMD and that is not the article that came up. Can Pets Have Apple Cider Vinegar? | petMD They are so ignorant they warn about it's acidity, when just like lemons it too turns alkaline in the body when consumed. Do you know what cannot survive in an alkaline body - cancer. It cannot burn the body even if you drink it straight from the bottle. In this article they say it's fine to give it to your pets and that many are doing it.

I do not use PetMD and you have just demonstrated why. There is such a tiny amount that you cannot even taste it. It very much reads to me as if that is straight vinegar which no animal would drink, no owner who ever had any common sense would do, and illustrates the few hours on nutrition that vets are taught, and that mostly covered by Science Diet. You need to research this in other places, other vets, and a chemistry class wouldn't hurt. Apple cider vinegar with the mother has so many health benefits that books are written about it.

Welcome to the site. Yes, the vinegar could work great for the cat or it could cause it harm, no matter the dosage. Here on the site we discourage direct medical advice and alternative treatments if not cleared by the vet, no matter how harmless they may seem to be. This explains it a bit more:

About Providing Medical Advice on this Board

 

[The Practical Cat]

Thanks for your responses Zygote and Cataria. Unfortunately it's been more bad news for Pandora . They found a nodule in her lung on the x-rays. I followed up with an oncologist at Tufts and he said that it's possible it's metastasized, but also possible it's unrelated. Seems more likely though that it's metastasis. He offered a plethora of options, most of which I unfortunately can't afford, though he said my local vet may be less expensive and I've contacted them for an estimate on tests and surgeries as well.

Some of the options he mentioned were ultrasound to see if other areas of the tumor have spread in the mammary glands, a full body CT to look at both the lungs and mammaries, surgery to remove the whole chain of glands, surgery just to remove the one tumor, and of course chemo. The simplest option was to wait about a month and re xray to see if the nodule in the lung has grown, which will prove metastasis if it has, but be inconclusive if it hasn't, and that's the route I'm leaning toward at the option (while continuing to monitor the tumor on her nipple). Her outlook if it's already in the lung is not great even with surgery which is why I'm leaning toward waiting to see. My parents have kindly given me a little bit of money to help out with some of the expenses, so I am considering doing the ultrasound now rather than waiting to re x-ray but have not totally decided there yet. I need to get a report from the oncologist for all these options as well as estimates from my vet's surgeon.

In the meanwhile Pandora still seems to be symptom free. I'm a disaster and my mom came up to help me for a bit through all of this, which was really sweet of her. Doing my best to hang in there because I need to be here for my little kitty.

 

[zygote]

Apologies for the delayed reply - I was traveling and didn't see this until now. And I am so sorry to hear about the bad news on the xrays.

I think monitoring via more xrays or an ultrasound is a smart plan. No sense in putting her through surgery if it's already metastasized and she's currently happy and symptom free. I think I would do the same thing in your position.

The only blessing I have found in having a sick kitty is that I appreciate every moment with her, and love on her more than I ever have. I hope you and Pandora are able to continue to enjoy each other. And I'm glad your mom has able to help ease some of the load. This process can be really stressful.

 

[The Practical Cat]

No worries Zygote, I didn't see your response until now, either. I'm still waiting to hear back from my vet about quotes for testing and surgeries at their office. I guess the surgeon was in their office yesterday so she was supposed to have spoken to him then, hopefully I'll get a call soon.

Pandora seems grumpier than usual and is over responsive when I pick her up lately. I'm not sure if she's not feeling well, or if this is a response to increased contact with my newer cat Nymeria, who I've been struggling to introduce her to (Pandora wants nothing to do with her). She's still eating and drinking fine, so hopefully it's to do with Nymeria and not her illness, but we'll see.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Hey

No worries Zygote, I didn't see your response until now, either. I'm still waiting to hear back from my vet about quotes for testing and surgeries at their office. I guess the surgeon was in their office yesterday so she was supposed to have spoken to him then, hopefully I'll get a call soon.

Pandora seems grumpier than usual and is over responsive when I pick her up lately. I'm not sure if she's not feeling well, or if this is a response to increased contact with my newer cat Nymeria, who I've been struggling to introduce her to (Pandora wants nothing to do with her). She's still eating and drinking fine, so hopefully it's to do with Nymeria and not her illness, but we'll see.

Hey there. Wondering if you have any update on your cat. Hope she's doing well. I am having a similar concern about my cat now, and remembered this thread.

 

[zygote]

I am not the OP, but my cat's mammary cancer also metastasized to the lungs. They first saw a hint of it in November, and then a follow up X-ray in January confirmed growth. Our highly specialized veterinary oncologists, who were happy to offer many treatment options for the lumps, said there weren't really any options once it had gone to the lungs. Our only choice would have been a daily chemo pill called palladia, but our cat was not amenable to pills. Plus the chances of it giving her more than a few extra weeks of comfort were low. We had to put her down at the beginning of April because her breathing became labored.

Mammary cancer is a beast. The lumps never came back after surgery and chemo, but it still spread to her lungs anyway. If you suspect a lump, please take your kitty in as soon as possible. While the disease is very aggressive, I do know of other cats in my online support group who lived for years with early treatment. Best of luck to you and your cat, and I hope it's just a false alarm.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I am not the OP, but my cat's mammary cancer also metastasized to the lungs. They first saw a hint of it in November, and then a follow up X-ray in January confirmed growth. Our highly specialized veterinary oncologists, who were happy to offer many treatment options for the lumps, said there weren't really any options once it had gone to the lungs. Our only choice would have been a daily chemo pill called palladia, but our cat was not amenable to pills. Plus the chances of it giving her more than a few extra weeks of comfort were low. We had to put her down at the beginning of April because her breathing became labored.

Mammary cancer is a beast. The lumps never came back after surgery and chemo, but it still spread to her lungs anyway. If you suspect a lump, please take your kitty in as soon as possible. While the disease is very aggressive, I do know of other cats in my online support group who lived for years with early treatment. Best of luck to you and your cat, and I hope it's just a false alarm.

Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve been in touch with her vet already and need to call on Monday to make an appointment. I am scared, but hopeful it’s a false alarm. The vet mentioned X-rays in addition to a biopsy, so we should know more soon.