Mammary cancer - I'm so distraught right now

[tclark13]

Hi,

I found this place when googling info for mammary cancer and tumors, which my cat has. I really want to talk to other cat lovers about it and I guess just vent. Most of the people in my life are not animal people, so I get frustrated talking to them when they all have this attitude of "well I guess you'll have to put her down" and think I'm crazy for spending money for care. I think they are crazy for questioning spending money on her care. 

My cat is 6 years old, female (my avatar is her), and I've had her since she was a baby when I was only 19. I'm 25 now so I've had her for the majority of my adult life. I feel so guilty, as great of a pet owner as I am now, when I got her at 19 I did not give her the full attention and care she deserved until I matured more. I didn't get her fixed until she was 3, which I am just so upset at myself for now as I've read that this could have been prevented if I'd done it earlier. I've always lived in little apartments and I'm so close to getting enough money to finally move into a house with a backyard and garage, and she deserves to be around to enjoy that. I've been going to college and working full-time for years now, so I have little time at home with her and when I am home I'm doing homework, housework, or just exhausted, so I haven't had much time to play and spend with her.

It's hard to not just want to quit my job, quit everything and spend 24 hrs a day with her now to make sure she is ok all of the time. Being 6 years old, she's not young, but she's not old either. 

Two months ago I noticed two small (nickel sized) lumps in her right breasts, and I took her to a nearby vet. He felt her belly and recommended immediate surgical removal, and said that they would send the growths they remove to a lab to be tested so we could find out what was wrong. I paid $600 for the surgery, it was a difficult recovery for her (she kept getting uti), and weeks went by without me hearing anything from the vet on her lab results. Finally after me calling repeatedly for days they told me that there was a mix-up and they lost the tumors. The lab said they never got them, and the vet says they sent them, so there was no way for us to find any answers. They refunded me the $15 lab fee and pretty much just said "sorry". 

Even though I was upset because of that, I thought even without any results, maybe she would be fine now and no more tumors would grow back. Unfortunately I was very wrong, because just weeks later they were back with a vengeance in number and size. Now she more than 5 growing along her right breasts, and they are ping pong ball sized. 

I have an appointment with a vet oncologist tomorrow morning, and I'm so worried about what she'll say. I make an ok salary at work so luckily I think I'll be ok on the cost of treatment, but I'm just hoping that treatment IS an option. I'm just so sad for her right now, it's hard to concentrate at work and school. I should have taken better care of her when I got her years ago.  

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so sorry this is happening to your little girl.  It's kind of odd, because we have an other member whose cat just had major surgery to remove all her mammory tissue due to mammory cancer.  I mean just last week!  Hopefully he will come on here and tell you his experience. 

Please don't beat yourself up about what you could have done earlier in her life.  There is no way of knowing whether having her spayed prior to age 3 would have prevented this.  There are no absolutes

for your little one, and let us know what the oncologist says. 

 

[finnlacey]

I am also so sorry but I'm so angry that the labs lost the tumor!!! I would be so furious I cannot imagine this happening. I feel so awful for you and what you and your sweetheart are going through. Sending you a lot of positive vibes 

 

[tclark13]

Just got back from the oncologist, and I guess overall it is ok news, not great but not terrible. The good part is that the cancer has not spread to any vital organs, just one lymph node and the rest are still on her mammary glands so she is a good candidate for surgery.

The doc said that because she is younger (6 yrs) that will help her to heal faster from the surgery, but that also means her cancer is likely more aggressive than that in an older cat. She explained it tends to be the same with humans, that cancer in kids is usually much worse and aggressive than with the elderly. 

She recommended a one-sided mastectomy, followed by 5 rounds of chemo, one round every 3 weeks after she heals. Unfortunately she was not a surgeon, and the nearest surgeon that can perform what we need is 1 1/2 hrs away. She recommended doing the surgery as soon as possible because even though it hasn't spread anywhere for now that doesn't mean it won't have by another week or two. 

As far as success/survival rate, of course I got the "every cat is different" spiel but ultimately she said that in the BEST case scenario, if surgery and chemo go really well, she will have an average of 12 months left to live. Of course that's an average, she said some go 2 or 3 years, and others don't last 3 months. If I opt to do no surgery, she has maybe 2-3 months. 

When I brought up the subject of getting her spayed later in life being a cause, she said although that is a possibility that she usually sees that belief more true in dogs than cats.

Now for the ugly part -- the cost. Just for the consult and xrays today it was $600. The surgery will be $1500. Each round of chemo is $300, so 5 rounds total makes another $1500. Plus any meds, extra care stuff, appetite stimulants for the chemo, I am looking at around $4,000 for everything, with the hope of another year. 

So I'm not sure how I feel about everything right now, I really don't have time to process all of this until I get off work today. Then I might go to some loan/credit places and see if they can help me. Worst case scenario I'll move back in with my mother (jk). But wanted to come on here and tell you all my experience. Will keep you all posted after her surgery next week. 

Oh and thanks for the response, last night that really helped me just to hear someone else empathize with me. 

 

[vball91]

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat's mammary cancer, but please don't beat yourself up about what you could have done. As mrsgreenjeans said, there are no guarantees that anything you had done differently would have mattered. I understand your pain because until January I didn't realize that I was feeding my cat terrible food, and I felt so bad that I may have contributed to her illness in December. However, as I was so wisely told here, all you can do is move forward and do the best you can for your cat now. I'm sure your cat knows you love her and would never mean her harm.

Best wishes and hugs.

 

[spencers mom]

I so understand what you are going through! My 6 year old cat Spencer survived a urinary blockage in December and is now at the vet being treated for fatty liver, most likely a consequence of the blockage. I'm getting him back tonight and I'm so nervous! Overall we are now up to over $4K, all in the past 6 weeks. Yikes. And just like you, most people around me don't get it, my co-workers especially cannot comprehend how I can spend that kind of money on a CAT. But they are my babies! Spencer was on the "last chance" line at the shelter when I adopted him, and that day I promised him I would give him a better life. If that means putting him to sleep when the time comes, I will, but if he has something treatable, we'll fix it. I'm lucky because I have a wonderful fiance who thinks alike, and we have good jobs, and we had money saved up (for the wedding!) which is now in the cat lol. But all this to say I understand perfectly what you're going through.

From your post I undertsand that you've already decided to go ahead with the operation and the chemo? Let us know how it goes! I'm sorry your little girl has to go through this, but she is lucky to have you in her life to take care of her.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm so glad the oncologist thinks it's operable!  As to the expense, are you familiar with Care Credit?  It's like a credit card for medical expenses, including pet medical expenses.  You can check on their website to see if the surgeon accepts it, and also the oncologist. 

Your little one is luck to have you.  What's her name, by the way? 

Keep us posted on the surgery, etc. 

 

 

[finnlacey]

oh my goodness, so much to deal with! I'm so sorry you're going through this but you have all of our support here. We would all do anything for our furchildren and another 12 months to 2-3 years can be quality time with her you wouldn't otherwise get. We're here for you! And you too Spencer's Mom! 

 

[misty8723]

I can totally emphasize with what you're going through, because I'vebeen down a similar path with my Cindy.  In her case, though, it was a mass in her abdomen that we couldn't get a diagnosis on.  We had Xrays, Ultrasounds, needle biopsies, blood test, DNA test, vet visits, none of it cheap.  And in a month the mass doubled in size!  Our vet talked to the surgeon who said because she's only around 9 (we're not totally sure) and otherwise in good health, she was a good candidate for surgery.  I think surgery was around $3,000 but the best surgeron in the area and at a vet hospital not the clinic, and they kept her 3 days afterward.  Got the diagnosis of Mast Cell and onto Chemo.  She's had one treatment. I think they said that would be around $250, but that's not counting the weekly blood tests, and the check up along with the chemo.  And no guarantees of anything, but seeing her now more relaxed and happy than she'd been in quite a while I would do it all again, I think I would just get to the surgery part sooner.  We are lucky that we didn't have a lot of credit card debt, because that's how I'm paying for all of this.  No idea how or when it will get paid off, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything else and neither could DH.  People who have the "just an animal" attitude irritate the heck out of me.  They are members of our family, and I would do no less for my pets than I would for my children or other family members. 

Someone upthread mentioned Care Credit.  I would offer one caution - don't miss a payment because they will go back to the beginning of the loan and charge an obscene amount of interest.  Or at least that was my understanding when I read up on it.  If I'm wrong, maybe somebody can jump in and correct me.

I

for your and your baby.

 

[tclark13]

Wow thank you everyone so much! I'm feeling better now than earlier, don't know why because it is still just so sad but reading your replies and knowing that I wasn't given an immediate death sentence is about as positive of an outcome as I could have hoped for. I just knew there were other people like me out there who would understand. Luckily my cubicle at work is in a private corner so no one is noticing me tear up and blow my nose every 10 min. I have pics of her all over my desk and it hurts just to look at them

To me having another year with her is worth ANY amount of money. The few people at work I've told give me this look like, "12 months? $4K? Not worth it" and I just want to scream, like what do you mean not worth it? Worth does not apply to this situation, as Spencer's Mom said, when I got her I made a promise, even if unspoken, to take the best care of her that I can, so "considering" not going forward with treatment is not part of my mindset, as far as I'm concerned I have no choice, except of how I"m going to find the money to pay.

I've been playing with some numbers, and I'm starting to see a way that I can probably afford this without having to get a loan or credit. That duplex will just have to come next year, or after that, heck I can stay in my apt for the rest of my life as long as she is healthy and happy, that's all I care about.

Last night I slept on my living room floor next to her because she didn't want to move, so tonight I'm going to try to comfy up a spot for her on my bed where she'll want to stay. She used to sleep in my bed every night. I also have to try to remember not to neglect my other 3 babes, just because they are young, bouncy and healthy I find myself giving 100% of my time to the sick one. 

mrsgreenjeans you asked for her name, so I'll give a little bit on all of them (feel free to skim read since I wrote so much):

Momma Kitty - 6yrs female tuxedo, she is the one who is ill. She loves to ride in cars (well, used to) and would always sit on my shoulder in the drivers seat and we'd go through baskin robbins together and she'd always share a bit of vanilla ice cream with me. When I got her as a kitten I called her Miss Kitty, but after her litter I started calling her Momma and it stuck. I got her from an acquaintance when I was 18 almost 19. She is the only cat I have with a bright pink nose and pink paws. She is very girly and smells like baby powder.

Roundabout - 4yrs male, all black on top and all white on bottom (looks like someone dipped his bottom half in white paint), he is my gentle giant! He weighs a whopping 23 lbs, which the vet says is a few pounds overweight, but mostly he is just a big cat and a normal weight for him would be around 19 or 20 lbs. He is intimidating looking, but is the biggest scardy cat in the world. He is scared of bugs, kittens, and for some reason I have never been able to determine - hair brushes. I found him eating trash behind a hotel I used to work at when he was a kitten, and had no idea how big he would get.

Lil - 2 yrs female, VERY long haired, if I don't brush her daily she gets matts. How I got her is a bit of an odd story and I'm sure some might not agree with my methods. I was invited to a friend of a friend's house, and it turned out they had a disgusting, awful place of living. Trash, rotten food, and a horrible smell was all over their "home". And when I went to find the bathroom I saw a younger cat (about 6 mos) hiding behind a mattress on the floor of a room. She was bone skinny, I tried petting her but she hissed, and I smelled that she had horrible breath and her fur had gotten some kind of glue meshed in it. She was a mess. I went back out and mentioned her to the "owner" Mike, and he said that an ex of his dropped her off one day and never came back for her, and he said he "didn't mind" having an animal home when he goes on month-long trips. I said surely you don't leave her here alone for a whole month? And he said yes and that he was about to leave for another two months, but is sure to leave her a bowl of water and cat food. I looked and saw that cheap-o nasty cat food and a bowl of moldy, slimy water.

I couldn't take it, so I did something crazy. When he was in the backyard showing something to another person, I ran in the bedroom, grabbed the kitten, ran to my car and left. I was scared he would try to find her or somehow get my phone number and be upset... but weeks went by and I heard nothing. Finally I phoned the mutual friend between us to ask if his friend had said anything about his cat since our visit, and he goes "Well he's right here, hey Mike how's that cat of yours?" and I hear Mike echo "Oh she's fine I guess, I don't know". He didn't even realize she was gone! Anyway so now, almost a year and a half later, Lil is fat and happy, has a shiny smooth coat, and good smelling kitty breath. 

Biddle - He is my tiger baby, only 6 months old he is my most recent take in. Tabby, tiger striped male. I live in Oklahoma, and my boyfriend is a delivery driver and his route takes him through very rural areas of arkansas and missouri.  Last thanksgiving he was driving on some back road in arkansas and got out to deliver a package. This little playful kitten kept coming up to him and playing with his shoe laces and meowing at him. He asked the people whose package he was delivering if the kitten was theirs, and they said no. There wasn't another house for miles. He had a badly infected eye, and bright green/yellow mucus constantly oozing out of his nose. So the bf brought him home to the clan, we got his conjunctivitis cleaned up and upper respiratory infection cleared, and now he is so hyper it's like we have a ninja kitty darting and dashing from room to room 20 hours a day. 

As you can tell I'm super obsessed with my cats, they mean more to me than anything, whether that is a good or a bad thing I really don't care, it is what it is. Sorry for writing so much but once I started I really liked writing about each of them, and it's helped to distract me from the sadness hovering over us.  

Here is a picture of me trying to do homework and the 4 kitties having other plans:

meAndKitties.jpg

• tclark13
• Feb 19, 2013

 

[catsareok]

tcclark13  I just went through the same thing with my kitty, she is 12 years old  I felt the lump in her breast caught it early enough, we decided to go through with the surgery,

Just reading your post, is exactly what I have been going through.. anyway my kitty is on her 5th day after the surgery, she had the whole mammary gland removed with all 6 breast, she had a mass in her lymph noad, that was suspicious also.. I was so worried, after all said and done,, the tumor was more cystic than tumor I guess, good news, and her lump in her lymph noad  was just fatty tissue.. it was rough for her.. to be honest,, they only cut through pretty much, just under the skin,, no muscle.. after day 5 here, she is not doing too bad..  I just got the call 20 minutes ago, that the biopsy result is cancer... sad news .. we did the right thing giving her a chance.. and all we can do is just watch her now, microscopic cells do not show up.. she can go years,  no one knows..

one thing that is most important is how far it has progressed, before you noticed    just before the surgery, if an xray showed it in her lungs.. that would have been it.. would be bad..

you need to do the right thing and go with your gut... I did not care what the cost was.. still don't   she is my girl and that's it..  you seam like a really caring person.. it is very stressful to see your family hurt.. I am tellin you  my wife just had cancer surgery, I had lung surgery, now our girl.. it is like what the... it seams like both of us,, were more concerned about our kitty..she is our baby,, they cannot talk, tell us what is wrong.. its just crazy...  you will do the right thing. do it for your kitty..  sorry about my spelling and punctuation.. and the way I just word things..   if you have anymore questions.. please ask me.. I still am in this process with my girl.. I took work off. my wife turns is this week.. crazy.. we love her so much. watching her every minute...  good luck and you will make the right decision..

give her a chance she is young, our girl 12 years old.. she is going to pull through with flying colors...

 

[spencers mom]

Omg I admire you so much for the way you rescued these cats! My cats are all rescues too, although none was in such bad situation as yours (well Spence had a week left before being euthanized but I wasn't gonna let that happen ) Spencer is home now btw and thrust me it was all worth it! I have to feed him with a syringe for the next few weeks but hopefully, it will go smoothly. If there's one piece of advice I can give you it's to never allow your Momma to stop eating - I've seen the consequences this past week  

by the way I also had a cat die from mammary cancer. I was a teenager still living at home, and my cat Sassy had a lump growing in the breast which got like the size almost of a golf ball. Unfortunately at the time, it was not my call and my parents had her put down when the vet diagnosed mammary cancer. So I cannot offer any input on the treatment (this was 15 years ago anyway and I'm sure the treatment has evolved so much!) but I know your cat is so lucky to have you! They get the luck of the draw hey, some get the "Mikes" and some get people like you in their life <3 

 

[tclark13]

She just got out of Surgery -

The surgeon just called and said she is doing great, they removed her lymph node along with 1 of her mammary glands, they didn't even have to do a full mastectomy like we previously thought!

Some news that was upsetting however, is that he told me that all of the tumors seemed to be originating from/tied to the scar tissue left by the last vet who removed the first small lump back in december (the one who lost the tumors he removed before the lab could test them), and although he can't say for sure he thinks that the other vet, who was just a vet and not a surgeon, was not very experienced in operating on cancer because of how much scar tissue there was, and that it may have been stitched up with some minor amounts of cancerous tissue still in the skin, which explains why they grew back so fast, and all at that spot. He was careful how he worded it because you could tell he didn't want to accuse the other guy of making my cats situation worse, but that's what I read between the lines.

Either way, I'm feeling a mix of emotions from being very relieved that this major part is over, anxious to get her back (i want to pick her up right now but have to wait until tomorrow morning), frustrated for all I've dealt with, and hopeful. Very hopeful.

I loved this surgeon, he gave me a MUCH more positive outlook than the other docs, who took one feel of her and gave me that look and tone that said there was no hope. This surgeon said of all the mammary tumors he sees, hers was on the less side of severity, and to remember that the average life expectancy is only that, an average. That there can be dozens of cats that survive multiple years, and if just one only makes it a few months, the entire average is significantly lowered, so in his opinion there is a good chance she will live longer than 12 months, and that if this was his cat he would be doing exactly this.

Ah reading your replies and experiences was so helpful to me when I was emotionally destroyed, thanks again. Spencer's Mom I hope he is doing well, and catsareok I hope to hear about your kitty's recovery progress!

Will continue to update as this saga progresses.

 

[spencers mom]

So nice to hear!!! I hope all our sick kitties can soon be back to health and enjoy spring

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hooray for Momma Kitty!  This news sounds absolutely wonderful

 

[vball91]

tclark, I am so glad to hear that Momma Kitty's prognosis sounds good. I'm sure you're happy found this new vet who sounds very competent and knowledgeable. Sending vibes for a quick recovery from surgery and no more cancer!

 

[catsareok]

tclark  glad to here the outcome is positive, my minca is 12, and she pulled through fine, and is doing well, she had both sides removed, biopsy came back and was cancer, a intermediate type, not real aggressive.

the mass in her lymph noad was just fatty tissue, they took that out also, and she had a drain tube, don't be surprised if she does not poop in 4 or 5 days, she did not eat too much for a while either, your kitty is younger, so I am assuming she should heal faster.. after day 10 she finally was herself, and doing really good, except her other issues.. lol  I know you care about your all your kitties, no doubt..

it was very nerve racking process to say the least.. the vet said.. just for us to watch her.. this is as far as we go, unless we see something else happening down the road.. he said if no other symptoms, after a year she should be cancer free, cannot guarantee  it will be gone forever, cannot detect microscopic cells I guess.. so far so good.. I miss all her hair though.. lol 

any other questions feel free, and hopefully I can help.. take care.. and good luck with them all

 

[lesliecat]

So sorry for your little cat.  I'm glad you had the surgery but please be aware that it will probably come back, usually in the lungs.  On 2-22 I put my cat Arrabella to sleep.  She started out with the tumors.  We had the surgery but the vet said that there were some malignant cells in the lymph nodes and it would come back.  Nine months later it did come back in her lungs.  I don't mean to be such a downer but the reality of this cancer is not good.  My advice is to treasurer every moment you have with her and take lots of pictures.  While I cannot look at Arrabella's pictures just yet, I know that at some point I will and that they will be a great comfort.

 

[lesliecat]

My apologies, I should not have said that it will probably come back.  I don't know that.  But what I have read the prognosis for this type of cancer is not good.  I pray that your cat will be one of the lucky ones.  I will keep her in my prayers/

 

[misty8723]

Glad to hear the surgery went well!  Is she home now? How is she doing?  Is there chemo for this type of cancer?  I ask that because my vet has a cat who had cancer, different kind (mast cell, same as my Cindy).  She had surgery for him and when they took some for the biospy it scattered cells all through him.  He was so bad he nearly died the night after he had the surgery, had to have a transfusion.  She got chemo for him, and 2 years later he is still doing great. 

Cindy probably still has it in her too, but my vet says "that's what the chemo is for."

Bottom line, all cats - like all people - are different, but there is always hope.