Mass in bladder, ? Surgery?

[LisaKRD]

My 16 year old cat Junebug has a mass in an area of his bladder that can be removed and biopsied. It is not clearly cancer but since the area enlarged in 2 months the oncologist has given us the option of surgery to get a diagnosis and remove the area in question. She cannot guarantee clean margins would be obtained but we have no idea what we are dealing with. Needle bx is a remote option but if it is cancer we risk seeding his abdomen with cancer which is not an option in my mind. (Plus a needle bx may not get enough tissue but still drag cancer cells into healthy tissue). Junebug has IBD and 4.5 years ago suffered a spinal embolism that left him with some left side deficits. He is a fighter and his labs are actually good. He is not losing weight, has been eating and seems to enjoy life. I am in agony trying to sort this out. IF it is cancer and progresses I will lose him. IF he has surgery he might die in surgery. But again-it may not be cancer-it is located in an area where cancer is not usually found and or it may not be as aggressive as some. His initial symptom was blood in his urine. We have followed with ultrasounds. I have a small window of opportunity to act on surgery as if the area does expand he will not be a surgical candidate . Right now very little of the bladder is involved. I would have surgery done by a specialist if at all. Looking for anyone who has experienced something like this. My one thought is to at least meet with the surgeon and see what they think. Thanks for listening.

 

[Furballsmom]

My one thought is to at least meet with the surgeon and see what they think.

Bless your heart, and huge kudos to Junebug for hanging in there!!

I think I'm with you, to talk to the surgeon

 

[LisaKRD]

Bless your heart, and huge kudos to Junebug for hanging in there!!

I think I'm with you, to talk to the surgeon

Thank you. Junebug is my heart. We are so connected. Getting all the information is the best approach. I have been reading and there are newer ways of putting older cats under which is not as hard on them.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm sending you both TONS of love, hugs and am REALLY keeping my fingers crossed!!

 

[babiesmom5]

I had a 16 year old female cat who had bladder cancer. The mass was located in the "trigone" area of the bladder so surgery was not an option. Biopsy was by needle which showed "transitional cell carcinoma".
She was treated with a combination of Prednisolone and Chlorambucil (Leukeran), which I administered here at home. She tolerated both very well and it kept the bladder tumor from growing for over a year. When it started to grow, she was switched to a stronger IV chemo which, although was harder on her, kept the tumor from growing. Sadly, she passed away months later, but not due to the bladder tumor.

Based upon my experience, if your oncologist and surgeon believe that surgery is an option, I would go for it. Junebug may still need some chemo afterwards to thwart any remaining/ circulating cancer cells, but at least you have taken care of the bulk of it. From what I understand, feline bladder cancer is aggressive and fairly fast growing, so I would not risk delaying this window of opportunity you now have.

I wish you and Junebug all the best and much more quality time together.

 

[LisaKRD]

I had a 16 year old female cat who had bladder cancer. The mass was located in the "trigone" area of the bladder so surgery was not an option. Biopsy was by needle which showed "transitional cell carcinoma".
She was treated with a combination of Prednisolone and Chlorambucil (Leukeran), which I administered here at home. She tolerated both very well and it kept the bladder tumor from growing for over a year. When it started to grow, she was switched to a stronger IV chemo which, although was harder on her, kept the tumor from growing. Sadly, she passed away months later, but not due to the bladder tumor.

Based upon my experience, if your oncologist and surgeon believe that surgery is an option, I would go for it. Junebug may still need some chemo afterwards to thwart any remaining/ circulating cancer cells, but at least you have taken care of the bulk of it. From what I understand, feline bladder cancer is aggressive and fairly fast growing, so I would not risk delaying this window of opportunity you now have.

I wish you and Junebug all the best and much more quality time together.

Thanks so much. It takes a bit to get everything pulled together. I may be able to get tissue if they can in fact do a cystoscopy at the Illinois Vet School. I will take him for eval next week. Would like to find someone before than and closer but so far no luck. Doing surgery before we know what we are dealing with is very hard for me to justify. I will have a phone consult with the Oncologist on Thursday as well. I am so sorry you went thru this. We will do something in near the future .

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[LisaKRD]

I had a 16 year old female cat who had bladder cancer. The mass was located in the "trigone" area of the bladder so surgery was not an option. Biopsy was by needle which showed "transitional cell carcinoma".
She was treated with a combination of Prednisolone and Chlorambucil (Leukeran), which I administered here at home. She tolerated both very well and it kept the bladder tumor from growing for over a year. When it started to grow, she was switched to a stronger IV chemo which, although was harder on her, kept the tumor from growing. Sadly, she passed away months later, but not due to the bladder tumor.

Based upon my experience, if your oncologist and surgeon believe that surgery is an option, I would go for it. Junebug may still need some chemo afterwards to thwart any remaining/ circulating cancer cells, but at least you have taken care of the bulk of it. From what I understand, feline bladder cancer is aggressive and fairly fast growing, so I would not risk delaying this window of opportunity you now have.

I wish you and Junebug all the best and much more quality time together.

I want to thank you so much for your reply. I kept thinking about this during our decision making process. We saw the surgeon on Monday 3/16 and JB had surgery on Friday 3/20/20-he did very well with surgery and is healing up nicely. We have had some blood in his urine this week which we are monitoring but the oncologist believes it is related to the surgery. We are going to do prednisinlone with chlorambucil starting in the next 2weeks. We will see the oncologist for baseline blood work and ultrasound post op . Your message kept coming back to me and it helped me make my decision. It is so hard to know what to do and I believe we gave my boy the best chance we could. They got the entire mass out with clean margins with means nothing with TCC (which was the final path). I am so sorry you experienced this because it is heartbreaking but you helped me by reaching out. Thank you.

 

[LisaKRD]

I wanted to update this thread. After meeting with the surgeon with Junebug I was convinced surgery was the way to go. We met the surgeon on Monday 3/16 and surgery was on Friday 3/20. This was done at a speciality hospital/VCA. Junebug did very well with surgery and came home the next day. They were able to get the area out but unfortunately it was transitional cell cancer so surgery is not the cure. We will do home oral chemo and monitor his progress. The idea is to keep cancer from taking hold in his bladder again but there are no guarantees. I really appreciate all of the support I have been given. I am so grateful that he did so well with surgery and has been healing up. Some blood in his urine this week but the vets believe it is related to the procedure. My heart goes out to all of you who are dealing with serious illness in your precious cats. Hugs.

 

[babiesmom5]

I want to thank you so much for your reply. I kept thinking about this during our decision making process. We saw the surgeon on Monday 3/16 and JB had surgery on Friday 3/20/20-he did very well with surgery and is healing up nicely. We have had some blood in his urine this week which we are monitoring but the oncologist believes it is related to the surgery. We are going to do prednisinlone with chlorambucil starting in the next 2weeks. We will see the oncologist for baseline blood work and ultrasound post op . Your message kept coming back to me and it helped me make my decision. It is so hard to know what to do and I believe we gave my boy the best chance we could. They got the entire mass out with clean margins with means nothing with TCC (which was the final path). I am so sorry you experienced this because it is heartbreaking but you helped me by reaching out. Thank you.

Thanks so much LisaKRD for your update. It is always good to hear positive followup like yours. I am so very glad to hear that Junebug had surgery with clean margins and is doing well. Yes, I do think that the blood you see in his urine now is as result of the surgery. This should subside soon with healing. As with my girl Calico, the combination of Prednisolone plus Chlorambucil does offer the best chance of preventing the growth of the TCC. The fact that you had the mass removed with clean margins gives even better chances. Your Oncologist will be following up periodically with Ultrasounds. I wish Junebug all the best with his treatments and may it result in lengthy and quality time together with you. Please keep us updated about Junebug as you can...and please give that boy a big hug from me!

 

[Furballsmom]

I wish Junebug all the best with his treatments and may it result in lengthy and quality time together with you. Please keep us updated about Junebug as you can...and please give that boy a big hug from me!

And from me as well

 

[Chanel4011]

I had a 16 year old female cat who had bladder cancer. The mass was located in the "trigone" area of the bladder so surgery was not an option. Biopsy was by needle which showed "transitional cell carcinoma".
She was treated with a combination of Prednisolone and Chlorambucil (Leukeran), which I administered here at home. She tolerated both very well and it kept the bladder tumor from growing for over a year. When it started to grow, she was switched to a stronger IV chemo which, although was harder on her, kept the tumor from growing. Sadly, she passed away months later, but not due to the bladder tumor.

Based upon my experience, if your oncologist and surgeon believe that surgery is an option, I would go for it. Junebug may still need some chemo afterwards to thwart any remaining/ circulating cancer cells, but at least you have taken care of the bulk of it. From what I understand, feline bladder cancer is aggressive and fairly fast growing, so I would not risk delaying this window of opportunity you now have.

I wish you and Junebug all the best and much more quality time together.

Hi! Did they offer nsaid for your cat? My cat was just put on nsaid. She was previously on pred for years her low red blood cell count but the pred didn’t stop the growth.

 

[babiesmom5]

No they did not recommend nsaid for her as she was on Prednisolone and the Vet didn't think nsaid would be of further benefit. She was on Chlorambucil along with it and the two of those kept the mass in check for over a year. You might ask your vet if adding Chorambucil would be beneficial.
I wish the very best for your kitty.

 

[Chanel4011]

Hi, she is on that now to control her red blood cells