My 15 year old cat ( soon to be 16) was just diagnosed with small cell lymphoma of the intestines after taking X-rays , blood test , ultrasound of abdomen , CT of chest and then a biopsy performed after a colonoscopy.
Thursday she was prescribed a steroid and I was told to f/ u with oncology. Fri night was her first dose of the steroid and she vomited it up about 15 min after taking it and has been vomiting anything she eats since. The only thing she was keeping down sat and today is water and the broth with little chicken so I’m waiting until Tuesday morning to call the doctor since he is out until the holiday.
I was researching chemo and predinisone and side effects with it etc and I’m hearing horror stories of many people saying after giving thejr cat the steroids things happened like diabetes set in or kidney issues etc then the horrid chemo effects. Some say chemo is easier on cats than people or dogs but there is always a risk.
My question is … for those who had or have a cat with small cell lymphoma of the intestines … what was treatment like , how did your cat respond to the treatment . How costly was this …. Was it worth it when you look at the quality of the life your cat had while being treated .
I have so many questions when I talk to oncology wed ( being the holiday they told me she is out until wed and internal medicine told me I need to follow back up with oncology )
I do have pet insurance but I’m about to max out the annual amount I’m allowed to be given and I haven’t even started any treatment yet. I’m debating to do palliative care making sure she is eating and not in pain etc and try to enjoy what little time I have left with her. If I knew for sure chemo / steroids worked and she could live a healthy 1.5-2 years without a ton of complications I would go for it. I have read the chemo can be stopped at any time so it’s always something that could be tried and stopped if needed.
Thoughts ?
Thursday she was prescribed a steroid and I was told to f/ u with oncology. Fri night was her first dose of the steroid and she vomited it up about 15 min after taking it and has been vomiting anything she eats since. The only thing she was keeping down sat and today is water and the broth with little chicken so I’m waiting until Tuesday morning to call the doctor since he is out until the holiday.
I was researching chemo and predinisone and side effects with it etc and I’m hearing horror stories of many people saying after giving thejr cat the steroids things happened like diabetes set in or kidney issues etc then the horrid chemo effects. Some say chemo is easier on cats than people or dogs but there is always a risk.
My question is … for those who had or have a cat with small cell lymphoma of the intestines … what was treatment like , how did your cat respond to the treatment . How costly was this …. Was it worth it when you look at the quality of the life your cat had while being treated .
I have so many questions when I talk to oncology wed ( being the holiday they told me she is out until wed and internal medicine told me I need to follow back up with oncology )
I do have pet insurance but I’m about to max out the annual amount I’m allowed to be given and I haven’t even started any treatment yet. I’m debating to do palliative care making sure she is eating and not in pain etc and try to enjoy what little time I have left with her. If I knew for sure chemo / steroids worked and she could live a healthy 1.5-2 years without a ton of complications I would go for it. I have read the chemo can be stopped at any time so it’s always something that could be tried and stopped if needed.
Thoughts ?