Posted by:
cyclopsgrl
at Sun Jan 21 12:09:51 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by cyclopsgrl ]
Ref the runny stools. I would give a quick call to your vet's office on this. Mine usually calls me back same day on something of this nature (aka., they've recently seen the cat and something isn't 100%).
Ref the nodules. If I trust my vet, and I do trust my vet, I generally go with what they advise. But if my vet were unsure, I would have a much tougher time. If your vet is fairly positive that it could be cancerous -- has the vet advised what the treatment would be if it were?
Meaning, if you are opening up just to see what it is, but there really isn't an aggressive treatement, then what is the point? But, if the vet thinks it could be cancerous and if they say removing chunks of the liver can cure -- that the liver can regenerate itslef, and give Boo a great chance of survival, that puts a new spin on it...
Let me give you a personal example. Pookey was cut and dry with his biopsy and amputation. Vet and Cornell both thought cancer was from Rabies shot, and the biopsy proved it was. Both said he would die without surgery and he had an excellent chance of survival with amputation, and he did -- almost three years now.
But, I faced something similar in nature with Stanley last year. He stumbled one morning last February and appeared drunk and dizzy. I thought stroke. Took him immediately to the vet where they performed tests while I was at work. When I saw the vet that night, she said he had a brain swelling. Couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was without a $2-$3K MRI. However, she didn't advise it. Because, all it would show us was where/what it was, and we talked and brain surgery wasn't really an option. His age and the fact that even after surgery, the growth/swelling can come back within a year were a major factor. Why spend $3K on a biopsy that would lead to nothing. Instead, she said steroids would and were helping him. By playing with the steroids that first week, we deterimed she was likely right about a brain swelling/tumor. But, we will never know what type. Probably something common where the menengia (or whatever it is that causes menengitis) swells. He was given 4-6 months to live on steroids, or, with surgery, maybe a year and more surgery needed. I made the tough choice of trusting what she thought it was and not putting him thru surgeries. I also went online and found folks that had had the surgeries performed and they wished they hadn't. Their cats only lived a year or two after diagnosis, even with thousands of dollars in MRIs and surgeries... It wasn't the money so much as what the cats went thru. So far, the decision based on my vet and what others have gone thru has been good. He is long past 4-6 months and hits a year next month with no reoccurance on low doses of steroids. It is still there and will at some point overpower the steroids, but so far, they are holding their own...
Only you can make the decision. If it were me, the main thing I would want to know is -- If we open him up and it is cancerous, what are the odds of his surviving with surgery -- is there a pretty good chance he will? Or will biopsy and surgery maybe just prolong his life a little bit longer than if we let it go... Be sure on the next steps after the biopsy and that may help you decide which way to go... Only you know in your heart what to do with your vet's help. There is no right or wrong answer. I have lived a tense year with Stanley, but I've passed the point where he was expected to die and also the point where it would have likely come back with surgery. Didn't know the outcome going in, but talked it thru indepth with my vet and found others online that had experienced the problem...
Good luck with the decision. When you make it, don't look back with any regret, either way...
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Tammy
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RE: Cornell visit - cyclopsgrl, Sun Jan 21 12:09:51 2007