Maria Michelle's Furkids and Animal Rescue

Roxy Update and Pathology Report

 

My best friend Stefanie wrote the following about her beloved Roxy:

I took Roxy to see an Oncologist yesterday.  She was recently diagnosed w/ a fibrosarcoma they believed was brought on by a series of vaccines she received in 2001 at the Humane Society where I adopted her (it's called feline vaccine-associated sarcoma or VAS).  The oncologist obviously knew his stuff and was very kind on top of everything.  I left the hospital and cried the whole way home thinking I'm a bad person for considering the financial impact b/c he obviously recommended radiation therapy post-surgery (we had the tumor removed on 6/25)... but it's going to cost $5K - $6K.  I felt so hopeless. 

 

I ended up calling him back a few hours later w/ a couple more questions about statistics and prognosis, and the confession that the financial impact was probably going to be too great to bear.  I was grateful that he took the time to ensure I was clear on worst/best case scenarios and average statistics, and especially when he sanctioned the path I'm most likely going to take. 

 

Here's the bottom line:

 

Unfortunately, my regular vet made a mistake in not sending the extra tissue from the surgery (I had a special surgeon do the surgery at my regular vet; $2400 on top of the $750 already spent on diagnostics) to the pathologist in order to determine whether or not there were clear margins on the tumor.  Apparently, the surgeon took the tissue from her in two steps: the first was the majority of the tumor itself, which was huge, and the second step was to then go in and remove about 2 extra inches around the excision to ensure they got any stray cancer cells (this type of cancer is particularly aggressive and it branches out so there could be microscopic cancer cells still left behind).  My vet only sent the tumor itself to the pathologist, not the extra tissue the surgeon took to ensure he got it all.  On the tumor itself, there were not "clear margins," meaning there was not enough good tissue around it to indicate they got all the cancer.  Since they didn't send the rest of the tissue, which could have indicated clear margins, we will never now know.  This means, of course, that it's even harder for the oncologist to determine whether radiation is definitely needed or not.  The only good news is that the surgeon does believe he got it all (but, of course, there are no guarantees). 

 

In the absence of knowing for sure whether there were clear margins, and b/c the likelihood of the tumor growing back in the face of surgery alone is 50%, the oncologist is recommending radiation as the best possible thing to do to mitigate recurrence. 

 

However... these are the facts:   

 

WITHOUT RADIATION:

Worst case scenario - the tumor was not completely removed and it comes back quickly, which is anywhere from 2 weeks to two months post-surgery.

 

Best case scenario - the tumor was completely removed and she's in the 50% percentile of no recurrence; she lives out the rest of her natural life.

 

Average scenario - the tumor was not completely removed and comes back w/in 6 - 9 months.

 

IF I DO RADIATION:

On average, I buy her 1.5 years, and possibly up to 4 years of disease-free life.  But, of course, there are no guarantees; it could fail.

 

Based on just the statistics alone, I don't buy her that much more time on average.  Plus, even though cats tolerate radiation way more than humans, and putting aside the cost, I would have to take her in every day except weekends for 19 sessions and she would have to go under anesthesia each time.  She hates to just go see the regular vet annually!

 

Truth be told, if money were no object, I would probably do it; but the reality is that I don't have this money and am already in debt.  So, given that it is still possible the surgeon got it all and she could be "cured" (best case scenario), I think I'm going to take my chances and go another route... which the doctor completely sanctioned (he even said that if he thought I was putting her life in great danger, he would tell me).  That is, I am going to be hyper-vigilant about looking for any new lumps near the site.  The good news is that these tumors usually grow back in the same place or in an area where the "branching finger cells" infiltrated close by.  So, it should be easy to find if one does.  He also recommended maybe even bringing her in to see my regular vet for a more professional evaluation of the same thing (which is only about $40) every two months or so.  The other other good news is that this cancer does not often metastasize (only 20-25% do).  If the tumor grows back, then I can re-consider radiation and another surgery (which is more successful than surgery before radiation, which we did)... or let her live out the rest of her days as comfortably as possible knowing that she's had a pretty good life at 11 - 12 years old, and being strong enough to make the tough decision to end her suffering at some point along that path if it comes back.

 

 

The Rescue of Rambo

My husband was watching the local NBC news in Columbus Ohio. He saw a story on the news about a local family whose 2 pets had been terrorized. The family dog was poisoned and died and their cat was beaten and had a severe broken leg that needs a special expensive surgery. He contacted NBC 4 and asked what he could do to help and volunteered to donate some money for the surgery and a truck load of food that the family can use to solicit donations for the rest of Rambos care. The family was very grateful and we do hope who ever did this despicable act is caught and punished. A special thanks to NBC Columbus and Anchor Mindy Drayer for bringing this type of animal abuse to peoples attention..There are unfortunately many awful people out there who get their kicks from abusing animals so please be careful and keep a careful eye on your pets .Rambo was one of the lucky ones whereas many are not as lucky and survive like Rambo.

 

 

 

 

Happy Independence Day!!!

 

 

Happy Independence Day!  I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe holiday weekend.  Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Roxy Update

 

I'm happy to report that Roxy is doing very well post-surgery.  The hot packing is paying off; the incision is healing nicely and the drains were removed Tuesday.  She's off all pain meds, and just now receiving her antibiotic (Clavamox) twice daily for the next day or so.  She's eating and drinking water, and seems to be in good spirits.  Although, as even the vet said: "She would never complain about anything or put up a fuss; she is such a good kitty!"

 

Unfortunately, the pathology report has been delayed until Friday.  They've advised they need to do some additional tests.  So, we're waiting patiently [sigh] and definitely keeping positive thoughts for a full recovery.  The fact of the matter is that she has not been definitively diagnosed yet.  The suspected diagnosis of feline VAS was based solely upon the opinion of both the surgeon and my regular vet in the absence of actual pathology.  The best case scenario is that, somehow, it isn't cancer.  The second best scenario is that, if it is cancer, they were able to remove it all and her blood work shows no metastasis.  We're not even thinking about any worst case scenarios!

 

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.  Please continue to keep Roxy in your prayers and keep spreading the news about feline VAS.  Regardless of what Roxy's diagnosis is, this problem is very real and will only be mitigated through greater awareness.

 

 

 

Almost Wordless Wednesday: We'll Sleep Wherever and However We Want!!!

Peanut:

 

Fleur:

 

Jasmine:

 

 

And Coco:

 

 

***Most importantly:  Roxy is doing very well.  Stefanie is taking great care of her and will be writing a post on here as soon as she knows a little more. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Yippee It's Monday!!! Are You Ready For This Week's Grump Test?

If  either of these pictures don't make you smile than you are grumpy and it's time to go back to bed...

Remember to try and look at things from another's perspective:

And you'll always get by with a little help from your friends:

 

I will be posting an update on my best friend Stefanie's cat Roxy in the next couple of days.

Have a good Monday!

 

What All Pet Owners Need To Know About Vaccines

This post was written by my best friend Stefanie after her beloved cat Roxy had surgery yesterday.  After speaking with the specialist who performed the surgery and doing a little research on her own this is what she learned about pet vaccines.   I believe that this is the most important information I have ever posted on my site.  Thanks Stef!

Me with Roxy:

I Just wanted to report that Roxy's surgery went very well :) The surgeon believes he got all of the mass (a suspected vaccine-associated sarcoma). Thankfully, he did not have to take any of her scapula (shoulder blade), where the vaccine was administered, as the mass was not attached to the bone at all.

Roxy will not be coming home w/ me tonight. The surgeon and his wife, who is also his technician and anesthesiologist (they're an amazing team; here's a link to their website: http://www.fidossurgeon.com/), as part of their fee, offer post-operative care in their home and have indicated they would feel more comfortable doing that w/ Roxy. She has a drain at her wound site that will be difficult to deal w/ and they want to keep her on IV fluids for the night.

I'm actually relieved they're going to be taking care of her tonight, as I know she will receive the best care. However, I am definitely looking forward to seeing my precious girl tomorrow!

I've done a little research on Feline Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma (VAS), which as I mentioned above, is what they suspect Roxy had. Apparently, the cause of the cancer is being linked to the adjuvant that is used in vaccines. This is the agent that enables the cat's immune system to recognize the protein/virus being introduced by the vaccine so that antibodies will be created. It should be noted that Feline VAS is not associated w/ any particular vaccine, but rather vaccines in general. Many vaccines are now supposed to be adjuvant-free. My regular vet has indicated she wants to contact the FDA about the vaccines they've been using b/c of our situation.

In Roxy's case, it was the Feline Distemper vaccine that she received a YEAR ago; however, the tumor showed up almost over-night (I swear) and was extremely fast growing. I noticed it last Tuesday (6/16); between then and now it almost tripled in size. Talk about scary! Watch your kitties carefully for this, especially after vaccination.

For anyone wanting to read up more on the issue of Feline VAS, here are a few links that might be of interest...

See these links for more general info on Feline VAS awareness and the benefits/risks of immunization: 
http://www.avma.org/vafstf/default.asp
http://www.vas-awareness.org/
http://catvaccines.misterlinks.com/

See this link for more info on Feline VAS and the various immunizations:  http://placervillevet.com/feline%20sarcoma.htm

See this link for more info on Adjuvant:  http://www.whale.to/vaccine/adjuvants.html

My thanks to everyone for their thoughts/prayers, and especially to "MariaMichelle" and "DavetheHubby," both of whom I love dearly.

A special "Hi" to Daisy; "MM" always talks about your blog! :)

~Stef

Please see some photos of Stef with her two kitties Roxy and Oliver in the following post.

Here are some photos of me with Roxy.  I am very proud of these photos because she is very shy, but still let me pet her!

 

Please Pray For Roxy - My BFF's Cat is Having Major Surgery Now

My best friend who lives in San Diego, California has a beautiful cat named Roxy who has a very fast growing cyst or maybe tumor on her shoulder.  Roxy was supposed to have surgery yesterday, but they realized the surgery was going to be too extensive.  They may need to remove part of her bone from her shoulder.  Stef's cats are just like her babies to her.  All of us cat lovers understand how that is :)  Please pray for her that all goes well and maybe the problem is not as bad as they are worried it is.  The cost was supposed to be $370 now it is $2.500 (this is California fees).  Stef is mostly worried about Roxy of course, however, the sticker shock never helps in these situations. 

The SPECIALIST said certain vaccines were sometimes causing cancers in cats.  I haven't gotten the details on this.  I will certainly find out more and post what I learn about this.

Please send positive thoughts, purrs, and prayers her way.  You've all certainly helped me in the past.  Maybe we can work a little miracle for her too.

Here are some photos of Stef with her kitties - Roxy and Oliver:

 

Here is a photo of Stef with her other baby Oliver:

Wordless Wednesday: Coco, Chanel, and Jasmine Trying to Stay Cool on the Patio

AGGGHHH!!! It's Monday Again :( Are You Ready for the Grumpy Test?

If  either of these pictures don't make you smile than you are grumpy and it's time to go back to bed...

However, if you are anything like me, you might go take a nap anyways ;)

Is it bread yet?

 

I sure am glad I have a sibling to share this with, I'd feel awfully silly all by myself!

 

Try to have a great Monday!

 

Coco's Vet Visit Was AWESOME!!!

Coco's visit to the oncologist was wonderful!  Her tumor is GONE.  The doctor did a sonogram and he saw NOTHING!  She will still need to go back once a month for her pill, but hopefully she will be well for a very long time.  The oncologist said he'd seen animals be healthy for many, many years with this pill.  Those of you that have followed my blog know this is pretty much a miracle!

Our cats health insurance is around $10.00/month.  If you want to know more please contact me.  That seems like a good deal to me.  A friend of mine just brought her kitty to the vet for what is probably a cyst and it cost a total of more than $700.00 with x-rays and all!

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm too happy to type right now.

TGIF and have a great weekend :)