Should I put my cat through chemo?

[Lauren_cat167]

My cat is 12 years old and has recently been diagnosed with a mammary adenocarcinoma. She had the tumor excised, then had radical surgery to remove mammary gland and tissue from her. The vet said that chemotherapy was the next step, but to first find out if if would increase estimated survival time, otherwise there would be no point in proceeding with the chemotherapy. She gave me some statistics from a study that put surgery + adjunctive doxorubicin treatment at 441 days mean survival time. This would indicate that there would be no gain from the chemotherapy, but does not specify if this is with just tumor excision or so called 'radical surgery'. I was wondering if anyone could offer any information on this - my cat is in good health otherwise, the tumor was less than 2cm in diameter (the vet reckoned i caught it early). I would go ahead if I thought there was benefit and extended life expectancy, but after two major operations I don't want to put my cat through any unnecessary suffering for little or no benefit.

[Lauren_cat167]

My cat had her first dose of chemo yesterday. She was a bit drowsy at first as she needed to be sedated but she soon perked up and was even eating, the vet said she would probably be off her food for 24hours. She was twitching a little bit yesterday but she seemed back to her usual self this morning when she woke me up for breakfast!

So far so good, although I will need to keep an eye on her as her immune system will be slightly weakened. She will have blood tests at my usual vets in between treatments, and more tests at the cancer vet just before the next dose, in 3 weeks. They will look at kidney function and white blood count, and if this gets too low they will stop treatment. I am confident my cat is in the best possible hands and that I have now done everything possible to combat this horrible disease. Its a case of wait and see in terms of how effective it will be, but in terms of side effects, I haven't really witnessed any so far.

[Savas]

Thanks for posting her treatment; it will be helpful to others to read what you're experiencing with this!

Keep us posted, and I'm glad your kitty has gotten off to such a positive start!

[zodiacqueen]

That's great!!!  =D  It sounds like she's tolerating the chemo well!!  Great start!!

My heart goes out to you, dealing with very sick kitties is very rough.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've had to go through it, too.  What has helped me to get through it, was knowing in my heart that I was doing everything in my power to help my cats-treatment, testing, etc.  That sounds like what you're doing!!  Your cat is lucky to have you!!  

Best wishes, prayers, and hugs to you and kitty!!

[Lauren_cat167]

After numerous blood tests, my cat still has a low white blood count. So the vet has suggested acupuncture to try to get it back up to normal levels. She has had three blood tests so far since the first chemo session, and her results are still not back to normal. So i will probably have to go with the acupuncture and hope for the best. I don't want to stop the treatment now as she has come so far. The cancer vet has said he will reduce the dose next time and it is normal for cats to go through this but it still worries me. I will see what the vet has to say about the acupuncture, it is supposed to get the cats results back to normal. Not as smooth a ride as we'd hoped for, but we'll keep trying!

[zodiacqueen]

Thanks for the update!  Did you get a chance to post this on the expert forum?  Let me know, cuz I'm curious about what they have to say about it.  I once had a cat that had breast cancer, too-we didn't do chemo.  I want to hear how well the chemo works, so please keep posting updates.  Your updates could really help others that visit this forum w/ questions about chemo.

Ya know, they make a drug for people that boosts the white blood cell count and I'm wondering whether cats can be put on it!!!  Ask your vet about it.

Good luck!

[Jade59]

Yes, yes, ZQ is right.  There is a drug to boost the white cell count in chemo patients.  

Will be thinking of you and hoping the acupuncture is successful if you decide to go that route.  

Very Best Wishes!