Adrienne:
I'm sorry about the diagnosis. I have been through this myself. This is a
very personal decision you have to make. I can't tell you what to do, jut my
experience. My beloved Monkee was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma in April 2007.
He was also a Felv+ cat (I had had him tested 3 times). He lived 4 years with
me as the picture of health until I found the lump on his leg in March. He was
my only cat and in short, I worshipped him. I'd lived for 4 years in fear of
felv raising it's ugly head and actually started to think he was maybe a mere
"carrier" and it would never claim him. I was desperate to save him and fight
the good fight. Chemo was recommended and we began it immediately. It was
very very very expensive and very hard on him. He hated it. He knew when we
turned into the vet specialists clinic parking lot, even tho he was in his
carrier and couldn't see-- he knew the last turn- could sense it. The problem
with the chemo for a felv+ cat is manyfold: it stresses them out- which any
added stress for a felv+ cat, whether symptomatic or not, is bad; chemo works
by not only killing the bad cells, but the good ones too-- which will take a
felv+ cat down even further than one that is felv-; also, what the doctor
doesn't always tell you is that once they start the chemo, they have to monitor
the white blood cell level. If the wbc count is too low, they can't admin
chemo anyway. With Monkee, he had one chemo treatment and then we couldn't do
another one for weeks (even tho the protocol he was to be on was once a week),
b/c his wbc was so low and the vet couldn't tell if that was due to an
infection (unlikely), the felv attacking his body (maybe), or the chemo itself
killing off white blood cells (most likely). Monkee only had a few chemo
treatments and the tumor on his leg didn't shrink- in fact, it grew. Either
his leukemia was full blown by the time we even discovered the tumor, or the
chemo itself hastened the leukemia's progress. That is one of the main risks
with chemo that you have to consider. It can definitely have the opposite
effect that you would want in that it can take the felv+ cat down so far by
killing off the "good" cells remaining in your cats body-- white blood cells to
fight infections AND red blood cells (if your cat is not yet anemic (low
RBCs)), I can bet you that the chemo treatment itself will make the cat anemic
due to killing off the RBCs. On that note, has the vet done a blood panel yet?
I would ask for one now before you make a decision and find out what the RBC
and WBC count is, among other things.
You need to keep in mind that lymphosarcoma/lymphoma is the number 1 form of
cancer that develops in domestic cats (felv and non felv) and dogs. I believe
the vet profession automatically recommends chemo b/c of this type of cancer's
prevalence in domestic cats and dogs, however, that doesn't mean that chemo
should be the "treatment of choice" for an felv+ cat-- whereby the nature of
the disease itself is an immunosuppressive disorder, and when it becomes
"active"-- typically manifests itself as severe and life-threatening anemia.
It seems a counter-intuitive treatment.
I always said that, with what I learned in hindsight, if I had the opportunity
to do it differently, I would. At the time, I was not educated enough on the
disease to make a truly informed decision about the chemo and I was frantic and
not thinking clearly. AND I was obsessed with Monkee and blinded by a belief
that it was most important to "try everything." I have come to realize now-
especially since my work fostering cats since Monkee's death- that "trying
everything!" IS NOT the most important, or most correct thing to do. If I ever
have another felv+ cat and I am faced with the same dilemma, my choice will be
to forego chemo, continue prednisone (which will make the cat's day to day life
more comfortable and can sometimes have an effect on tumors- stabilize them,
maybe even shrink them a little), and keep him happy, COMPLETELY NON-STRESSED,
and spend every freaking moment loving him. I would continue to take the cat
to the vet to monitor the red blood cells, etc. But I would forego chemo, the
blood transfusions that almost always come with chemo and/or severe anemia
caused by felv and/or the chemo treatment itself, and in Monkee's case, his
specialist wanted the leg tumor surgically removed when the chemo didn't shrink
it and honestly, I think the surgery just really knocked the poor thing past
the point of return. He was in so much pain for 2 days after- it was horrible.
We will never know for sure if the severe anemia that eventually caused him to
die in my arms late one night, was caused by the felv itself becoming active,
or if the chemo and/or surgery was actually the final straw in really kicking
in the anemia.
Yes it's likely his felv was already full-blown by the time the tumor was
discovered, but in my opinion, the chemo and surgery definitely did not prolong
his life. When the vet suggests chemo for this cancer, you have to know that
they are reccommending this as a life-prolonging treatment that will at best,
prolong the cat's life by only a few months. And you may say what I said--
that I have to give him those few months- I owe that to him! But what did I
really do for him? Rush him off to multi vets- 2 vet specialists, borrowed
money from my mom to pay for his extremely expensive treatment, stressed him
out with blood taking, a blood transfusion, chemo and surgery...and stressed
him out with my crying and crying and crying? I really suspect that the
chemo/transfusions/surgery DID NOT prolong Monkee's life and wonder now how
long we could have sailed along with him having his tumor on his leg (that
didn't bother him at all!), taking prednisone (and feeling like super-Monkee!),
and chilling in our little house-- happily eating raw chicken livers and raw
lean buffalo (for his anemia), playing, napping and loving a non-stressfull
life???? The gamble on the other side is, can you live with yourself and the
questioning of yourself for not doing the chemo? You have to weigh both sides
and what is best for your cat. Not what is best for you.
Caroline (and Monkee in spirit) > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
felvtalk@felineleukemia.org> Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:39:44 -0400> Subject:
[Felvtalk] chemotherapy?> > Hello. My beloved Emma is 5 ½ years old. Two years
ago she was diagnosed> as being FeLV+.> > I don’t know how this happened. I
raised Emma and her sisters from the time> they were about two days old.> > Her
sisters are negative, as are my other cats, despite the fact that they> have
all lived together as indoor only cats, and have groomed each other,> and
shared bowls, litter boxes, and dishes. Emma tested negative for FeLV> as a
kitten. She has never been outside except in a carrier. > > Yesterday, I got
the news that Emma has Lymphoma. I’ve started her on> Prednisone, and the
doctor is recommending chemotherapy. The doctor> estimated an 8 to 10 month
survival rate for cats with Lymphoma who go> through chemotherapy, but couldn’t
give me any idea of the prognosis for a> cat who has FeLV.> > > > Any opinion
about chemotherapy for an FeLV+ cat with Lymphoma? I’m> heartbroken and I don’t
want to do anything to prolong my beautiful girl’s> suffering.> > > > Thank
you.> > Adrienne> > _______________________________________________> Felvtalk
mailing list> Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org>
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