Re: Cotton

[Lernermichelle]

If you are going to do the diagnositics, you can not wait a few weeks to do it, you have to insist on doing it now and if your vet can't or won't go to an internist who will. If it is lymphoma, a few weeks is like a lifetime, and can make an extraordinarily huge difference in how effective treatment is.  Seriously. A few weeks is ridiculous, in my opinion, to wait.   As far as cost, it depends on a lot of things. But the ultrasound is probably a couple hundred, and if you need a biopsy I do not remember how much that is, but I wouild guess another hundred or two.  The chemo rotates, and the drugs vary a lot in price.  One of them I think was $7 (that's seven) dollars, while I think another was almost $100.. It requires weekly visits the first few weeks, then fewer, so the amount depends on how much your vet or the oncologist (which I recommend) charges.  Yes, it can be expensive. But not as much as surgery.   Steroids on the other hand are very cheap.  If you just do the shots (depo and dex), it will probably be about $30 each time plus office visit, and you might not have to do it very often at first. This is a very unconventional treatment for lymphoma (not steroids, they always use pred, but using these shots in combination instead of pred), but it is very effective. I learned it from a friend of a friend who is a vet and, when starting these early, has seen cats with lymphoma live good lives for up to six months (longer than chemo much of the time) on the shots alone. She did it with her own cat.  When chemo started failing Simon, I asked my oncologist to do this combination of shots (1/2 cc depo with 1/2 cc dex) and at first he did not want to do it. But then he did a bunch of research on how tolerant cats are of high doses of steroids and agreed to do it, and even let me give Simon extra dex shots on top of it.  And Simon bounced back from the steroids so he was able to get more chemo, and had another good month.  The oncologist (who is at NEVOG in MA, very respected) said he learned something about use of these steroids.  All of which is to say if you choose to go this route (which I would definitely do if you do not do chemo and you feel fairly sure it is lymphoma), you may have some convincing to do.    But you do need to be more sure that it is lymphoma before going either of these routes, so I would do the ultrasound if I were you.  I would also ask if there is anything else that can cause inflammation of the kidneys and liver at the same time.  I do not think lymphoma usually goes to those two organs together, from my experience.  I have heard that bad teeth can cause both kidney and liver problems, though I don't know about enlargement.   That is my two or three cents.  I have battled lymphoma more than I can stand, and it is my constant fear with my remaining three positives.  But after trying it with and without chemo, and being on the lymphoma list serve (highly recommended-- you will learn a lot-- [EMAIL PROTECTED]),  I would definitely at least try chemo with any of mine if they got lymphoma.  If it did not work or they could not take the weekly visits I would switch to the steroids shots (assuming I can find someone down here in NJ who would do them, which scares me that I might not).  Some cats really do go a long time on chemo with good quality of life, and with few or no side effects.   Michelle    In a message dated 12/11/2005 1:42:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Michelle, Do you remember the cost, so I can firstly compare pricing, and secondly so I can soften the blow for my husband?  He's not excited about an expensive treatment used in prolonging the life of a terminally ill cat.  He feels like it's pretty futile, and he worries that my optimism and concern for Cotton will cause the vet to throw a bunch of tests our way in order to milk us for more money.  I would like to do what is best to keep everyone in the house happy, even unfuzzy ones.  :)  If you wish, you could email me privately about this more.  I'm thankful that hubby at least isn't opposed.  None the less, it may be a few weeks before we do all of the diagnostics.  Sandy