Hi Amy, I'm really sorry to hear what all you have been through.
We have had 3 cases of oral cancer (squamous cell carcinoma). It is ruthless and horrible. My understanding is that it can be tough to distinguish between the oral tumors and other oral/dental problems sometimes until the tumor becomes so visible/obvious it is already very advanced (which was the case with all 3 of ours, they were not cats living with us so not quite exact situation you have--just let me know if you'd like more info though). My understanding is also that there is not much you can do treatment wise for such a cancer (though I think I have heard there may be some cases where they can remove part of the jaw if applicable). There have been many cases of this type of cancer on the Feline Cancer group, I's suggest posting there. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-cancer/ There was one person (search Jen & Ski) who used Neoplasense and did as much for her kitty as possible, from what I've heard keeping them comfortable is the main objective since there is not a lot (to my knowledge) that you can do treatment wise. I wish you and your kitty the best, and really appreciate you caring about her so much. I hope by chance this is not what you are dealing with, and that if you are you can find some helpful information and experience on this or the cancer group that might help you. Heather On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 6:06 PM, Amy <awilkin...@yahoo.com> wrote: > I know this isn't an FIV group but I thought I might be able to find > some helpful info. I have two cats that have leukemia and I've been > through lymphoma and cancer with several of the positives. This time it is > my FIV+ that is having trouble. About a month ago, we noticed a large > swelling on the side of her face. We took her to the vet and she had a bad > tooth which started bleeding when the doctor touched it. My vet, who I > adore and who has never steered me wrong over all the years of my leuk > positives, recommended I put her on antibiotics and bring her back to have > the tooth removed. We did that and she had 4 extractions. She had > bloodwork and testing prior to surgery and everything was beautiful. No > signs of anything but a dental abscess. > > Following the surgery, the swelling on her face was not going away. She > has been on very strong antibiotics (trying different kinds and multiple > ones together) and yet the mass continues to grow. My vet started by > saying she was concerned we might be dealing with cancer. At this point, > she is fully convinced there is a tumor growing in there. For all my other > cats, I have pursued test after test trying to save them. I've done chemo, > I've gone to Cornell University trying to save some of them, but ultimately > the cancer always seems to win. So my vet said I could let her be or I > could put her under and do dental x-rays and a biopsy. Her socket has not > even healed from her dental and my vet said she personally probably > wouldn't put her through the biopsy as we are either dealing with infection > or cancer and we are both confident this is not infection. Has anybody > else ever been through something like this? I don't want to put her > through any more sedation, testing, etc. if her days are numbered but I > also wonder if I could be missing something. My vet gave me this kitty and > she loves her like her own kitty so I'm leaning towards following her > advice. I just always thought my FIV+ kitty might live a long, normal life > and am so bummed to be possibly dealing with cancer yet again. Would love > to hear about anybody else that has been through oral cancer as this is one > cancer that I haven't been through before. > > Thanks > Amy > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > >
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