I THINK THAT IF IT WAS MY HARLEY, I WOULD SAY NO. IT WOULD NOT HELP THE QUALITY OF HIS LIFE AND THE TRAUMA OF SURGERY. I AM ON A SALVE FOR TUMORS ON THE SKIN AND A TONIC FOR INTERNAL JUST TO WARD OFF A POP UP OF MY LYMPHOMA. IF YOU WANTED TO TRY GETTING THE TONIC DOWN HIM, I CAN GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION. I WILL ADD BOTH OF YOU TO MY PRAYER LIST.
---- Marsha <mar...@lynxe.com> wrote: > Harley had a CT scan on Monday, and needle biopsy Friday. Saturday > (yesterday) the report came back that he has cancer. It is in the area > of his right middle ear and TMJ. By the CT images, it does not appear > to be something operable - it does not have distinct borders and there > is no room to get margins. I have many things to discuss with vets > tomorrow: comfort care for the time being for sure; how effective is > radiation treatment vs. benefit to Harley; are there any chemo protocols > for this that can help? Also they push for a full biopsy requiring > surgery because the diagnosis will be more "definitive" and they could > stage the cancer then. But I question the cost (both money and physical > discomfort to Harley) vs. benefit to him. How will the full biopsy > change potential treatment? It will cost money, has risk due to > anesthesia, location of mass, and possible infection, and will cause him > some pain afterwards. Is it worth it for the extra bit of detail? > Below is the report if you're interested, and able to read the technical > stuff. One note on the final comment that radiographs are recommended > to rule out bone involvement: the CT scan showed already showed bone > lysis (erosion), but the pathologist did not have access to the info > from the CT scan. > > In the meantime, Harley has gotten meloxicam or buprenorphine when he > doesn't want to eat. The anti-inflammatory effects of meloxicam give > him relief for 4 days or so, allowing him to eat comfortably. I just > worry about potential kidney toxicity with that drug, so they have to be > really careful about dosing, and the risk goes up long-term. I wouldn't > ordinarily say yes to that drug, but it helps him. And if he's not > going to make it long-term, the kidney concern takes back seat to his > comfort. The buprenorphine doesn't help nearly as much, but may make > him feel good. He has been eating all his food for the last 5 days, and > plays and grooms himself. A little more subdued than usual, but he has > a big burst of energy after his breakfast or dinner. > > Marsha > > CLINICAL INFORMATION: > > Mass adjacent to/involving the right tympanic bulla; painful to open > > mouth; bulge palpated through skin medial to the right caudal mandible > > suspected to be the mass; blind aspirate; concern for carcinoma; > > patient is FeLV positive; regional node (and all peripheral nodes) > > palpate normal > > > SOURCE: > > Mass adjacent to roof of mouth right side: 12 slides > > > DESCRIPTION/MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS/COMMENTS: > > > Microscopic Description: The smears are low to moderately cellular on > > a clear background with moderate blood contamination, many scattered > > platelet clumps and a low to moderate number of ruptured cells. Few > > small, loosely cohesive clusters of polygonal to cuboidal epithelial > > cells are observed. This population exhibits mild to moderate > > anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. The cells have a small amount of > > variably staining purple cytoplasm and a round central nucleus. The > > nuclei have finely stippled to reticular chromatin and often 1-2, > > small prominent nucleoli. There are also rare mesenchymal cells noted > > displaying oval nuclei, one to three small nucleoli and moderate > > amounts of basophilic cytoplasm. This population exhibits mild to > > moderate anisocytosis and anisokaryosis and occasionally surrounds a > > small to moderate amount of pink extracellular matrix. No infectious > > agents or cytologic evidence of inflammation are observed. > > > Microscopic Findings: EPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA; MILD TO MODERATELY > > ATYPICAL MESENCHYMAL CELLS > > > Comment: The observed epithelial population exhibits only mild atypia > > but based on the number seen and the provided history raise concern > > for a well-differentiated, malignant neoplasm. Cell morphology of > > this population is most consistent with a basal cell, ceruminous gland > > or apocrine gland population. Significance of the rare mesenchymal > > cells is uncertain (they could be a fibrous component associated with > > the mass/granulation tissue, connective tissue, possibly rare cells > > associated with a well-differentiated mesenchymal tumor). Tissue > > biopsy with histopathology is recommended for a specific diagnosis. > > Radiographs of the area are also recommended to completely rule out > > underlying bone involvement. > > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org