Oh, Nina. It's so good that he came home and is not in pain, and so awful
that he has lymphoma.
I disagree that the depomedrol would be redundant with the dex, though I
agree that pred would be. The Depo is strong and long-lasting, and allows you
to give the dex less frequently (dex is very strong). The combination really
seems to work well. But if she were going to give you only one of them, I do
think the dex is probably the more important one.
I know you don't want to do chemo, but you might at least try the first kind
that they give. It is a sub-q shot called Elspar. It sometimes shrinks
lymphoma quite a bit with the one shot, and maybe she would let you give the
shot
at home. It is the one chemo drug with no side effects, as its only action
is stop lymphoma cells specifically from reproducing. Lymphoma cells die
quickly and if they do not reproduce the cancer shrinks. In normal chemo
regimens Elspar is followed up a week later by different and stronger drugs
like
Vincristine and Adriamycin, but I would think it would be better on its own,
with the dexamethasone, than no chemo at all, and might be a good compromise
since it is not stressful to give and has no side effects. Mediastinal
lymphoma, which is when it is where it is on Spencer, does tend to respond
better to
chemo of all kinds than other lymphomas. So I would at least try the Elspar
if you can, along with the steroids. I am not sure, but I think the Elspar is
not that expensive either. But I could be wrong. One of the chemo drugs was
very cheap, and I can not remember which one. It might be the vincristine.
Anyway, that is just my thoughts -- I am not sure whether a vet would even
agree to do just one round of chemo, or to use just one chemo drug (though
steroids are a form of chemo too, Simon's oncologist kept telling me).
Bless you and Spencer, whatever you do. You will always know that he came
home to you, and that is something quite large in itself.
Michelle
Hello,
Mediastinal lymphoma is one that has a higher "cure" or remission rate than any other lymphomas that attacks our cats. There is a group on yahoogroups that is devoted to lymphoma. It is either FelineLymphoma or Feline_Lymphoma. Michelle is totally correct about Elspar (l-asparaginine). My Iris had intestinal lymphoma (she was neither Fiv or FeLv+). She got Elspar and prednisone then was placed on COP protocols. She went into remission immediately. I am sorry that Spencer is afflicted with this misery but this kind of lymphoma has an excellent prognosis. The woman who is the listowner of the Feline Lymphoma group has several cats that had mediastinal lymphoma and, with chemo, are totally healthy years later. It seems that Oriental Shorthair cats are a target of this illness.
Good luck! Spencer will be your guide and will tell you when enough is enough.
Roena
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