Abi update

[melithiel]

Went back to the vet today. At first, she though that it would be an easy surgery to remove the tumor, but upon further examination, she thinks it's mammary cancer. Mammary cancer is apparently pretty aggressive in cats. It spreads easily to the rest of the mammary tissue and other organs; the standard way to treat it is to remove the tumor and

Comments

[rivenwanderer]

Meep. *hugs if you want them*

[reynardine]

My husband and I had a similar choice with our cat, Mirrim, several years ago. Her tumor was on her back, and the cost of surgery was about $1,000. We were warned that it could come back, but we went ahead and had the surgery done. When they did the surgery, they found the tumor to be so huge that they ended up sending it up to Iowa State University for study. (Iowa State has a college devoted to veterinary medicine.)

It was very hard on her, but once she healed, she was like a different cat, running around and playing like a kitten.

For 6 months. It came back, aggressively, and 6 months after that, we had to put her to sleep. She was 9 years old. It broke my heart.

That was my experience, anyway. It's a tough decision to make, and yes, wanting to do something, anything, is what made it harder. *hugs*

[lakmiseiru]

*big hugs* for all of you. So sorry to hear that - sounds like it's really hard to deal with. Best of luck in the days to come.

[evil_lep]

Sorry to hear it. I like Abi.

That said, I'd guess if they can't be sure it's a mammary cancer tumor, they also can't be sure it hasn't already metastasized from somewhere else. I think the best thing you can do for her, realistically, is to treat any pain she has and give her as much love as possible.

*hugs*

[jonthemon]

That's really sad to hear about. I hope things turn out well, and that you get to enjoy all the time you have with her. With smaller pets it's rather more sudden, but I hope it's a long time before that.