? Mast Cell Tumors

The forum said things didn't have to be about diabetes to be here. This is about another of my cats, Miska. Miska recently had surgery for a mast cell tumor and will be having surgery for a second that I found after the first was removed. Both are small. I've attached a picture of the one that was removed. The other is very similar. Thing is, the vet told me this kind can be benign or malignant... but it seems there's no way to tell without going to an oncologist.. something about it could spread internally. There are none less than an hour away and they are very expensive. Does anyone have experience with mast cell tumors in cats? I was told the tumor removed had more benign characteristics than malignant, but that's no guarantee. If the second is the same, I'll likely not see an oncologist if it seems there's only a small chance. Financially, it's already going to take me a month or so to save for a second surgery. The first was tumor removal and a dental to remove a bad tooth and that set me back over $1000. The next one should be a bit more manageable at about $500 or so.

Miska's a pudgy, soft little girl, 8 this coming August 13th. Her behaviour and habits are totally normal. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

Aww poor Miska! Hope everything works out well with the second surgery and you get this under control.

There's been a lot of evidence of the benefits of CBD oil for treating cancer and the resulting symptoms, I just started Amber on it yesterday to help stimulate her appetite and hopefully reduce any pain and nausea and last night she finally ate well.

Would definitely be worth talking to your Vet about, CBD oil with under 0.3% THC is legal in all 50 States and you can get good quality, lab-tested tincture or pure extract powder or wax from thecbdistillery.com or tons of other sites at a very reasonable price. I had ordered from there before for my fiancee with great results, and a $20 250mg bottle is enough for 50-100 doses depending on your cat's size and sensitivity to cannabinoids. Don't pay extra for something made specifically for pets, just make sure what you order is lab tested to contain under 0.3% THC and that there's no dangerous-to-cats inactive ingredients like propylene glycol and start out slow with dosing. CBD is very safe so you won't kill kitty with an overdose, but you could make her sleep for days and be very uncomfortable.

Thanks,
Joe

 

Did they send away a sample of the first tumour to a lab that does histology? Wouldn't that give a good indication?

 

Two of my kitty's have had cancer, with both a sample was sent to a lab that does histology. One of the labs sent back a lot of helpful info, the other did not, but both did list cancer.

I did not know cbd oil would help with cancer, I have been giving my kitty with cancer hemp. I will check into the use of cbd oil for cancer.

 

Can't they do a fine needle aspirate or scraping? There are a couple ways they could test those cells without costing an arm and leg...

 

My Patches I had only 0ne cutaneous (surface of skin) mast cel tumor. My Izzy had about 3. However, my BunBun has had 5 surgically removed in three different procedures. After that BunBun started on chlorambucil. AFter about 6 weeks three more appeared. The chlorambucil was supposed to stop the formation of them. Then he had one treatment with Lomustine. After about three weeks the three tumpr do not seem to be getting larger and my be shrinking. I go back next week to see what is next.
Only a biopsy, which the vet sends out, can tell if malignant. In cats almost all are benign.
The last three were surgically removed with only local lidocaine injection and using a punch, not a scalpel. No general anesthesia required, much less expensive.

 

For got to add that before BunBun started on the chemo drugs he did have an ultrasound to determine if there were any visceral (occurring in internal organs) tumors. BunBun did not have any such tumors

 

She's had no issues related to the tumors. She doesn't even seem to know they're there. Never scratches or bites at them. The one that was removed had been there a year or more. I hadn't thought it was any big deal. Not sure that she'd need to be on any type of treatment for cancer. Her fur is thick and she's not big on a lot of petting... that and the awkward place this second one is, it could have been there just as long.