SRS Summary - Cats 1 - 11

Dr. Lunn sent me a summary of the cats that have been treated to date with SRS (as of 2/26/10).

 

Interesting!!!! I guess she only disclosed the board cats.....

 

Yes, she only disclosed the names of the board cats - I don't think she asked any of the other owners for permission, but knew that Joan, Wendi, and I were okay with it.

 

Wait, so only 11 cats have been treated with SRS? 11 total?! Or maybe I am missing something...

 

Yes, only 11 cats in the US have been treated with SRS; the UK has also treated some cats. SRS has been used for humans as well...in fact, our human acro, Megan & Black Bear, had SRS not too long ago.

 

Wow. I didn't realize so few have done it! I guess the cost is a large deterrent for most people.

On a positive note (because I have to think positively at this point), I'm almost certain I'm going to have the SRS done for Pablo this summer. I can't believe I'm saying that, especially since so few cats have been treated (and many of them are deceased now).

Boo...did you get my PM? I had some questions about SRS for you.

 

Ack! I did get the PM and sent you a really long response that day! And I guess you didn't get it and it's not in my "sent" box so it must have been eaten. I'll try again right now, before I go off to bed.

 

SRS is just very new for cats. CSU has had their machine for about 2 years or maybe less?

Madison was the first acrocat from FDMB to have the treatment, and I think that was about 16 months ago. She was doing very well, but suddenly had renal failure.

 

I took Cecil (GA) for the treatments, but his heart was damaged. I think a lot of the cats had Acromegaly for years before they were diagnosed. I didn't know anything about the disease until JoJo pushed me to have Cecil tested. I didn't see any good treatment options until the CSU study came along, that gave me some hope for Cecil, all his bloodwork looked good and he seemed well enough to go out to Colorado. He didn't have any abnormal heart sounds and I figured his energy level was down a bit because of all his high BG numbers. He seemed like he was well enough to give the treatment a shot. Sometimes, I feel guilty for dragging him out there. If I would have know he had heart disease, I wouldn't have put him through stress. Sigh...But, I guess HCM isn't ususally detected until a crisis occurs.

The treatments are expensive which makes it cost prohibitive for most people. Maybe, things will change in the future and the cost will come down or some other cheaper way to treat Acro will be developed.


Sandy - Dottie & Skippy

 

How much is the treatment? I thought it was low cost because it was a study.

 

The SRS treatment is about $5000 for the week. The study only included cats 1-7 (I think). Dr. Lunn has a new study...once we get your results on Friday, we'll put you in touch with Dr. Lunn. Relax - isn't it your wedding week?

 

It's my wedding week. but no rest. It's not a regular wedding. It's just a JOP and then we will have a party in May. That's when I will be really stressed. this week I am only stressed about getting a good manicure and making sure Jeremy doesn't get picked to serve on a jury. He has to go to Jury duty in the morning. I will be really mad if he gets picked for a big trial and can't go on Thursday. All the announcements are dated (for April 1) printed, sealed, and stamped.

5000.00. That's a lot. Now I'm not so sure we can do that. What is the new study? is it the drug therapy?