Misty Grey

Mom went with me and Misty to Tampa for the appointment with Blue Pearl. The doctor there examined Misty, reviewed all her records, and talked to me about the options.  The numbers for chemo/radiation were not encouraging – they would be expensive and arduous and buy Misty months maybe, if we were lucky.  Amputation really is her only hope for any kind of a cure.  I told her that my impression was that my vets were worried about Misty’s age, and that they thought that the sarcoma was already all through her body.  She said that her impression from talking with my vets was that their worry was more about Misty’s heart arrhythmia.  She told me some encouraging stories about older cats who did well after amputations.  She said she would look at the Xrays (which for some reason didn’t come through with the other information), and that if her look at it confirms what my vets found – nothing growing in her chest, lungs or heart, that the next step would be to do an ultrasound and see if everything looks good there.  Problems with the spleen can cause the type of arrhythmia that Misty has so she suggested it would be a good idea to make sure the spleen is OK and no cancer is there or anywhere else in her abdomen.  She said she would talk to my vets and explain to them about the statistics and how sarcoma acts differently in cats than in humans, and the slim chances that chemo and/or radiation would be of much help. And that she’d put it all in writing and give me a copy too.

My little pickle, all tuckered out from the efforts of chasing the Red Dot, wrestling with her ribbon, and rolling in catnip.

The cutest part isn’t visible in this photo – she still has catnip stuck to her chin.

EDIT: Here is the text of the oncologist’s report:

Today we discussed that we suspect that Misty has a soft tissue sarcoma on the right forelimb starting just above the carpus and extending to the elbow. Cytology is not 100% but we suspect on the basis of the growth over a 4 month period, palpation, x-rays and cytology that this is a soft tissue sarcoma. Definitive diagnosis would require a biopsy. We discussed that the most definitive treatment for a soft tissue sarcoma on the limb would be amputation, additional options would include definitive radiation to gross disease (control rates of approximately one year), possible chemotherapy to slow tumor growth (which works in approximately 40% of cases and lasts a few months) and metronomic chemotherapy (low dose chemotherapy long term – studies on response are ongoing). We discussed that the concerns for removing the limb are based on concern for what is causing the arrythmia. As the echocardiogram is normal, an abdominal ultrasound would be recommended to rule out abdominal disease that could cause this (ie splenic disease). We would recommend another ECG prior to surgery and discussion with a cardiologist as highest probable causes of the arrhythmia and to determine the safest things we can do anesthetically to ensure that Misty does well at her time of surgery if this is what you decide to move forward with. Please call if you have any questions regarding Misty.