Author Topic: Hemangiosarcoma in cats  (Read 5529 times)

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Offline Pookie

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Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« on: April 14, 2015, 02:13:18 PM »
A friend of mine sent me the link to this blog, and I thought I'd share it.  This is the same cancer that Pookie has.  While I think in his case it's too late to try the supplements this person is using, perhaps someone else will find the information useful.  Interestingly, the cat was 11.5 years old when diagnosed.  Pookie will be 12 in May if he makes it to his birthday.

I wasn't able to find a more recent post on the kitty.

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2012/10/prayers-for-fefi-le-purr-please.html

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2012/10/fefi-le-purr-is-home.html

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2012/10/fefi-le-purrs-pathology.html

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2012/10/fefis-big-holistic-hemangiosarcoma.html  (this one discusses the holistic approach that's being taken)

http://primcats.blogspot.com/2012/11/fefi-le-purr-update-with-reiki.html  (this is the last post I could find about how the kitty is doing, and it's from November 2012)


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Offline Lola

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2015, 05:19:19 PM »
VERY good blog!  Thanks for sharing.

Quote
For further informational purposes though I will not dwell on this there have been 2 veterinary studies of Feline Hemangiosarcoma in the last 15 years. One on 52 cats records and one on 18 cats records. They say after tumor removal surgery the average life span left is 44 weeks.

Fefi intend's to mop the floor with that average time because she's awesome like that.

:)
« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 05:25:15 PM by Lola »
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Offline Lola

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2015, 05:33:44 PM »
The blog looks active, as far as adding favorite other blogs to a list.  Some additions were done today.
The last post about anything, is November 2014.
Can't find any current info on Fifi or anything other than the start of the treatment.  :(
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2015, 06:06:12 PM »
There's one thing I've learned in clicking through Pinterest from Primcat's page: https://www.pinterest.com/carmen4121/

In just about every medical report I've read now, it mentions pale gums and anemia. That might be where your "sign" is.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
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Offline Pookie

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2015, 08:38:00 PM »
In just about every medical report I've read now, it mentions pale gums and anemia. That might be where your "sign" is.

The tumor(s) can bleed slowly, leading to anemia, or very quickly, in which case I would have less than an hour to get him to the vet to send him to the Bridge.  The oncologist told me there's a 40% chance Pookie's tumor could bleed.  That's why I tried the Chinese herbal, but he just didn't want the food that included it, so I stopped.  It was more important to me to keep him eating.

I had asked the oncologist if the risk of bleeding increased as time went on, and she said no.  Interestingly, the arnica I'm giving him is also supposed to help with bleeding/hemorrhaging (sp?).  Hopefully it will help him.   fingerscrossed
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #5 on: April 14, 2015, 08:41:23 PM »

I had asked the oncologist if the risk of bleeding increased as time went on, and she said no.  Interestingly, the arnica I'm giving him is also supposed to help with bleeding/hemorrhaging (sp?).  Hopefully it will help him.   fingerscrossed

 fingerscrossed  fingerscrossed  fingerscrossed  fingerscrossed  fingerscrossed
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pookie

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2015, 03:28:18 PM »
Did anyone else catch that the cat in this blog was raw fed?  The blogger also mentioned keeping vaccines to a minimum, and had a link to catinfo.org.  It's so sad . . . you can do everything right, and still the furkids can get cancer.   :(
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Offline Lola

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2015, 03:40:47 PM »
I caught those details.  I also caught that there was a lot she learned along the way, like so many of us...and the rest of the world. 

Did you look at her outside enclosure?  WOW 
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2015, 03:43:46 PM »
It's so sad . . . you can do everything right, and still the furkids can get cancer.   :(

And that makes me wonder if cats are like dogs and can get cancer from being altered--especially at too young of an age.

BUT, who's to say that she had those cats their whole lives so that they were raised on that diet and medical care? After all she watches rescue sites http://primcats.blogspot.com/2014/01/meet-newest-honorary-primcat-er-primdog.html and you know that those pet rescues shot the animals up and altered them before letting them be adopted.

So, if she's adopted all these animals, she's not had full control over their healthcare for their whole lives. So, unfortunately, she's (her pets) not proof of that.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2015, 03:46:41 PM by DeeDee »
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Lola

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2015, 03:49:00 PM »
There is also the cancer gene possibility. 
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Offline Lola

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2015, 03:51:18 PM »
She did everything humanly "right" as far as what she had control over and what she learned, when she learned it. 
I just wanted to clarify my other post... just in case. 
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Offline Pookie

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2015, 04:12:49 PM »
There is also the cancer gene possibility. 

I used to think the whole "it's genetic" thinking was a cop-out.  That it's what doctors say because they can't think of anything else. 

I saw Dr. Perlmutter ("Grain Brain") on PBS discussing that it's a myth that we can't change our genes.  He mentioned epigenetics, which is that we can control our genes by the choices we make, e.g. diet, exercise, stress, etc.  I had hoped that could apply to our pets, but . . . when it comes to cancer . . . I just don't know anymore.

And that makes me wonder if cats are like dogs and can get cancer from being altered--especially at too young of an age.

BUT, who's to say that she had those cats their whole lives so that they were raised on that diet and medical care? After all she watches rescue sites http://primcats.blogspot.com/2014/01/meet-newest-honorary-primcat-er-primdog.html and you know that those pet rescues shot the animals up and altered them before letting them be adopted.

So, if she's adopted all these animals, she's not had full control over their healthcare for their whole lives. So, unfortunately, she's (her pets) not proof of that.

I've wondered that, too, about the neutering.  And you make a good point about how long she's had her cats, and how much or little control she had over their healthcare.  I guess I would like to think that changing to raw, etc. would, over time, heal the body and strengthen the immune system so that their chances of cancer are significantly reduced.  But maybe there are some things that can't be prevented . . .  :-\
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2015, 05:09:53 PM »
I used to think the whole "it's genetic" thinking was a cop-out.  That it's what doctors say because they can't think of anything else. 


Women and "BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing", http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet rule that thought out.

It's in there in animals somewhere. I just don't think they've gone so far as to find exactly which one to test the way they have on humans.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pookie

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2015, 06:24:10 PM »
Women and "BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing", http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet rule that thought out.

It's in there in animals somewhere. I just don't think they've gone so far as to find exactly which one to test the way they have on humans.

My thinking was that just because you had the gene, it wasn't automatic that you'd get the cancer.  My thinking, and I think this is what the epigenetics was about, was that something had to turn that gene on, e.g. environmental toxins, diet, stress, etc, in order to develop cancer.  So you could essentially prevent the cancer (keep the gene turned off), even if you had the gene, by controlling those other factors.

But these days . . . I just don't know what to think anymore.
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Offline Pookie

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Re: Hemangiosarcoma in cats
« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2015, 07:47:21 PM »
Update:  I emailed the owner of that blog to ask how her kitty was doing.  Remember that the posts were from 2012?  Well, the cat is still alive!  2.5 years later, she's still going.  They did find a new tumor above the kitty's eye, and they haven't decided yet whether or not to remove it, as the cat is 14 now and will be susceptible to more tumors in the future (the original one was removed, but they weren't able to get "clean margins" so the cancer is still there).  But for the kitty to make it as long as she has . . . WOW.  I'm amazed.

Hopefully, her blog will help others to improve and possibly extend the quality of their pet's life if they receive this kind of diagnosis.  On a side note, I just found out my chiropractor's dog was just diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma.  I already sent them the link to the blog so they can read it, and the name of the Chinese herbal that I was giving Pookie (Yunnan Bia Yao) to help reduce the chance of the tumors bleeding.  It may also have anti-tumor properties.
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