[Felvtalk] Has anyone gone with radiation treatment for FeLV+ with cancer?

dlgegg at windstream.net dlgegg at windstream.net
Sun Mar 15 19:03:12 CDT 2015


I THINK THAT IF IT WAS MY HARLEY, I WOULD SAY NO.  IT WOULD NOT HELP THE QUALITY OF HIS LIFE AND THE TRAUMA OF SURGERY.  I AM ON A SALVE FOR TUMORS ON THE SKIN AND A TONIC FOR INTERNAL JUST TO WARD OFF A POP UP OF MY LYMPHOMA.  IF YOU WANTED TO TRY GETTING THE TONIC DOWN HIM, I CAN GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION.  I WILL ADD BOTH OF YOU TO MY PRAYER LIST.

---- Marsha <martia at lynxe.com> wrote: 
> Harley had a CT scan on Monday, and needle biopsy Friday.  Saturday 
> (yesterday) the report came back that he has cancer.  It is in the area 
> of his right middle ear and TMJ.  By the CT images, it does not appear 
> to be something operable - it does not have distinct borders and there 
> is no room to get margins.  I have many things to discuss with vets 
> tomorrow:  comfort care for the time being for sure; how effective is 
> radiation treatment vs. benefit to Harley; are there any chemo protocols 
> for this that can help?  Also they push for a full biopsy requiring 
> surgery because the diagnosis will be more "definitive" and they could 
> stage the cancer then.  But I question the cost (both money and physical 
> discomfort to Harley) vs. benefit to him.  How will the full biopsy 
> change potential treatment?  It will cost money, has risk due to 
> anesthesia, location of mass, and possible infection, and will cause him 
> some pain afterwards.  Is it worth it for the extra bit of detail?  
> Below is the report if you're interested, and able to read the technical 
> stuff.  One note on the final comment that radiographs are recommended 
> to rule out bone involvement:  the CT scan showed already showed bone 
> lysis (erosion), but the pathologist did not have access to the info 
> from the CT scan.
> 
> In the meantime, Harley has gotten meloxicam or buprenorphine when he 
> doesn't want to eat.  The anti-inflammatory effects of meloxicam give 
> him relief for 4 days or so, allowing him to eat comfortably. I just 
> worry about potential kidney toxicity with that drug, so they have to be 
> really careful about dosing, and the risk goes up long-term.  I wouldn't 
> ordinarily say yes to that drug, but it helps him.  And if he's not 
> going to make it long-term, the kidney concern takes back seat to his 
> comfort.  The buprenorphine doesn't help nearly as much, but may make 
> him feel good.  He has been eating all his food for the last 5 days, and 
> plays and grooms himself.  A little more subdued than usual, but he has 
> a big burst of energy after his breakfast or dinner.
> 
> Marsha
> 
> CLINICAL INFORMATION:
> 
> Mass adjacent to/involving the right tympanic bulla; painful to open
> 
> mouth; bulge palpated through skin medial to the right caudal mandible
> 
> suspected to be the mass; blind aspirate; concern for carcinoma;
> 
> patient is FeLV positive; regional node (and all peripheral nodes)
> 
> palpate normal
> 
> 
> SOURCE:
> 
> Mass adjacent to roof of mouth right side: 12 slides
> 
> 
> DESCRIPTION/MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS/COMMENTS:
> 
> 
> Microscopic Description: The smears are low to moderately cellular on
> 
> a clear background with moderate blood contamination, many scattered
> 
> platelet clumps and a low to moderate number of ruptured cells. Few
> 
> small, loosely cohesive clusters of polygonal to cuboidal epithelial
> 
> cells are observed. This population exhibits mild to moderate
> 
> anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. The cells have a small amount of
> 
> variably staining purple cytoplasm and a round central nucleus. The
> 
> nuclei have finely stippled to reticular chromatin and often 1-2,
> 
> small prominent nucleoli. There are also rare mesenchymal cells noted
> 
> displaying oval nuclei, one to three small nucleoli and moderate
> 
> amounts of basophilic cytoplasm. This population exhibits mild to
> 
> moderate anisocytosis and anisokaryosis and occasionally surrounds a
> 
> small to moderate amount of pink extracellular matrix. No infectious
> 
> agents or cytologic evidence of inflammation are observed.
> 
> 
> Microscopic Findings: EPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA; MILD TO MODERATELY
> 
> ATYPICAL MESENCHYMAL CELLS
> 
> 
> Comment: The observed epithelial population exhibits only mild atypia
> 
> but based on the number seen and the provided history raise concern
> 
> for a well-differentiated, malignant neoplasm. Cell morphology of
> 
> this population is most consistent with a basal cell, ceruminous gland
> 
> or apocrine gland population. Significance of the rare mesenchymal
> 
> cells is uncertain (they could be a fibrous component associated with
> 
> the mass/granulation tissue, connective tissue, possibly rare cells
> 
> associated with a well-differentiated mesenchymal tumor). Tissue
> 
> biopsy with histopathology is recommended for a specific diagnosis.
> 
> Radiographs of the area are also recommended to completely rule out
> 
> underlying bone involvement.
> 
> 




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