My wonderful cat, Pounce, was just diagnosed today with lung cancer. He is only 10 years old. We are non-smokers. How would he get this? We are just devastated as we love him so much. He's lost some weight and is limping. The vet gave us some meds to help with pain and increase his appetite to help stop the weight loss. Besides this and lots of love, is there anything else we can do?
Cancer - 3 Answers
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1 :
Where did you get him from? Could he have been exposed to tobacco smoke as a kitten? Is he an outdoor cat? Could he have come across asbestos, benzene or any other of the known carcinogens in a neighbours yard? As for treattment, if you can control the pain, continue to love him. If you can't control the pain, love him even more and have him euthanased. Having been through cancer treatment, surgery, chemo and radiation, the only thing that made me able to cope was the knowledge that it would end and I would be better. An animal does not have that knowledge and I would never subject an animal I loved to that treatment.
2 :
I'm so sorry to hear about Pounce. I'm a veterinary technician at a Holistic animal clinic and we deal with a lot of cancer patients. Sometimes there is really no traceable reason, so don't blame yourself.Just like with humans sometimes something in the body just goes wrong. With lung cancer I dont think they generally recommend chemo or radiation unless they catch it very early. And any decision to do that has to be carefully considered from their perspective. You'd need to weigh how much worse they may feel during treatments vrs how much better they'll feel in the long run or how much more time it would buy you. Typical western treatments probably will include steroids like Prednisone that actually does slow down some cancerous growths, antibiotics to help prevent any infection, and drugs to control pain or other symptoms he may be having. If you want to seek out a holistic or alternative type of treatment they may offer you things that can help make him more comfortable and support his immune system as well. It may or may not buy him more time, but in my experience owners usually feel like their pets were happier and more comfortable for longer than they had expected. They'll most likely talk about nutrition, herbs and supplements, perhaps acupuncture for pain control and that limping. They may also recommend flower essences or homeopathy to help with some of the emotions that can surround a situation like this. If you do decide to seek a Holistic consult I'd make sure to go to a properly trained and accredited one. The AHVMA (American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association) website is a good resource. http://www.ahvma.org/ Good luck with whatever route you decide to take.
3 :
Its hard to say, remember if you are in doubt you could always get a second opinion. Take heart, the animal is only ten years old, he could still live years longer. You may want to take these vet serious illness diagnosis with a grain of salt, cats usually live less than 20 years and problems associated with aging are expected. Remember vets are businessmen also. Try giving him some omega 3 or Greens type supplements mixed in with the food, to improve immunity. If the doctor is hinting at treatments that may run in the thousands of dollars, you may want to forego them, and let the animal live naturally and in as much comfort as you can provide.
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