My Cat Has A Fibrosarcoma Tumor , Anyone Have Advice ?
Lounge By wiggler Updated 24 Jun 2011 , 8:33pm by Herekittykitty
Hey guys , I know this is nothing to do with cake making , but I need all the help I can get . I noticed a smallish lump on th back of my ten year old cats neck . The vet says it is a fibrosarcoma tumor and that it is nasty and aggressive . He wants to remove it and a large portion of tissue around it on Thursday but he cant guarantee it wont come back. If it isnt removed it will kill her .I adore her but I really dont want her to suffer . I have looked it up on line and I am torn as to what to do . Do any of you have any experience with this 
I'm so sorry about your beloved pet. I don't have any experience with that in particular but I can sympathize.
We lost our dog a hear and a half ago after he had had many health problems. We spent most of a summer back and forth to the vet doing tests and procedures (at which time the vet gave him 3-4 months before he succumbed to kidney failure). The tests and procedures were particularly hard on him because he was blind. We finally said enough is enough, and just kept him loved and happy for as long as we could. We ultimately had 2 very good years with him before we had to put him down, ironically, due to cancer and not kidney failure. In hindsight, I would have skipped most of the tests and procedures and still had the bonus 2 years.
Whatever you decide will be the right choice for you and your kitty. Hugs to you...
Thanks Elcee . I think I will give the op a go . She is outside growling at a very dead mouse at the moment so I think there is plenty of life left in the old girl .
Hopefully she will get through the op ok
So sorry about your cat. I know how you're feeling and thinking. I've gone through the same with one of my cats.
Don't know if your vet has mentioned it but your cat might have to have chemo or radiation treatments after her surgery which is very costly. She'll also be in a fair amount of pain from the tumor removal so you'll have to treat her for that with prescribed pain meds too.
One of our cats had oral cancer (found on a dental check up), we chose to have an operation done to remove the cancerous growths plus some of her teeth had to be removed as the growths had caused the teeth to almost fall out.
Our vet told us if the operation went well our cat would live a couple more years or longer. She didn't. The tumors, we found out on a later follow up visit, couldn't all be removed completely, that more tumors would probably grow/return, and they did within 3 months. Our cat was in terrible pain the whole time. Before sugery and after surgery. It never went away for the poor thing even with the pain meds we gave her. She clawed at her mouth constantly, couldn't eat properly, couldn't do anything really, her life was miserable. We finally did what we should have done in the first place. We had her put to sleep.
I'm not trying to tell you what you should do or should not do about your cat, but I know I/we would not put our other cat through the same thing. If he tested positive for cancer we would have him put to sleep right away. It's not worth the suffering they have to put up with. We do it more for our own sake not the pets sake. We love them, they're part of the family, and we want to do everything we can to keep them with us. But, we're not really thinking of the he** they have to go through for us to do that.
If you read the stats on cats or dogs surviving cancer and having a long comfortable life afterwards, you'd see not many do.
Thanks Warchild , I am going to go ahead with the op . I went in to the vets today bawling my eyes out like a child but they reassured me the tumor is small and that they will send us home with plenty of pain medication . I am dreading this but they are sure it will be no more invasive then when she was spayed years ago . That being said I am only putting her through the surgery and if it doesnt work or she appears to be in pain I will have her put to sleep . I wont go down the Chemo route as I have seen first hand how sick it makes humans so we have one shot , surgery . Thanks for your input . Its great to have people to chat to about this . Some people think I am a nutter being so upset
Thanks Warchild , I am going to go ahead with the op . I went in to the vets today bawling my eyes out like a child but they reassured me the tumor is small and that they will send us home with plenty of pain medication . I am dreading this but they are sure it will be no more invasive then when she was spayed years ago . That being said I am only putting her through the surgery and if it doesnt work or she appears to be in pain I will have her put to sleep . I wont go down the Chemo route as I have seen first hand how sick it makes humans so we have one shot , surgery . Thanks for your input . Its great to have people to chat to about this . Some people think I am a nutter being so upset
Don't worry, you're not alone with people thinking you're a nutter. I'm a nutter when it comes to my pets too. I end up bawling almost everytime I have one of mine at the vet, as its usually a visit that means something is wrong. I'd wager 99% of pet owners are nutter about thier pets too, we are not alone in this wiggler.
Good to hear your vet is thinking this will be a positive op. That means you found the lump early enough. Actually from what I read about your cats type of tumor, all pet owners should be checking for lumps in the neck/shoulder area as it seems from the article I read, this type of tumor could be linked to certain vacinations.
Sending a ton of good wishes your way for your kitty's successful op, and.... that she'll be back to her old self in no time! 
Don't forget to let us know how she's doing!
I belong to a diabetes forum for my diabetic cat and was just reading about a cat who developed cancer in the area where he received his vaccinations. It was heart breaking and the cat indeed needed surgery and chemo and radiation. But he is doing good and cancer free ..
Most cat's can handle chemo pretty well, so before you say no you won't do that at all, talk to your vet about it ..
But of course, it is your decision .. some of us "nutters" will go any distance for our furbabies ...
Thanks , TheCakeorator , I got your pm . If she makes it through the next few days I will have a chat to the vet about Chemo , Its amazing , one day your kitty seems happy nad healthy and next this comes along. Her sister is overdue her shots , think I will take my chances
Thanks again for you help
God bless your little kitty. Good luck.
I'm so sorry about your baby. It is good that your vet has such a positive outlook. I will keep my fingers crossed that the operation did the trick.
All we can do is what seems best at the time.
I had to put one of my babies down 2 summers ago b/c he went into accute renal (kidney) failure. There was a test I could do to determine if there were crystals present in the uine which would indicate total failure but the vet convinced me that given his numbers and symptoms, the lack of crystals probably wouldn't mean he would recover. It was sudden, I was alone, and it was the middle of the night, and I made the tough call because I felt putting him through treatment for the next 24hrs would be for me, not him. I still regret not doing the test.
My little girl was just diagnosed this week with kidney disease. She will be on special food for the rest of her life, which according to the vet may be years b/c we caught it early. Her brother (my avatar) died of a congenital heart defect so that is what I have been worried about for her. Now this.
Vaccinations are an odd thing. They are necessary for the health of our little family members but can be dangerous. It has been discovered that we over vaccinate our pets and often when the next round of vaccinations come up they don't really need them - despite what the law may say. There is a test that checks for titers in the blood. If there is even one titer the vaccination is still working. Maybe get her sister's titers checked before deciding to skip the vaccinations. Also, the vet should rotate the vaccination sites.
Good luck to all of you.
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