His ultra sound today found tht his spleen has swollen to the size of a dog's speen and it is dark. A cat's spleen should be the size of a tongue, the vet said and Megat's spleen is swollen and abnormal. His liver his also swollen and enlarged. THAT was what I felt 2 months ago and what she had felt last saturday. The vet said, with his history of FIV and kidney problems it is 99% that he has lymphoma, incurable and if untreated he has about 4 months more.
On the plus side, he is calm and unhurried as usual and because of the calmness that he has always displayed, he would be a good candidate for chemo which will allow him more years, although the vet has never yet treated a cat with chemo before. And he feels no pain which is more important at this point.
On a negative side as though lymphoma is not negative enough, Dr MP will not be his doctor as she is taking leave indefinately. I think that means she is quitting the practice- next Tuesday is her last day. That would make it 4 vets that I know in 5 years that this practice has been taking care of my cats, have gone and quit. I do not know the reasons but I guess people move on to other things.
When I was at the vet, I was not so calm and collected as my words seem to be here. I cried and cried although at the back of my mind, I know there might be nothing that I can do for Megat. They gave me tissue and cups of water. I am quite thankful that Cousin R decided to come with me today and so I was not by myself when I got the news although I was not able to tell her then.
Dr MP said before she leaves she would consult with other doctors to see what can be done. She also said we could use steroids although if I should decide on chemo, steroids would mess it up for us. Megat had his first ultra sound in dec last year, then I felt the mass 2 months ago. So that meant in 2 months, his grew his extremely agressivelymphoma and in about 4 months he might die from it.
Megat and San, you know we are all purraying for you.
ReplyDeleteOh dear.. I am so sorry. Please be strong for the poor boy.He needs your love and affection for him even more now. Good luck Megat. San will take care of you.
ReplyDeleteWe are so very sorry to hear this news of Megat and we feel the extent of your pain. Our thoughts, purrs and woofs are with you. We know that whatever you decide for him will be the best course of action. Ultimately, the greatest gift is to love and love to the full.
ReplyDeleteYour Friends,
Tommy, Tama-Chan, Sei-Chan and #1
i'm sorry to hear it, and i hope Megat won't be in too much pain should he leaves.
ReplyDeleteIf you are not comfortable with the rest of the vets in ARC, you may want to call Greendale ARC (contact 64637100)where Dr Eugene Lin and Dr Lau. Dr Lau attended to Bujang before she left Simei. I am not sure if she treated Megat before. However, she only works on Wednesday and you can call her to chat as Greendale is able to access Megat history from Simei and Tampines). At this stage, I would recommend chemo as it would have a higer chance to stop the growth and hopefully the illness into remission with some prescribed medication. The average survival rate if untreated is 4 - 6 months. If the illness is into remission, Megat may have a quality life of about 2 years. Dr Lin is a caring and very experience vet you can speak with too. Take care San and go fighting Megat!
ReplyDeleteThe note on Greendale, I forgot to leave my name behind. It's Katie.
ReplyDeleteLymphoma needs to be confirmed by testing of tissue. Done yet? Some tests could take weeks (i think only 1 specialist vet doing that), but treatment could start earlier.
ReplyDeleteDr MP and Dr L (Dr L travels)looked after my dog during his lymphoma treatment. Dr L told us it was terminal but he gave dog excellent palliative care (incl low dose chemo) for last 3 mths & pain-free, what i cld see. Dog (12yr old Lab) was normal & went for daily walks right up to its last day-Oct 08.
Dr L treated my cat nose cancer(carcinoma). Cat lived for 3.5 yrs (cancer in remission) before it died of kidney failure at 14.5 yrs in July 08.
You need an experienced vet if you are considering chemo.
Pray and do not give up, Megat certainly cld well live many many more years.
Oh goodness, most sorry to hear about Megat, San. All of you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeletethe letter b
Chin up and hang on there...
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Megat's condition.
ReplyDeleteHe will let you know when you need to let him go. Otherwise, keep on fighting with him.
All the best.