Musings on Cancer

[Perseus]

makes me a bit of a pain in the a** of vets and animal nutritionists, I know  ... but they've fooled me once to many times...

Kaffe, I bet most of us here have also become the same pain, same place since the recalls last year.  And so should we be, between the PFCs and the under educated vets.  It's just overwhelming to keep healthy cats healthy and sick kitties treated properly.

[GreyGhost]

I know I drive the vets crazy. Oh well its my job......

[meatball]

Rufus was diagnosed via stomach biopsy and found to be loaded with h.Pylori.
Initially he was not going to be treated, but Grey Ghost sent me some wonderful information, thank you again Grey Ghost , which I took to my Angel vet.

Rufus was put on the triple antibiotic therapy which did in fact, rid him of h.pylori, but sad to say we still have the multiple daily horrid diarrheas for which we have no answer.  Rufus is on a very good probiotic and I have upped the dosage a bit and that seems to be helping.

Due to his severely enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, my Angel vet fears he may have some early cancer.  We have added some herbals to his daily regime.

[GreyGhost]

Your welcome for the information. I try to do my best with what i find out and know. I think you should look into Bio-Preparation. Misty is on it to prevent any return of cancer. The Mast Cell cancer is gone and I wanted something to help her not get it again.  I have a link under supplements on this site. You can call and talk to the guy who knows all about it. Dr. Roland Thomas. You can also email and based on Rufus's history he will make a recommendation.

[Perseus]

Rufus was diagnosed via stomach biopsy and found to be loaded with h.Pylori.
Initially he was not going to be treated, but Grey Ghost sent me some wonderful information, thank you again Grey Ghost , which I took to my Angel vet.

Rufus was put on the triple antibiotic therapy which did in fact, rid him of h.pylori, but sad to say we still have the multiple daily horrid diarrheas for which we have no answer.  Rufus is on a very good probiotic and I have upped the dosage a bit and that seems to be helping.

Due to his severely enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, my Angel vet fears he may have some early cancer.  We have added some herbals to his daily regime.

I'm so glad Rufus was finally treated properly for the h.pylori!  Thank you GreyGhost for sharing such important info for pet parents!  I just wish I could help you get to the bottom of the diarrhea.  Perhaps a good amount of time on the probiotic will do the trick here eventually.  Just like with humans, sometimes the treatment period is very long and extended before you can really see the results.  I had a kitty once that had blood in his urine for 9 months, we tried 5 different antibiotics and then one day it just stopped.  I guess I'll never know why he had it or how it was cured.

I also want to mention that I've had a few cats over the years that the vets had said the enlarged lymph nodes may be the first signs of cancer.  None of them ended up having cancer, lived another 5-7 years with the enlarged nodes and eventually passed from something else.  Just take it day by day and not worry about what might be is the best advice I can give. 

[kaffe]

Due to his severely enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, my Angel vet fears he may have some early cancer.  We have added some herbals to his daily regime.

So sorry to hear that sweet Rufus is still having diarrhea and that the vet suspects early cancer somewhere... I so hope that is not the case!  Where is the "mesenteric lymph nodes" exactly?  Guess I'm too lazy to look it up...    And I will be very interested in the herbals being given to Rufus --- is Essiac tea one of those herbals? 

[Therese]

I'm so sorry to hear you're facing the possibility of cancer with Rufus. I've been going through it with my dog Lydia since July. Thankfully we believe her cancer is in remission, but she still has one or two rounds of chemo to go through yet. It's such an emotional roller coaster and I'm hoping for both of you that it's not cancer!

Therese

[Perseus]

I'm so sorry to hear you're facing the possibility of cancer with Rufus. I've been going through it with my dog Lydia since July. Thankfully we believe her cancer is in remission, but she still has one or two rounds of chemo to go through yet. It's such an emotional roller coaster and I'm hoping for both of you that it's not cancer!

Therese

Sending prayers and wishes of good health to Rufus and Lydia from the gang at Perseus' Place.  Hope you guys get all better, and their mommies can relax, real soon.

[Perseus]

Rufus is on a very good probiotic and I have upped the dosage a bit and that seems to be helping.

meatball, one of the other groups I joined, FAF on Yahoo (Feline Assisted Feeding) has a long topic going on poop/diarrhea.  Some of the members are saying probiotics have caused the diarrhea; once they stopped it cleared up.  Also, they all seem to recommend pumpkin for diarrhea, too.  I've used it for constipation but didn't know it helps with diarrhea, too.  You may want to take a peek at the group.

[Therese]

[/quote]
Sending prayers and wishes of good health to Rufus and Lydia from the gang at Perseus' Place.  Hope you guys get all better, and their mommies can relax, real soon.
[/quote]

Thanks to everyone at Perseus' Place

[GreyGhost]

Also sending prayers from Misty & Company.. I hope with all my heart everything will turn out with the best results.

I have some info I'd like to pass on about the loose stools. I have seen too much probiotics cause it. And, I have always used slippery elm for all bowel problems. Misty has only had one bad case of diarrhea (too much fish oil : bad mommy) She woke me up every 2 hours to go out (bless her heart) and in the am I called Doc and he said go get slippery elm, so off to the store.  I gave her the dose and in a few hours it worked. She only had to go a few times. By the next day she was back to normal. Here is a link for how to use slippery elm for both diarrhea and constipation. I always have it on hand. I give it to Misty differently than the article. I put it on a slice of cheese and warm and make cheese balls....

http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=library&act=show&item=slipperyelm

[Perseus]

We need a poop topic, I'll start one.

[Perseus]

Some excerpts from the Nov '08 issue of CatWatch Magazine, from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine:

Combat Feline Cancer
--An estimated two percent of the 80 million or more cats now living in the United States will at some point in their lives develop cancer.
--Thanks to dramatic advances in veterinary medicine, many types of feline cancer are manageable--sometimes even reversible--if the condition is recognized early in its development and the affected cat is treated promptly and appropriately.
--There are measures that a cat owner can take to prevent certain types of feline cancer or at least to minimize the risk of their occurrence.
--Based on our current understanding of feline cancer and its causes, say Dr. Margaret McEntee, owners can take measures to prevent the occurrence of the disease by:
----Spaying female cats by six months of age
----Vaccinating outdoor cats against FeLV
----Limiting vaccinations to those that are absolutely essential
----Eliminating indoor cats' exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke
----Protecting cats from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight

[meatball]

Thank you all so much for your well wishes for Rufus.
He is hanging in there, but now he appears to be incontinent.............

GreyGhost...........Wonderful information of the link you provided about Slippery Elm.  I am going to find it and try it.............at this point there's nothing to lose.

I also picked up a t. foetus test kit from a company called BioMed.  5 kits for $35 plus shipping.  I keep looking at the sample under my microscope and I swear I see something.  Will be taking that and Rufus back to the vet on Nov. 9th

Hugs to all and head kisses to all the furkids
Rufus and me

[Perseus]

meatball, if you haven't had a chance to check out the Yahoo FAF group yet, there are many posters on there relating their problems with IBD kitties and saying that after switching to Innova Evo the diarrhea stopped for some reason.  Here's the website they're referring to:  http://www.evopet.com

Wish I had more ideas but as I see suggestions on the Yahoo groups I'll certainly let you know.

Hope Rufus is doing better, the poor little guy.