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fibrosarcoma

My cat was recently diagnosed with fibrosarcoma.  I felt a small nodule on his mid to low spine region and took him in.  This was removed but it came back with "dirty" edges.  I took him into an oncologist the following week for a consult.  She suggested that the size of the mass (1mm X 2mm) and mitotic rate (4) indicated that a follow-up surgery to remove additional surrounding tissue (the original vet had only removed .5cm around the mass and not the recommended 3 cm), followed by radiation and chemotherapy would potentially be curative given that we caught it SO early and that his APPEARED to be less aggressive than many masses she evaluates when they come in.  There was no indication that it had metastisized to other organs based upon additional tests ran there.  

Cash had surgery on Wednesday and the took out a large section of tissue 5cm margins around the original area and one layer of muscle down.  He is home and doing well.  All I ever see from people is how terrible things went and how the cat died anyway.  Has anyone had a positive outcome with aggressive treatment with kitties with similar situations?  Both the oncologist and the surgeon told me that Cash's case were the best case scenario and that USUALLY the masses the see are much larger and more aggressive and that they felt very optimistic that the treatment could actually be curative but I never see that type of situation spoken about where there is long-term survivial.
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Avatar universal
re Cash...and lots of sad, negative comments re firbrosarcoma, I commend you for taking quick and aggressive action for your cat and for going immediately after the first surgery and a reoccurrence, to an oncologist.  I did the same, and I fear that many of the unfortunate outcomes result from people having their local vets perform a serious surgery for an aggressive cancer on their cats. As you can testify, the first vet did not take large enough clear margins. I repeat something I've said before, "if you or a loved one were diagnosed with an aggressive cancerous tumor, would you want yout GP operating on you, even if he/she had a course in general surgery?"  As someone who dealt with a cancerous tumor 20 years ago, I went immediately to the best cancer center I could find: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I suspect that many vets have no right to perform such surgeries, and are in it for the money, or else have an unrealistic concept of their skills.  Spay/neuter OK...but cancer surgery?  Give me a break!  I don't know the age of your cat, but I chose not to do chemo/radiation, and just hope that my baby will continue to be OK.  We go for follow-up, ultra sound in early August.  Good luck!
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587315 tn?1333552783
Hi, it sounds like your Cash is very lucky to have such a great owner!  You were very lucky to find the tumor at such an early stage.  Keep that in mind when you start worrying.

My best wishes to you and Cash.
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874521 tn?1424116797
hi and welcome, I am so sorry to read of Cash's dx...I really can't give you personal feedback thankfully I've never had to deal with this with any of my cats...

there is a member on here named SweetTani she went thru the surgery with her kitty Tani abt 5 months ago and so far as far as we know she is still doing well. I'll message her so she see's this and gives you a reply. heres a copy of her last post from June;

My sweet Tani had surgery for firbrosarcoma 4 months ago...they got clear margins and so far so good.  I opted not to do chemo or radiation, because at almost 15 yrs old, my kitty would have been terribly traumatized by having to go for treatments daily, 5x/wk, for a full month and be anesthesized each time...spending a good part of the day with treatment and recuperation. The cost was also, of course, quite high, both financially and physically. I pray she will stay cancer free for a long time to come, and will continue to do periodic check-ups. In case of a reoccurrence, I would probably opt for surgery again...buying her as much good health as I can, for as long as possible. In the meantime, I followd up with a vet at the same Animal Medical Center who practices integrative veterinarian medicine, and I am trying to get my kitty to take the immune system support tablets that she prescribed...a bit of a challenge. I urge you to keep a positive attitude, and when the time comes that you have run out of options, do what needs to be done.

make sure Cash is on a high protien can diet with No grains and carbs....we did have holistic Vet on medhelp once who really stressed that. NO by products be sure the first ingredient on any can lists chicken or pork or anyother whole meat.

I wish you and Cash all the very best of good luck, please keep us posted on how he is doing....its a service to anyone with a kitty and wondering what to do and what to expect...:)
keep watch for a reply from SweetTani♥

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