Questions concerning cancer

Question
Hi Dr.Sherrell. My cat Fat Boy(around 13 years old) was diagnosed with cancer of his spleen in June. We had it removed and it was diagnosed lymposarcoma and 14 tumors were found inside. Small nodules were also detected on his liver. Our vet did not recommend chemo for him (and gave us a subtle warning about the local oncologist) But after meeting with an oncologist in our area she suggested putting him on an 8 week treatment and said there was an 80% survival rate. 80% sounded good so we tried.He is doing ok but his appetite isnt what it used to be (hense the name Fat Boy!) but he does finish his food butin small increments. 2 weeks ago they found a 2cm tumor on his liver. We skipped one week of chemo bc he seemed to have a bad reaction from the last one. Then during that week it grew to 4cm. The oncologist suggested we do chemo for a year and doing double doses to try to get it under control. My question is do you think a cat at his age and with a growing tumor despite the 9 weeks weve done is going to respond? Also is double dosing for a cat his age and his condition a good idea? I try to ask these oncologists questions but they are not helpful and all give me different answers for everything. I also really dont care for them but I really have no choice but to take him there. If you have any experiences with chemo you could share with me or any opinions I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thank you.
Lauren

Answer
Lauren -

It seems as though you are doing all you can to save your cat's life.  Considering the number of tumors in his body, it seems that it would be difficult to make him comfortable.  At this point, you will need to determine if he is comfortable and without pain.  If you feel is he comfortable, then continue to do what you can for him.

Often, lymphosarcoma can be devastating and animals do not live very long without chemotherapy.  Talk to your specialists to determine if the rapidly growing tumor can be contained and ask his doctor if he will live six months past the chemotherapy.  

If the chemotherapy is too rough on his body, you may want to consider discontinuing it.  You have to think about the quality of his life.  If he is spending his days sick because of chemotherapy you want to rethink the chemotherapy option.  The quality of his life should be as great as possible, not full of pain and sickness due to the medicine he is exposed to.  Medication for pain can be prescribed to make him feel comfortable in his last days.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM