Caring for a cat with cancer

Question
My eight-year old European shorthair, Lucy, was diagnosed with feline fibrosarcoma on Feb 4, which was found during the course of an operation on an abscess on her shoulderblade. She recovered well from the operation but unfortunately, a week ago we found metastases in a nearby lymph node. I would dearly love some advice on caring for her until she dies.

She is currently on 2mg of cortisone each morning, and I am feeding her on raw chicken and turkey, cooked meats (mainly chicken and turkey) and kitten Whiskas (canned) - she eats between five and nine times a day, has gained weight and her fur has improved.

Re supplements I am giving her 1 drop of astragalus twice a day, 1000mg fish oil per day, one-eighth of a Vitamin B complex with C and Zinc per day, homeopathic arnica with every meal (2 x 7th potency tablets), 1tsp of grapeseed oil per day, one quarter capsule of red vine extract and propolis, each, per day, one-eighth teaspoon of colostrum per day, 1 tsp of organic cider vinegar twice a day, 1tsp of dark heather honey once a week and 5 x 7h potency homeopathic thuja once a week. I have also ordered Homeopet Joint Stress Relief and Solgar's Advanced Antioxidant Formula.

She has a heated pad to lie on when she wishes, and the room is warm and dry, though we also allow her out to sit in the sun when she likes.

Is there anything more I can do? I have rather given up hope of even slowing down this cancer, which seems virulent, but would like to ease her pain as much as possible. Would she benefit from Vitamin A, for instance?

Kind regards, Trish

Answer
Hi Trish.  What awful news, I'm so sorry to hear of it.  I'm afraid I don't have any experience at all managing the symptoms of cancer with any sort of homeopathic supplements like you're using.  So if you're trying to avoid medications, then unfortunately, I don't have any ideas.  The steroid should help ease some pain.  If pain seems to be clearly an issue, it may be a good idea to talk to your vet about a prescription such as buprenorphine, a drug similar to morphine, which may be formulated to give orally at home.  Some vets are also able to prescribe a fentanyl patch, which is applied to the skin and provides pain relief in cancer patients for about three days.  These two drugs are in the same family.  There are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for cats, such as Metacam, but I'm not sure they would do much good for serious pain associated with cancer.  

My thoughts will be with you.

Jessica