Hi everyone! My name is Grace and I live in Texas. My 11 year old cat, Samba, has been diagnosed with injection site sarcoma of the left scapular area. She had surgery to remove it, but the margins were narrow. We have seen one oncologist who recommended amputation. We go to see her partner next week along with a surgeon to discuss our options. I have been torn on whether to put her through the amputation but am gaining courage. One question remains about whether to do postoperative radiation. I hope to hear from anyone who has a had a cat with injection site sarcoma, and how you decided which treatments to undergo. Nice to meet you all!
Hello Tripawds! My kitty still has four legs but may be down to three soon…
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Hello Grace and Samba. My cat lost his leg due to an accident, so I don’t have any advice for you regarding the treatments, but I’m sure others will chime in. Just wanted to welcome you.
Thank you, Jet, for reaching out and helping me feel welcome! I hope your kitty is doing great!
My cat Mona had her front leg and scapula removed 4 years ago. The vet first thought it might be an abscess but quickly realized it was not hurting her and was growing rapidly. Her leg was amputated the next day, pathology was done on the leg and was a vaccine associated fibrosarcoma. No followup treatments were recommended because the margins were huge. I don’t think I would have done radiation because we would have had to travel.
Here is her blog http://kazann.tripawds.com/2014/07/28/mona-a-recent-feline-amputee/
Good luck with your decision. I’m happy to answer any questions. I have a black beauty named Eli who looks like your beauty Grace.
Wow, what a drastic turn of events for you. How fortunate that you got the right treatment so quickly, and that your vet took that necessary step. I am thankful that you and Mona have made it through! I look forward to reading her blog! And, I love it when there are other beloved black kitties out there; hello to Eli, too!
Hello & Welcome Grace & Samba,
Sorry, you have to join us and dealing with an ISS. Our cat Purrkins had a soft tissue sarcoma on his wrist and lost his front leg two years ago he does fantastic on three. He is now 8.
We have a lot of members join from VAS or ISS. I know of a couple that have done radiation and amputation one is a Tripawd Tuesday link
Tripawd Tuesday: Lawri Beats the Feline Fibrosarcoma Odds
http://tripawds.com/2018/07/10/feline-fibrosarcoma-odds/
This will give you the hope you need to proceed I believe.
The other cat is Maeco his blog http://maceo.tripawds.com/
you can contact these members for further info I am sure they would get back to you.
I have no experience to share on radiation we just stopped by to welcome you and wish you the best. Amputation is always recommended for this evil cancer & radiation when they cannot get the margins they need and some have done the radiation before and some after. I would see what your oncologist is suggesting. If your still not comfortable get a 2nd opinoion, We had to have 4 opinions before taking Purrkins leg. I could not wrap my head around the entire leg had to go. We have to take drastic measures, but also we have to be thankful we have choices today to save our kitties.
My comment will get spammed for all these links but will take the chance you will see it;)
Vaccine Associated Sarcoma Cats Share Stories and Information
http://tripawds.com/2016/08/31/vaccine-associated-sarcoma-cats/
Best of luck will watch for your update.
Scratches to your beautiful Samba
Hugs
Holly & Purrkins❤️
Dear Holly and Purrkins, Thank you for caring enough to write! Lawri, Maceo, and Jerry are all incredible kitties, and I also see what a glorious cat Purrkins is. I am so grateful for people like you who share information and stories to make me feel less alone! I wish all our kitties (and we) could meet! Love, Grace and Samba
Welcome! As you can see our wonderful TriKitty members have shared terrific insight on their experiences. One more link for ya, it’s about Questions to Ask Your Oncologist:
http://tripawds.com/2014/02/26/questions-to-ask-your-veterinary-oncologist/
Dear Jerry and family,
Thank you for your welcome! It is heartwarming to be a part of this courageous family of kitty-lovers who have all been through difficult times. I am printing your list to take to my oncologist and surgeon appointments tomorrow! Such a great recommendation and great timing as well for you to send me that. Yours truly, Grace and Samba
Welcome. Sorry you are going through this. My cookie has bone cancer so I can’t offer advice but boy does she do great on three legs. Best wishes to you
Dear Doug, I am so very proud of Cookie that she has faced her cancer with courage and vigor! That says a lot about you, too. Your wishes do mean so much to me. Love, Grace and Samba.
Hi, We want Samba to know there’s a good chance for recovery. Lawri was my second cat to have this. Muffin was 161/2 so we did not have amputation. She was made comfortable and survived another year. When Lawri was diagnosed at age five, we were angry and scared. My vet wanted to do the operation, but I went to a specialty group whose surgeon was very experienced. Lawri’s rear right leg and the hip socket were removed. She’s a stoic cat and did very well. We opted for 19 radiation treatments, which she just sailed through. I still was not encouraged to believe she would survive for long. Well, she turns 13 next month. No further treatments required. Of course, neither she nor her sister had injection after that. My advice is to find a clinic with surgeons, oncologists, and radiologists in the same practice. It’s a group effort to save your kitty. Our saviors were VCA in Gaithersburg, MD. We send updates to them, but after 3 years, we relaxed, thanked God, and learned to be grateful for every minute. Unfortunately, her beloved sister died from an aggressive and rare brain tumor age 10. I rescued them from a feral colony in Barbados. Their health was probably compromised anyway. RIP our precious Pangi girl. Lawri still misses her.
Dear Rosary, I read you and your kitties’ stories on the Tripawd Tuesday post! From the alleys of Barbados to your loving arms, the whole story is astounding. I am sorry you have had the sadness of all those illnesses, but what wonderful news that Lawri has fought through for all these years! That is fantastic! That is good advice to seek a multispecialty clinic. The one we are now at in Fort Worth, Texas has surgery and oncology, but I need to find out about the radiation part. Did they strongly emphasize radiation to you as an important component of the treatment? I just know it will be trying for Samba to be driven to the treatment center for so many consecutive days, and the cost is so high. But, Samba is showing us good signs that she wants to fight hard (I will post about those), so we will do what we can! Thank you for being an inspiration, and we send love to Lawri and her angel sisters, whom I know you dearly miss!
Hi again.
Lawri’s margins could have been better. They let us decide. I wanted the best chance, so we did it. She sailed through going Mon-Fri for 19 treatments under anesthesia. Honestly, she seemed fine. They pampered her (she always wanted a treat). I was determined she have the best chance, expensive, but the results were worth it. Only side effect was she lost some fur on her pretty tail. Weirdly, it’s just started growing back! Feel free to contact me 240-286-8150. We are praying for you and Samba.
That’s great that Lawri did not have any trouble at all with radiation. I spoke with the oncologist today and he recommends chemotherapy instead of radiation. So that’s one more decision we will have to make pretty soon. Thank you for being there and for your interest in Samba and me!
Hi Grace, I wanted to mention that many cats with VAS don’t get radiation after the amputation. I think it may depend if they get clean margins from the surgery. You might want to ask the oncologist and surgeon how much margin is possible and when they determine if radiation would help avoid reoccurance. Radiation treatment could be very stressful for some cats. Good luck with your appointment.
Kerren, Eli and Tripawd Kitty Mona
I would sure love to avoid that stress for her, just like you said. I am glad to know it’s not a mandatory procedure.
Hi Grace and Samba
My Freya was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in December 2012 on her left hock, not injection site related. I had the tumour removed but it so intertwined with her muscles than in the end there was no other choice but amputation.
It was early stages for the cancer and the amputation was curative. It is now over five years since her operation and she is going strong at 14 years. of age.
There are only two places in Australia that offer radiation for small animals (or at least back then there were only two) and neither was a viable option distance wise, let alone cost wise. The advice I had did not even mention radiation although I know at least one of the cats on the blog has.
I would say the choice, the procedure and experience overall was the best one for Freya. And as long as Samba is healthy otherwise, as she appears to be, I say consider amputation as a serious contender.
My blog is http://fmaher.tripawds.com/ and feel free to check out what our experience was.
Good luck.
Michelle and Freya
Hi there, Michelle and Freya! I really appreciate you chiming in! I am eager to read your blog. This is all so new to me. I am sorry for Freya’s loss, but it sounds like you both have no regrets! I bet a kitty’s life in Australia is generally lovely, especially with a caring mama like you. Samba is recovering now from today’s amputation and I can’t wait to see her and love her. I can only imagine what she will think when she finds her leg to be gone! Thanks again and look forward to knowing you better.
So sorry I didn’t read your previous post until today. So, she had the surgery since then. Were they happy with the margins? I just realized I may have put my phone # wrong. It’s 240-286-8150.