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The uncertain news first:
Babe's biopsy results are in. No sign of cancer, but as I noted before, that doesn't mean it's not a lymphoma, because the prednisolone could have pushed that back down and obscured it. But it could also be the very unlikely, bizarre possibility of some lymphatic condition (there was definite signs of that, anyway), which could be autoimmune or infection-related. No way to tell at this point and no further diagnosis that can reasonably clarify it. We can either treat her for cancer she may not have, or continue and see what happens. That's an easy choice; the vet's recommendation is perfectly matched with my own gut feelings. She continues on the pred and we see how she does. If it is cancer, she'll probably start showing clinical signs again (not counting her vision, which never recovered; but the nasal discharge and/or eye discharge we saw before could return) within a couple weeks. If she's still fine after a couple weeks, we can begin to hope - and try tapering the pred to make sure we don't have her taking more than she actually needs. Whether she'll be able to stop altogether or will have to stay on some dose of it forever...who knows? If it IS cancer and comes back, we'll have to make a decision to treat or not to treat. That will depend on what they tell us, but I suspect it will be "palliative only" if it comes to that - I don't know for sure, as we haven't had the discussions in depth, but...most treatments for cancer that I am aware of don't sound like anything I'd want to put a cat through. But hopefully...hopefully, Babe has one of the weirdest cases they've seen in a while, and the pred will do it. I'm not sure what the odds are, but I don't suppose that really matters much. The odds were she had a fungal infection - 'til the tests came back negative. The odds were she had brain cancer - 'til the MRI and spinal tap came back clear for that. Those were the only two "likely" options at that point. Nasal cancer was a possibility only after the MRI, with a lymphoma being the most likely because it had responded to pred...but just because it's the "most likely" doesn't seem to mean much with this cat. I'm hoping it may be likely but it isn't what she has, that instead she has something else going on that will either remain okay after removing the medicine or remain controllable with the medicine, because the pred twice a day is very, very doable.
Good thoughts for her, please. That she is lucky, that she does better than the odds and is okay for a long time to come - the next two to three weeks will be important, mostly in judging whether she is that lucky. It doesn't look like she will get her sight back but she seems to do fine without it.
Babe is still happy, cuddly and purry. She asked to get up on my lap the other day when I was in my chair, and I scooped her up and she cuddled. Just now she's back on the bed on the floor, midway between Scott's chair and mine; earlier she was curled up between us as I napped and he read. She's still playful when teased with a toy (in fact, when she's lying there and not purring if I pet her, it's a good sign I should try the toy - I can no longer watch the dilation of her eyes for a mood cue but I can find others!).
The good news is much lesser, but I'm still happy; my latest Fantasy Bath shipment is here. Whew! You could smell that box from several feet off. Everything inside is fine, it's just that I ordered three pounds of the mango tango and it has a very strong scent. I'm happy, it got here. I could have used it last week, given the stresses, but I had other bath scenty things at the time and now I have my mango (and some new scents to try) so that's okay.
Babe's biopsy results are in. No sign of cancer, but as I noted before, that doesn't mean it's not a lymphoma, because the prednisolone could have pushed that back down and obscured it. But it could also be the very unlikely, bizarre possibility of some lymphatic condition (there was definite signs of that, anyway), which could be autoimmune or infection-related. No way to tell at this point and no further diagnosis that can reasonably clarify it. We can either treat her for cancer she may not have, or continue and see what happens. That's an easy choice; the vet's recommendation is perfectly matched with my own gut feelings. She continues on the pred and we see how she does. If it is cancer, she'll probably start showing clinical signs again (not counting her vision, which never recovered; but the nasal discharge and/or eye discharge we saw before could return) within a couple weeks. If she's still fine after a couple weeks, we can begin to hope - and try tapering the pred to make sure we don't have her taking more than she actually needs. Whether she'll be able to stop altogether or will have to stay on some dose of it forever...who knows? If it IS cancer and comes back, we'll have to make a decision to treat or not to treat. That will depend on what they tell us, but I suspect it will be "palliative only" if it comes to that - I don't know for sure, as we haven't had the discussions in depth, but...most treatments for cancer that I am aware of don't sound like anything I'd want to put a cat through. But hopefully...hopefully, Babe has one of the weirdest cases they've seen in a while, and the pred will do it. I'm not sure what the odds are, but I don't suppose that really matters much. The odds were she had a fungal infection - 'til the tests came back negative. The odds were she had brain cancer - 'til the MRI and spinal tap came back clear for that. Those were the only two "likely" options at that point. Nasal cancer was a possibility only after the MRI, with a lymphoma being the most likely because it had responded to pred...but just because it's the "most likely" doesn't seem to mean much with this cat. I'm hoping it may be likely but it isn't what she has, that instead she has something else going on that will either remain okay after removing the medicine or remain controllable with the medicine, because the pred twice a day is very, very doable.
Good thoughts for her, please. That she is lucky, that she does better than the odds and is okay for a long time to come - the next two to three weeks will be important, mostly in judging whether she is that lucky. It doesn't look like she will get her sight back but she seems to do fine without it.
Babe is still happy, cuddly and purry. She asked to get up on my lap the other day when I was in my chair, and I scooped her up and she cuddled. Just now she's back on the bed on the floor, midway between Scott's chair and mine; earlier she was curled up between us as I napped and he read. She's still playful when teased with a toy (in fact, when she's lying there and not purring if I pet her, it's a good sign I should try the toy - I can no longer watch the dilation of her eyes for a mood cue but I can find others!).
The good news is much lesser, but I'm still happy; my latest Fantasy Bath shipment is here. Whew! You could smell that box from several feet off. Everything inside is fine, it's just that I ordered three pounds of the mango tango and it has a very strong scent. I'm happy, it got here. I could have used it last week, given the stresses, but I had other bath scenty things at the time and now I have my mango (and some new scents to try) so that's okay.
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