Treatment
Diary: November 9
Saturday,
November 9
- My attempts to join the feline_cancer group at yahoogroups.com
finally goes through (somehow it they didn't get my initial reply
to their approval email). Hector seems to be doing fine, bandage
still on. We have our followup appointment on Wednesday and I'll
post more after then.
Wednesday,
November 13 - we remove the bandage, and the cancer looks
like it is growing back. I brought my digital camera to take some
photos, but Hector is not cooperative and once the bandage is
off, starts flinging his leg and shaking it, starting the bleeding
again. It goes all over the vet office wall! Aside from being
bloody, the tumor looks like it is 'bubbling' up in the same circular
area it was originally growing, though smaller in diameter. Looks
like a raw wart growth almost, as if three or four nodes are pushing
out, almost like four, irregular small rounded protrusions. I
hope that makes a visual image clear. We restrain Hector and re-apply
Cansema to the area. (2nd application) This time though, Dr. Scanlan
uses the Vet version, which she says is not as strong, but will
sting less since it is being applied to an open wound. Returning
home, Hector does not seem nearly as bothered by this second application.
Thursday,
November 14 - we return to the vet take off the Cansema bandage.
The tumor growth is completely gone! Now it looks like a raw,
but flat, nearly concave, wound. As if the skin had just been
scraped off. It has a whitish ring around the red wound area,
which is round, just slighly oval shaped. Dr. Scanlan is pleased,
and I'm amazed it worked that quickly. We rebandage and schedule
a followup in a week.
I
express my concern to Dr. Scanlan that while the Cansema certainly
is working, its slow, and I'm worried about the cancer spreading.
She says with this type of Hemangiosarcoma it is rare to have
it spread if you are fighting it back. I ask her about the internal
version of Cansema (the tonic) but she says the one ingredient,
chaparral, is particular toxic to the liver and kidneys in cats.
When I research that ingredient, I get mixed feedback. Harvard
Medical school says it is (here's their article
online about it). I mention it in the yahoogroup, asking if
anyone has heard if it is toxic in cats. James Carr from Alpha
Omega Labs (the Cansema manufacturer) says its not. But I have
a feeling neither have done much testing on the toxicidy specifically
in cats. And, considering the bleeding the external caused, do
I really want to risk causing the same response internally at
the same time? I decide not. If it were a different type of cancer,
or if it couldn't be treated with the external (or the external
stops working), I will reconsider trying the tonic III.
Note
for others considering using Cansema for animals: Alpha looking
for results, and will generously is offfering the Cansema at cost
(about $15) if you report back to them on the progress. Call (888)
220-6780 and tell them you are in the "Holisticat" group.
Thursday,
November 21 - Hector has been acting almost normal the entire
week. He is being much more social and affectionate than is normal
for him, sitting with us watching TV on the couch, sleeping on
my head every night. It may be a result of not being able to go
outside, and the resulting bordom is making him look for any entertainment,
even if it must be human! He is being better about eating his
canned/raw food with the supplements mixed in... I began by just
mixing in tiny amounts, so he got used to the taste. I will type
them all in here soon.
At
the vet, once again the tumor has grown back, though decidely
smaller and a different shape (more oval) than last week. The
scar tissue circle is wider, nearly double its original 1/8"
width. We reapply the Cansema and go home, with instructions to
actually leave the Cansema on for a week! As it didn't bother
him that much last time, and I wouldn't mind it to keep working
on the tumor for a full seven days, it sounds like a good idea.
However...
This
time Hector is NOT happy! I bring him home, and two hours later
I hear him in the bathroom... it sounds like he is fighting with
Lana, but I go in and he is just flailing around trying to get
the bandage off. As I go to grab him, the bandage flies off and
blood goes EVERYWHERE. Lots of it! Hector leaps into the tub,
then onto the toilet, then goes under the sink. I close the bathroom
door and run to get some bandage and medical tape, when I reopen
the door it looks like a murder scene. I feel pretty queasy, but
luckily Hector must too because he sat as still as he ever has
while I bandaged up his leg. Of course, I was REALLY upset and
I bet he sensed that too! I rush him back to the vet, terrified
that he is going to be anemic again from the loss of all that
blood. Luckily, his nose is pink and the vet says he looks ok.
She takes off my bandage... and incredibly, the tumor in just
those 2 hours that it had contact with the Cansema, has shrunk
down again. We decide to just bandage it up without another application,
and I will report again in a week for a recheck.
Monday,
November 25 - I get an email from someone else who saw this
site, and who's cat has Hemangiosarcoma as well, only the internal
version. He gave me permission to post his emails, which tell
of his treatments of his nine year old cat, Ralph
(read them here).
Next
> November 26 - December 7
