My brother sent me this email today and I am sharing it here in hopes of receiving any advice. Georgie has cancer and they are looking for any insight into healing, surgery and/or helping him cope with the pain of this illness. It reads as follows:... ' I wanted to let you both know that we found out last week that Georgie has inoperable cancer. It is a large tumor (and growing) above the left shoulder that the vet told us was probably the result of our agreeing to give him the Leukemia shot (above that same shoulder) about 3 years ago. The vet told us that they have since learned that these shots are causing these tumors in cats with certain genes that make them susceptible to getting the cancer as a result of the shot. Very, very frustrating to say the least, especially because it was an optional shot that we did not need to give him.
I will let you know that Georgie is the coolest cat we have ever known. He is an indoor/outdoor cat (because of being clawless) and he loves to roam over to our next door neighbors, on each side of the house, and across the street to Rusty’s (a McKinney policeman). They all say that he is awesome and they love to pet him and spend time with him on their own porches. Georgie has been a survivor all of his life (the farm in Indy that he came from, the neighborhood cats with claws, the coyotes in the open field behind our fence, the copperhead snakes coming in off of our creek, and the owl that sometimes perches on top of our roof). Although he has survived them all up to this point, we are being told that this form of cancer is the most aggressive, painful and visibly troubling to watch, and will soon end up in a negative outcome.
I went on line and bought some herbal drops for cats with cancer, which are supposed to help ease the pain and provide comfort. We are just at a loss for words with regards to the whole thing. Georgie doesn’t deserve this!
I wanted to let you both know and see if you had any ideas, thought, recommendations (surgery vs. not; possible medicines;). I know you both have a vast knowledge of pet care and the like, so wanted to get your expert opinions. Any advice at this point would be helpful ' .