Feline Gastric Cancer
A cancer disease such as Feline Gastric Lymphoma or stomach cancer in cats for example is one of the cancer ailments that is hard to detect and treat in pets. Pet owners must be wary of the following stomach cancer symptoms in their feline pets:
- Sudden loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Experiences bouts of vomiting
- Stool appears black and tarried
- Dehydration
- Anemic
- Lethargic
- May experience abdominal pain.
- May have lumps or masses in the abdomen
Pet owners must also be extra watchful about their pet’s eating pattern. If noticeable changes occur in how they eat, coupled with consistent vomiting or bloodied stool, it’s time to go for a consultation at the vet before the disease may progress any further.
How a Diagnosis is made
Once a cat is suspected to have gastric cancer, the veterinarian will prescribe the following tests to determine or rule out gastric lymphoma:.
.-
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- Physical exam
- X-ray
- Ultrasound
- Gastroscopy
Treatment for Feline Stomach Cancer
The only treatment available for gastric cancer in cats is surgery. Removing the cancerous lumps and tumors in the cat’s stomach is the best solution. However, this does not guarantee total recovery from the illness because if the cancer is in its advanced stages, cancer cells may have already spread to other organs. The cancer may also recur. After diagnosis, cats may live up to fourteen months more.
Other stomach cancers to be wary of in cats are Adenocarcinoma, and the development of mast cell tumors.
Once the pet cat manifests the clinical symptoms of intestinal cancer, feline pets may live only up to two weeks if no treatment is given to them. Pet lovers however may have their beloved felines undergo chemotherapy or surgery, which will prolong feline life by six months. The survival rate also largely depends on the cancer stage the pet cat is suffering from.
There are four types of intestinal cancers:
- Lymphoma. This condition results to tumors growing on the lymph tissue.
- Mast Cell Neoplasia. This condition prompts lesions in the small intestines.
- Adenocarcinoma. This conditions results to the growth of a malignant tumor on the glandular epithelium.
- Tumors on the rectum and on the colon.
Tumors on different areas of the intestine may cause different symptoms, but it’s safe that pet owners must be wary of these feline intestinal cancer symptoms:
- The presence of tumors in the small intestine; this may be determined through a Gastroscopy.
- Experiencing chronic or acute vomiting
- Diarrhea and the stools that is unusually dark and tarried.
- Considerable weight loss.
- The presence of tumors in the colon and in the rectum.
- Bloody stools.
Treatment
Pet lovers may resort to two treatments in an effort to save their pet:
- Chemotherapy; and
- Surgery.
However, these treatments will only slightly prolong the feline life and not cure the cancer. As in humans, advanced cancer stages mean that other organs have been affected. Recurring cancer cells are also expected, even if cancerous tissues or cancer cells might be fully removed or eliminated at one time.
- Gastric Lymphoma Intestinal Cancer In Dogs: Signs and Symptoms
- Intestine Cancer in Cats: Symptoms and Treatment of Intestine Lymphoma
- Lymphoma in Labradors: Symptoms and Treatments for Lymphoma Cancer
- Bowel Cancer In Cats: Symptoms Of Bowel Cancer And Their Treatments
- Dog Stomach Cancer: What Causes & Symptoms of Stomach Tumor in Canine