Go to Page 2 (Rascal Second Saturday after surgery)
to continue with the adventures of Rascal, the wascally wabbit.
These are photos of Rascal taken in 02, January 5. He has just had surgery for a fibrosarcoma caused by vaccination. The vaccination was givenby a veterinarian in Gulfport, Florida in '00, and a vet tech reported by telephone that he was innoculated between his shoulders with a "three-year" rabies vaccine made by Pfizer (according to the Vet Tech).
Beware of vaccinations in cats as they can cause fibrosarcoma . . . which I feel is far more likely to kill kitties than rabies. If you want/need more information, there are some links below which have further informative links within them!
Links
Go
to Page 2 (Rascal Second Saturday after surgery)
to continue with the adventures of Rascal, the wascally
wabbit.
This is how Rascal looked soon after coming home from surgery. Bald, cold, embarassed . . . but
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undaunted by his pain. He had to climb his inside tree despite the pain. Cats do not understand "I cannot" . . . just I want to . . .
The initial / diagnostic biopsy (from Monday 12/27?/01) says in part:
Microscopic Description: Sections of a portion of a subcutaneous mass are examined. Ther is a neoplastic mass composed of fusiform mesenchymal cells within dense collagenous stroma. The neoplastic cells have fusiform nuclei with coarsely stippled chromatin. Nucleoli are prominent. There is a high mitotic rate. The neoplasm is diffusely infiltrated with inflammatory cells. There are dense accumulations of macrophages and lymphoid cells. Many macrophages have amphophilic to basophilic granular cytoplasm.
Diagnosis: Fibrosarcoma, high grade, subcutis with granulomatous inflammation.
Comment: The subcutaneous mass is a fibrosarcoma.
There is also considerable granulomatous inflammation that identifies the
neoplasm as post-vaccination sarcoma. Post-vaccination sarcomas should
be reported to the US Pharmacopeia Veterinary Practitioners' Reporting
Program.
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We call it "quality of life" and pray that both WE
and our cats, can always enjoy that quality.
Post surgery notes:
01/09/02 I felt two lumps . . . hard ones . . . on the top and bottom of the right shoulder. Of course, I became quite concerned, and immediately called Tampa Bay Veterinary Specialists on Belcher Road in Largo (the vets who did the surgery) to make and appointment with Dr. Bruns for a checkup. I was very upset and depressed because I have read so much on line about the possible rapid recurrence of tumors and repeated surgeries.
The Vet/surgeon is not concerned with the lumps. He thinks they are from "towel clips" during the surgery, and that they do not feel to him like fibrosarcoma. We'll be back to him next week for the removal of stitches and check again then. Phew.
Also, he says he feels very good about the surgery. He was able to lift the tumor and cut the tendrils at their base, then further invade the spine and remove all sorts of muscle and spineous processes. He felt it was quite successful
I understand from the List that we owners go through this stress repeatedly. There are many false (thank goddess!) alarms as our constant vigilance is crucial to our pets' lives!
The surgery biopsy says:
Collected 1/03/02 Reported 1/08/02
BIOPSY
MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION: Sections of skin
with a partially-delineated subcuticular mass. This mass is composed
of cells arranged in sheets, haphazardly, and in bundles on a small amount
of fibrous stroma. These cells predominatnly are spindle-shaped with
a moderate amount of eosinophilic fibrillar cytoplasm and oval-spindle
shaped nuclei with clumped chromatin and a moderate (>20 mitotic figures
per 10 high power field) mitotic index. There is a mild infiltrate
of lymphocytes.
DIAGNOSIS: Fibrosarcoma
PROGNOSIS: Fair
COMMENT: Appears
adequately excised. Thes neoplasms are characterized by aggressive
local infiltration and recurrence but infrequent metastasis.
Sylvia' Journey -- Jeff and Coleen Kremer's siteThis links to all research and medical links as well as to the support groups etc. GO HERE
Feline VAS Support You must join to read these links and it is easy to do and WORTH it. You can opt NOT to get e-mail but to come and read the archives. Joining is worthwhile because of the information provided here. This has been of great support and help and feedback for me as I decided about the surgery. It is a wonderful support group where you can gather anecdotal information and get reality checks. You can join the List and get e-mailed each post or you can opt to check the archives daily. In the beginning, it feels very nurturing as the e-mails come to advise you and comfort you! You have a constant sense of contribution --and you feel you can help the others too.
HolisticatGreat site for the holistic approach
Task Force Report this is a report of studies made by the veterinary task force. It is interesting to read, but I didn't find it helpful to me.
Shorti
OnLine:
A terrific site by Gigi, whose cat also suffered from
VAS. She is very informed and has great links. She is also
very supportive and shares information freely. She is also the moderator
of the Feline VAS Support list as above mentioned.
Kaye
and Bean
This is Kaye and Bean's site. Kaye has been one
of the many very informed members on the VAS List. She has always
contributed freely of her time and has always had good information to share.
Go to her site for more good stuff.
More of Rascal's adventures as he heals:
Go to Page 2 Rascal's Second Saturday Post-Op ----->
Go to Page 3 Rascal's Third Saturday Post-Op ----->
Go to Page 4 ! 01-27-02 ----->
Other Photo Links:
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/magic/Rascal_Pre-Op.html
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/magic/Mary.html
Survey
Ever since Rascal got this tumor, I have wondered "why
him?" There are no answers. Like any victim, I keep trying
to make some sense out of this: Do more red cats get VAS? Does
where he was born have an impact? Do people with multiple pets have
more or fewer incidents? Was his bladder blockage any indicator there
was a VAS problem developing? I kept having questions, and decided
I wanted to know the answers to these questions and not to have them filtered
through someone who might have a profit incentive to skew the questions
or the answers.
The people who I trust are the people who have given me invaluable feedback on the many sites I have been to and written to, and the other human victims who participate on the Fibrosarcoma websites. These people deal with their cats and their losses and the struggle for survival every day. These are the people who most likely were not informed by the Drug companies, or the veterinarians on how best to protect their cats. These are the people who struggle(d) to give their Feline victims a decent quality of life at a HIGH emotional and financial cost. These are the people to trust.
So, I have been developing a survey for Owners of VAS Cats to be shared with the owners of cats for their benefit.
If your cat has had this nasty tumor, please mail the page to yourself or copy and paste the survey onto your e-mail or word processing program and send your responses to me as indicated.
This is a rough draft as Netscape composer changed my formatting. But you can start with it.
All material © January, 2002 by GUltd