Rayita's Story
by Betty Roman
Rayita was 13 years at the time of diagnosis.
In June 2007 we took her to the vet for a check up as didn’t look well. She was loosing weight, not eating well with occasional episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. She was not active and only wanted to sleep.
After a careful examination, bloods were taken. The results showed mild elevation on the liver enzymes. The vet was not concerned, told us that she was fighting most likely an infection, prescribed her with antibiotics and advised us to have another check up in a month time.
In the mean time Rayita was deteriorating, the vomiting and diarrhea became more frequent (at least 1-2 episode a day). She didn’t look well and her lack of appetite was getting worse.
One week after first appointment we took her to the vet again as we were very concerned for her. The vet was not very sympathetic but order another set of bloods. The results came back with elevated liver enzymes again.
He advised us to wait as Rayita didn’t look “unwell” to him and told us to come back in a month time. I was feeling frustrated and a bit angry my baby was not well and we needed to do something ASAP. I ask him what was he going to do if we had the same blood results in a month time. He said that if that were the case he would be requesting an ultrasound scan.
We couldn’t wait; it was not fair to Rayita. She needed help. I asked him to order the ultrasound. He was not sympathetic and told me that it was going to be a waste of time and money, as “he couldn’t palpate anything wrong.
The ultrasound was scheduled for the following day. The Radiologist rang me to let me know that when he was doing the procedure, he found 2 masses near the liver 3.5 and 5 cm most likely lymphoma and wanted my authorization to proceed with a needle aspiration biopsy. I gave him the go ahead.
The specimen was sent for histology. The following day we received the results. Rayita had alimentary lymphoma (large cell) near the liver that was the reason for the elevated liver enzymes. The vet only wanted to talk about PTS. I of course didn’t even let him finish. Rayita and I left that Practice and never came back.
When we arrived home we were devastated, I cried a lot but we decided to fight. Our next step was to look for a good vet and an even better Oncologist. I needed those 2 to work together for my baby. This vet was fantastic; he helped us a lot and explained everything to us in full detail. We got in touch with Tony a top Oncologist in Sidney, Australia, as apparently he was the best in this part of the world. Rayita and I live in New Zealand but that minor detail was not going to stop us in our fight. Richard and Tony were a great team.
After assessing pros and cons and because large cell lymphoma we decided to follow the Madison Wisconsin protocol that apparently has a huge success in achieving remission in most cats. Before starting the protocol Rayita had a full blood panel including biochemistry and urinary test including urinalysis.
The Oncologist explained to us the pros and cons of doing chemo. In summary if we didn’t do chemo Rayita was given 2-3 weeks to live. For us that was not an option, he explained to us the side effects of chemo like lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, stomach acid, diarrhea but he also told us that the chances that a cat had a serious reaction to chemo were very small as they are more resilient and the doses that they have are smaller than the human ones.
Rayita was one of the lucky ones in the sense that we never experience any side effects that are normally associated with chemotherapy. The only thing that happened to us was loosing the whiskers.
We had the first 12session with the Madison Wisconsin and went well, however when she was checked by ultrasound scan at week 12 it shows that both masses although they have shrunk 20% the result was not very promising. This protocol unfortunately was not going to work for us.
We immediately had another chat with Oncologist who advised us to do the MOPP modified. We follow this one and to our surprise it did work. The masses went into remission and we were cancer free for over 2 ½ years.
In May last year Rayita was diagnosed of CRF. I took her to the vet because she was not eating well, was peeing a lot and excessive drinking. They did bloods (full panel and biochemistry as well as a urinalysis). A diagnosis of CRF was made. The Oncologist recommended scan and ultrasound needle aspiration biopsy because of her lymphoma history. Thank God it came back showing only inflammation but no cancer.
Her numbers at the time of diagnosis (especially BUN and Creatinine were quite high). They advise us to follow a renal diet that of course Rayita being so picky never got use to; as she was a Fancy Feast, chicken tenderloins and eye fillet baby. She started having sub-Q (subcutaneous fluids), Fortekor for proteinurea, epatikin (phosphate binder because she refused to eat renal food), Kaminox (potassium supplement). I searched the web and found the Astro’s CRF oil as we know that cats with CRF need lots of omega 3 and other fish oils and this product was specifically design for cats with CRF.
Because BUN (urea) and Creatinine were quite elevated I tried to get Azodyl into New Zealand but because of customs regulations that were not possible. However I found thanks to a friend this product call Astro’s N/C scrub that has the same principle than Azodyl, is an enteric dialysis that binds the Urea and Creatinine an is eliminated through their poos. It comes in powder and you need to mix it with a probiotic yogurt. Rayita and I used the drinking variety one as it was easy to syringe.
Rayita’s CRF was well controlled. In March this year I noticed that she was gaining weight and was a bit lethargic. An ultrasound and biopsies were taken and our worst fears were confirmed the lymphoma came back large cell again and she even had ascitis, which was very bad news.
We got in touch with Oncologist again and we started the MOPP protocol (rescue one) that saved her life the first time. Unfortunately it was not meant to be, she only had the first 2 weeks of treatment when she deteriorated very quick. She was due to have the 3 dose the day after she died.
She died at home surrounded by her family. The ascitis was draining the potassium and of course the CRF was not helping either. We tried to give her another chance by supplemented some potassium IV but unfortunately it didn’t work. She was supposed to have 20 ml of saline solution mix with a potassium supplement every hour. By 9 o’clock she started crying and couldn’t lift her head, she was in distress. Her vet Richard who became a friend of the family was with us. At 9.15 pm I had no choice but to let Richard know that Rayita wanted to go that her little body couldn’t take it any more and that she needed to rest and be happy again.
This was a decision that was not only hard to make but also an unselfish one as we all knew that it was time for her to be at peace.
If you have read this you already know that there is always hope. Rayita was a fighter and a very especial girl. If you are new on the list and are considering giving your baby chemo my advice would be go for it. There is always a chance and sometimes cats can surprise you. The initial vet told us 2-3 weeks and PTS and my Rayita not only didn’t die form the lymphoma the first time but also had several years of good quality time.
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Rayita
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