Twiggy's Story
by Tabitha
On June 6, 2010, I adopted Twiggy from the local humane society. On June 12, 2010, I took Twiggy to my veterinarian for a check up and learned she had a large mass in her abdomen. Due to having recently been spayed, he believed the mass was scar tissue and requested to check her in a month. On July 17, 2010, the mass was still present so exploritory surgery was performed. While she was still on the operating table my vet called me to inform me that that the mass was actually a tumor growing in her intestine. He said the tumor was large enough that Humane Society Veternarian should have been able to feel it if a proper exam had been done. Due to her only being approximately a year and a half old, he felt that she had a greater chance at survival if we removed the mass along with 6 inches of her intestine. I had recently just lost a cat a few months earlier to kidney failure and didn't want to have to have to say goodbye to another one so soon so I agreed to rumor the tumor and have it sent to a lab. On July 25, 2010, the lab report was received and it was then that I learned Twiggy had large cell, poorly differentiated, high grade, alimentary lymphoma. However, lymphoma could not be found in the lymph nodes.
After talking to my vet, reading the lab report and doing research online, I learned that Twiggy's type of lymphoma is the worst type of cancer a cat can have and that it responds poorly to treatment. My veterinarian informed me that based on the lab results another tumor would likely reappear within 2 to 4 months. After taking into consideration the cost of the chemo treatment she would need vs. how many months she could possibly live, I decided against any sort chemo treatment. The vet recommended he check her every 3 months to make sure no new growths were developing.
In October 2010, 3 months after surgery, I took Twiggy for a follow up visit and no tumors could be felt. In February 2011, 7 months after the surgery, there were still no signs of tumor growth. According to the vet, this was a good sign but she wasn't totally out of the woods.
On May 15, 2011, I noticed Twiggy wouldn't eat. I had just switched over to a weight management food due to my other cat overeating so I thought maybe she was being stubborn. After a few days, she still refused to eat so I purchased a different flavor that she has had before. She again refused to eat and I then noticed she wasn't drinking her water. On May 20, 2011, I dropped Twiggy off at the vet to be looked at. Later that day, the veterinarian contacted me and informed me that Twiggy had a large tumor about the size of a lemon growing on or near one of her kidney's. I was devastated to say the least. I had hoped the farther away we got from her surgery, the better her survival rate would be. The veterinarian informed me that she was very sick and probably would need to be put down soon. I told him I wanted one more week with her so he gave me 5mg of prednisone that I was to give her twice a day. This was mainly to get her to eat and to keep her comfortable while I spent time with her. I even took the week off from work to spend with her.
The day had come to say good bye so on May 27, 2011, I took Twiggy to the vet to be put down. When the vet came into the room, I begged him to check her one last time just in case the tumor had gone down or disappeared. As I'm standing there crying over her, the vet felt her belly and stated the tumor felt signifigantly smaller. I asked him if he was sure so he continued to carefully feel around in her belly and kept saying he couldn't believe it. I told him if it was only 25% smaller then I still wanted to go through with the plan to say good bye. He picked her up and sat down with her so he could get an even better feel of her abdomen and just kept shaking his head saying he's never seen anything like it and that the tumor was 75% smaller than it was 7 days earlier. He attributed this to the prednisone but didn't think it would work without any other form of chemo, let alone cause a signifigant reduction in size in such a short period of time. I was in shock to say the least and could not believe my prayers for a miracle had been granted.
Since Twiggy isn't too fond of taking pills, he changed her prescription to one 10mg tablet of prednisone once a day and wants to see her back in a month. I know both my vet and I felt like we had just witnessed a miracle. I took Twiggy back in June 24, 2011 and learned the tumor went from being the size of a grape to the size of a small apple.
I needed a little bit more time with her to say my final goodbye so I told my vet I just needed one more week with her. On June 30, 2011, I had to say goodbye to my sweet little Twiggy. I find comfort in knowing that even though I could only extend her life a year, it was the best year of her life and that she died knowing what a real home and true love is. 
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Twiggy
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