I wanted to share an email discussion between Cloud's vet and I to allow people to know what was going on :-)
Good morning Dr. Wilson,
I hope you are enjoying your week. I wanted to give you an update on Cloud as well as ask you a few questions. He seems to be doing a lot better already. His appetite is back up, he is jumping on furniture that he should not be again, and he is even playing with his toys a little bit. We weighed him last night and according to our scale he has lost half a pound. That kind of worried me. I know in humans chemo can make people lose weight but I was just shocked at half a pound so quickly. But like I said, his appetite is pretty much back to normal...always hungry, so I am hoping the weight loss does not continue.
Last night I was feeling around his neck and head to kind of get a a feel for the tumor that was there so I could keep an eye on size. I don't know if this is weird or not, but it is almost, if not completely gone. Neither my husband or I could feel it. I don't know if it was swollen due to infection and now it is at a normal size under the skin that is hard to detect or exactly what is going on so I just wanted to let you know. I will continue to feel for it and keep and eye on it.
Thank you
Jessica Covarrubias
Good morning Jessica,
Sorry for the late reply – I don’t have work e-mail on my home computer. I am so happy to hear that Cloud is feeling better. I suspect that the lomustine worked very quickly in Cloud and this is why you’re not feeling the enlarged lymph node anymore. This could also explain the weight loss – Cloud had a large mass in his abdomen (probably in his liver) and two enlarged lymph nodes so it’s possible that they’ve decreased in size significantly and as a result Cloud has lost weight (cancer weight). Please continue to keep an eye on his weight and if the weight loss continues over the next couple of weeks, let me know. Remind me to start him on vitamin B12 injections at his recheck examination or you can discuss this with Dr. Zahn. The injections are given under the skin once a week for 4 weeks and then once a month after that. They are easy to administer (similar to insulin injections) and inexpensive (we can teach you how to give them). Many cats with lymphoma have a decreased ability to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients and supplementing vitamin B12 often helps to improve appetite and decrease weight loss.
I’m cautiously optimistic by Cloud’s response to the lomustine at this point!
Nicola Wilson
North Houston Veterinary Specialists
So there you guys have it! We are very excited by this news. We hope that everything continues on at this rate and treatment continues to go well!
~Jessica and Cloud
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