Lung Cancer In Cats
Published on May 24 2010, in the categories: In Cats, lung cancer
Cats too can develop lung cancer. We sometimes fail to see collateral victims to our action and eliminate criticism by saying: "It's my health, my business." But cats and dogs are proven to develop cancer from second hand smoke and from pollution of urban life.
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Like in humans, lung cancer is a serious illness with little to no chances of survival if diagnosed only in the later stages, which is usually the case when you dismiss symptoms as just some discomforts or by saying: "Who knows what they ate."
If you really care about your cat's well being you should try and keep well informed about risk factors in your cat's life. Here are some facts about this type of cancer in cats.
The average age of incidence is 10 years but it can occur any time between the ages of 6 and 18 years. The way it can be diagnosed is by chest radiographies at the appearance of poorly defined lesions. Another way to diagnose is cancer is cytology from trans-thoracic aspirate. A first symptom you should look for is a low grade cough and it can be confused with asthma.
Early diagnosis considerably increase chances for survival and, just like with people, surgery in later stages offer no greater rates for survival than 20%.
You can see how early diagnosis is vital. If you have the slightest suspicion about the disease you should immediately consult a vet. In the early stages, the first symptoms are coughing and wheezing. These can easily be neglected but if they persist there's no excuse for not treating them with utmost seriousness. If these are accompanied by weight loss it might be too late. Even so, most of the time, while the cancer has not spread too much, the cat can be very active and seem perfectly well, with a healthy appetite. Unfortunately, statistic show that x-rays are rarely done on time to diagnose the cancer and such symptoms are dismissed as asthma which is far more common and treated with medicine. This medicine can sometimes alleviate the lung cancer symptoms and you could thin the cat is all better and when it begins to lose weight and lose its appetite, becomes lethargic you don't understand what is causing this.
Once the cancer becomes invasive the doctor recommends immediately thoracotomy though it is most likely to result in death if not from cancer, from other complications such as hypothermia, hypoventilation, hypotension, inadequate pain control and other conditions that can put the cat through a lot of pain and discomfort. It's up to you to consult the doctor about the chances for survival and the impact the treatment can have on the cat's life to make a decision about administering th treatment.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Like in humans, lung cancer is a serious illness with little to no chances of survival if diagnosed only in the later stages, which is usually the case when you dismiss symptoms as just some discomforts or by saying: "Who knows what they ate."
If you really care about your cat's well being you should try and keep well informed about risk factors in your cat's life. Here are some facts about this type of cancer in cats.
The average age of incidence is 10 years but it can occur any time between the ages of 6 and 18 years. The way it can be diagnosed is by chest radiographies at the appearance of poorly defined lesions. Another way to diagnose is cancer is cytology from trans-thoracic aspirate. A first symptom you should look for is a low grade cough and it can be confused with asthma.
Early diagnosis considerably increase chances for survival and, just like with people, surgery in later stages offer no greater rates for survival than 20%.
You can see how early diagnosis is vital. If you have the slightest suspicion about the disease you should immediately consult a vet. In the early stages, the first symptoms are coughing and wheezing. These can easily be neglected but if they persist there's no excuse for not treating them with utmost seriousness. If these are accompanied by weight loss it might be too late. Even so, most of the time, while the cancer has not spread too much, the cat can be very active and seem perfectly well, with a healthy appetite. Unfortunately, statistic show that x-rays are rarely done on time to diagnose the cancer and such symptoms are dismissed as asthma which is far more common and treated with medicine. This medicine can sometimes alleviate the lung cancer symptoms and you could thin the cat is all better and when it begins to lose weight and lose its appetite, becomes lethargic you don't understand what is causing this.
Once the cancer becomes invasive the doctor recommends immediately thoracotomy though it is most likely to result in death if not from cancer, from other complications such as hypothermia, hypoventilation, hypotension, inadequate pain control and other conditions that can put the cat through a lot of pain and discomfort. It's up to you to consult the doctor about the chances for survival and the impact the treatment can have on the cat's life to make a decision about administering th treatment.
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