"Lymphoma", "Sarcoma" and "Fibrosarcoma", while related,
in that they all refer to cancer, are not the same thing.
"Lymphoma" is one type of cancer - a cancer of the lymphatic
system. It is (I *THINK* - caveat - I'm not a vet) another
name for "LymphoSarcoma". They could be different types
of cancers, but both are cancers originating in the lymph
system.
"Sarcoma", "Carcinoma" - both of these are descriptives of
how the cancer acts, or maybe what the cells look like (again,
this is my understanding). eg: There is "Kaposi's Sarcoma",
"Lympho Sarcoma" and "Fibro Sarcoma". I believe that all
3 cancers *act* the same, but start in different places.
Fibro-sarcoma is a cancer of the muscle tissue. It has
been found most often at sites where cats got their
annual injections. It is a very slow-growing cancer, but
has a tendency to recur, and to be difficult to get rid of.
This is why the protocol includes giving the shots in the
legs, because the only way to stop the progress is to
completely excise the tumor and a lot of the surrounding
tissue - and removing a leg is easier to survive than
removing the back (where shots used to be given).
Lymphoma - which FeLV cats get quite often, is usually
found in the chest, it's very rapid-growing, it *does*
respond to chemo, for a while, cannot be excised (because
it is in the lymphatic system), and usually is fatal for
the cat.
Diana
}Lymphoma Sarcoma is what finally killed my Patches. He was felv+ (unbeknownst to
}us) and when he was really sick at the end, we were told he had lymphoma in the
}small intestines and it would be kindest to put him down. That's what prompted
}me to the list. I've never heard of a rabies shot giving lymphoma, but have
}heard of injection site sarcomas, which may be related. Sorry I don't know more
}though.
}
}> I've been hearing that some cats develop cancer(fibrosarcoma)
}> from the leukemia and/or rabies vaccinations. Has anyone heard
}> of this and how prevalent would it be?