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Health Question: Swollen Lymph Node

PROPERsecretary

Savannah Kitten
Hi All -

Not sure if this is the right place to post this... please let me know.

Just wondering if anyone has ever encountered this health issue with their SV's involving lymph nodes or lymphoma.

On 11/23 we discovered a large lump (the size of a silly putty egg) on the left side of my SV Sen's neck. It was not there the day before, as we pet her all the time & always scratch under her chin/neck.. it's pretty much a morning ritual. She is an F5B & is 7.5 yrs old, healthy prior to this, indoor only & hangs out with our other SV Satsuki.

I took her to the emergency vet on Sunday 11/23. They though it might be an abscess & tried to aspirate it, but only got red blood. When reviewing a sample drawn from the lump, they said it was mainly red blood cells & not much white, nothing else. They gave me Clavimox (an antibiotic) and the lump went down some, to about the size of a walnut or almond in the shell but no change after that. This entire time, Sen has been acting completely normal, sleeping, eating, grooming & playing. When ever we go to feel the lump, she thinks she's getting chin rubs.

Took her to the regular vet on Friday 11/28 for a follow up since the lump wasn't getting any smaller after the 1st few days on the clavimox. They Dr. said to continue with the antibiotics & if no change then we could have a sample drawn from the lump & sent to the lab to be checked out & xrays. We did both of those things, the sample was inconclusive. The xray showed that it is her lymph node that is enlarged but the Dr. said it didn't look cancerous. Those 2 things were done on 12/4 & 12/10 respectively. The next step is to have a biopsy done where an incision is made & a tissue sample taken.

The lump is still there & large & Sen is still acting totally normal. Today she's having the biopsy done & they told us it'd take a few days to get the results back. We are totally freaked out by this whole situation & worried beyond belief. Any info about lymph nodes etc out there, which isn't really that much, doesn't really give us any piece of mind & things generally lean towards the negative (lymphoma/cancer) So just wondering if any of you might have had any experiences with lymph nodes or might know anything more.

Thanks for reading my long post - Erin, Sen & Satsuki
 

Carykd7kau

Reincarnated cat Moderator
Erin, I can't tell you anything about your baby's condition, but I CAN tell you I understand your being freaked out. I WILL send love and prayers and healing energy to Sen (and you..) I am sure there will be several responses to your post.
Keep us in the loop. :)
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
I really don't know much about anything, but I with humans we get enlarged lymph nodes for just about anything. The lymphatic system is in charge of discarding all the gunk that comes into our system, and when we get a lot of it (colds, viruses, etc) the lymph nodes get enlarged, resulting in those moveable little lumps. If you get sick a lot as a child, your lymph nodes might have been enlarged more and calcified so they can't move. In humans it isn't that big of deal...generally just means you might have a sore throat.

The lymph node will drain towards the heart, I believe. So if you find a lymph node on your neck, you will likely wake up with a sore throat the next morning.

I have no idea if this transfers to animals, but it might help looking into it? Focus on the best case scenario. Prayers going out to you and Sen
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
Has Sen been tested for FIV or FeLV? Lymphoma is often associated with these diseases and they are easily tested for in the vet's office. Enlarged lymph nodes can be caused by many things, the most common is an infectious process, but you are correct that they can also become swollen in certain cases of lymphoma. A biopsy is the appropriate route to go, so I will be crossing my fingers for you that whatever the results are, it will be something easily treatable!
 

PROPERsecretary

Savannah Kitten
Blood work was done along with the biopsy & she's was tested for FIV & FeLV when we got her. We will have results as early as tomorrow (Friday) or as late as Monday. Meanwhile, Sen is acting fine & wanting to play a lot as well as headbutting harder than ever since the biopsy. She was a hard headbutter before, but now she absolutely smashes into us
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
Sending healing energy and hope that Sen's test comes back negative. I hope you don't have to wait until Monday for results.
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
Hopefully all will be ok with Sen's biopsy and bloodwork.. Fingers and paws crossed for you and Sen
 
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