Question: My cat just had surgery to remove a mammory tumor which developed a little over a month ago. Though the doctor succeeded in removing the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue I've been told that there is a high possibility that the tumor will grow back. What is the likelihood of this happening? How effective is chemotherapy and how long would she have to endure it? Is chemotherapy the best option? What's involved and how effective is it? I would really appreciate any information that you could provide me with, I'm just so worried! J.H., Chicago, IL.

ANSWER: It will be difficult to give any information regarding recurrence, treatment and prognosis without knowing the actual histopathological diagnosis of the "type" of tumor that was removed. Hopefully, you agreed to have the tumor sent to the lab for identification. The most common tumor found in the mammory chain of cats is called mammory adenocarcinoma. This type of tumor tends to be malignant in 80% of cases. It is recommended to remove the entire chain of mammory glands on the affected side that the tumor was on. Also, a blood chemistry profile, urinalysis and chest xrays are recommended to help stage the metastasis of this type of tumor. Treatment is evaluated based upon the results of staging and can involve chemotherapy. 60% of mammory tumors recurr and early metastasis is common with this type of tumor.

The only way to determine what type of treatment is best for your cat is to know what type of tumor we are dealing with. The histopathology results and staging (bloodwork, xrays, urinalysis) are all necessary to determine treatment thus prognosis. There is a slim chance that this mass could be just a benign mass, cyst or other abnormal growth--which would also show up on the histopathology report on the "mass" that was removed. Good luck!