July Patient of the Month-Sidney!!!

A neighborhood cat, Sidney was like many other multi-family strays. She hung around only the best houses; those that provided the best food and the most love.Then one day in 2010, her most beloved caregiver noticed a lump on the top of  her head. As a longtime client of our Dr. Anne Murphy she immediately scheduled an exam for her neighborhood stray.

Initially, Dr. Murphy found the lump to be fluid filled with no evidence of infection or abnormal cells. She drained the lump and saw immediate improvement.  

However, two weeks later, the growth was back, larger and more solid then before. When a round of antibiotics made no change, more intense diagnostics were necessary.

Under anesthesia, radiographs of her skull showed aggressive changes in the bone of Sydney's skull. A biopsy and culture were performed and a  sample was sent for pathology. The pathologist report diagnosed the mass as an osteosarcoma type of bone tumor: bone cancer.

Osteosarcoma in cats has a survival expectancy of 5-6 months. Treatment can include surgery to remove the mass. In Sidney's case, removal was not an option. As Sydney had only recently adopted her new family and aggressive treatment like radiation therapy and chemotherapy to her tumor would mostly improve her survival but not cure it her family opted to keep her comfortable throughout whatever time she had left. 

Sidney, or as she is affectionately called at home: Lumpy- lives the good life now. With the diagnosis of bone cancer her humans made a comfy home inside for her and she has never left. Now, five years later signs of the cancer remain in her very visible lump and with only now a developing sinus issue presumable from the mass. Although, Sydney does not seem to mind. Her silly disposition has never dampened. Whether at home or in our hospital she maintains her eternal smile and seems to have fully embraced her lovely lady lump!

We gladly share the love with her today as our July Patient of the Month!!