PearlJamChick
No one sings like you anymore.
Member since 7/10 9264 total posts
Name:
Petticoated Swashbuckler
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Vet Oncology rave - VCA Westbury
A couple of months ago, my kitty Mudd was diagnosed with high grade lymphoma in his stomach.
This is a fast-growing cancer that has no cure. He will succumb to the disease, that is a fact. 
We initially brought him to Blue Pearl in Forest Hills for an ultrasound and biopsy, which is how we learned that he had cancer. We then met with an oncologist there who explained our options, one of which was an IV chemo given weekly, which included one of the meds I was on when I had cancer that was torture - and he would likely suffer some side effects from it as well (not to mention the trauma of going in weekly for an IV) Another option was a pill, taken once every three weeks - with a lower success rate but minimal, if any, side effects and much better quality of life than the IV treatment.
So we opted for the pill. In conversations with the oncologist at Blue Pearl, I had mentioned that I would prefer to do bloodwork with my regular vet, as my best friend works there and it would be easier on my cat to get the bloodwork done by someone he knows. Initially, they hesitantly agreed. Somewhere along the line that all changed and AFTER blood was drawn via my regular vet, they informed us that they would be charging us over $100 just to view the bloodwork and I was never to do that again. Then they wanted to keep my cat ALL DAY LONG for his chemo - which is just one pill, given orally. IMO, this was a way for them to charge me a hospitalization fee for the day. They informed me that every visit would be at least $500 - not even counting the hospitalization fee. That the pill alone - depending on the dose - would be $150 - $200. Basically, as soon as they saw that we wanted to do whatever we could to give Mudd a good quality of life, they attempted to cha-ching  on our emotions. Oh, the oncologist also called up my vet and screamed at her about the bloodwork.
Nice, huh?
And so I decided to tell them to go F themselves and my vet then referred me to VCA in Westbury.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE.
Like night and day.
The two oncologists we have seen there - Dr. Meritet and Dr. Linderman - are both just great people who love animals. It completely shows in the way they greet us and our Mudd.
They understand that drawing his blood (which is something that has to be done a couple of days before chemo is administered to see if his counts are okay for chemo) is not an easy task, and they don't mind that we do that via our regular vet since Mudd is more comfortable that way. They don't charge us extra to read his bloodwork results.
They call to follow up on him each week to see how treatment is going. They show genuine concern and care for Mudd. They are gentle with him.
They don't want him to stay there all day after the pill is administered - they would rather he be at home, resting, and not agitated and scared in a kennel at the vet.
Their fees are less than half of what Blue Pearl wanted to charge us, but for the same exact regimen: exam, CCNU (that's the chemo) pill, antibiotics pills. The pill - which Blue Pearl stated would be $150-$200 depending on the dose - is just over $50 at Westbury.
And I just found out that they have an oncologist in on Saturdays, which makes things a lot easier for us as well - I was taking a day off every three weeks to bring him out there during the week because it's about 40 minutes away from where we are in Queens. Well worth it.
They are just phenomenal there. Top notch. I had to share this with the board in case anyone else needs a veterinary oncologist.
And my Mudd? Naturally he's sitting on some papers that I need to read over. He's put on about two pounds since treatment started, which is great. Hasn't vomited since treatment started (he was sick at least once a day, poor little guy). Energy is high, he's back to the old Mudd. My little rockstar of a kitty!
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