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  Discussion on Stomach cancer
Author Message
New Member:
Felrun

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 7, 2005 - 1:17 pm:

Hi- I am new to this site so bear with me if I goof. A friend of mine has an 8 year old Norweigian Fjord who has never had any health problems before. About 3 months ago the mare, Else started to refuse to eat Bermuda hay and would only eat the leafy parts of alfafa. She was also losing weight. We had had some positive cases of V.S. in our area as well as some reactions to moldy weeds. There was blood work done to rule out V.S. and when the blood work came back it showed her BUN was very high and her calcium level was off the charts. At first our vet diagnoised kidney failure and took some urine samples followed by more blood work a week later. The BUN was normal but the calcium was still extremely high. Our vet is now saying she has stomach cancer indicated by the high calcium level. She has been on Tagament for the last 6 weeks. My question is this- is there anything else that could cause a very high calicum level and are there other tests that can be done to either support the diagnoisis of stomach cancer or better yet rule it out ? Thank you for your time and I hope i can navigate my way around this site to find your answer.. Ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 8, 2005 - 8:47 am:

Welcome Ellen,
I avoid trying to do case reviews 3rd hand for lots of reasons but you have a fairly specific question: other possible causes of hypercalcemia. We had a very complete discussion on this subject that I found through the search engines, see Equine Diseases » Colic and GI Diseases » Weight Loss in Horses » Overview of Chronic Weight Loss » Discussion on Weight loss... a real head scratcher???. It would seem endoscopy and biopsy would be the way to diagnose stomach cancer.
DrO
New Member:
Felrun

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 8, 2005 - 10:26 pm:

Hi Dr.O- Thank you so much for your prompt reply. The info you had me look at regarding your communication with Emily was most helpful. The similarities between the two horses are very close. I have passed the info along to my friend who passed it along to her vet. He came out today to draw more blood to check her calcium level as well as a PTH and PTHrP.He also had the tagament stopped today going on the theory that if it is stomach cancer and the tagament was helping relieve symptoms they should start to see a downward spirial.I hope that is not the case. The results of the calcium should be back tomorrow. Once again I really appreciate your time. This is a great site and is full of valuable info.. Ellen
New Member:
Felrun

Posted on Friday, Jun 10, 2005 - 9:56 pm:

Hi Dr. O-- just an update- the blood work on my friends horse came back and the calcium was still really high and the BUN was elevated. She goes down to Phoenix on Tuesday to be scoped. The vet down there is not willing to write this mare off based on blood work and wants a look at whats going on. We did take the mare off tagament and she did start to do down hill and would not eat but would graze a little. She is back on the tagament and is eating fine. I just don't understand the connection.Does it make sense and if it does why? Thanks again for being so available. Ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 - 10:04 am:

Anyone who writes off a horse on blood work alone should not be practicing medicine. The Tagamet response suggest ulceration that is painful and responsive to decreased stomach acidity. Perhaps switching to more effective treatment might help, for more on this see, Equine Diseases » Colic and GI Diseases » Gastric Ulcers.
DrO
New Member:
Felrun

Posted on Saturday, Jun 11, 2005 - 10:13 pm:

Dr O- once again thank you for your reply.I relayed your suggestion and hopefully this mare makes it to Tuesday. She did not have a good day today. I will let you know what we find out. Thanks again--- Ellen
New Member:
Felrun

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 - 2:11 am:

hi Dr O- just an update- we took the mare down to have her scoped today -no stomach cancer or signs of ulcers in her stomach however they did find a cyst on one of her kidneys. They are not sure how much kidney function has been lost.The vet is going to do some research and talk to some specialists tomorrow and give us a plan of action if there is any aside from supportive care.I am looking thru this site to try and find some info. Thanks once again. Ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 - 8:58 am:

Thanks for keeping us updated Ellen and let us know how this progresses. Dysfunction of just one kidney should not cause a rise in Ca in my experience.
DrO
Member:
Felrun

Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 11:00 pm:

Hi Dr O- latest update-- the three vets who are now involved ( our local vet, the two in Phoenix who did the scope and ultrasound ) had a conference call and someone , I believe it was the local vet, came to the conclusion based on the PCV level as well as the elevated ca that the cyst on the kidney is secondary to lymphosarcoma. I'm not sure how they came to the conclusion about it being lymphosarcoma but it is getting more confusing everyday.Any thoughts on how this diagnosis was reached ? My friend is beginning to pull her hair out by the roots at this point. Once again, thank you for your time. ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jun 17, 2005 - 9:18 am:

Though it would be on my list, it would not be the only thing.
DrO
Member:
Felrun

Posted on Friday, Jun 17, 2005 - 10:31 am:

Dr O--what would be on your list ?? ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jun 18, 2005 - 9:20 am:

The presence of a cyst does not change the many possibilities talked about in the discussion I first referenced Ellen. The list of rule outs for the cyst would best be generated by someone who can actually see the characteristics of the cyst.
DrO
Member:
Felrun

Posted on Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 - 1:14 am:

Dr O-
It has been awhile and I thought I would update you on my friends mare.She is doing really well and has gained back all the weight she lost as well as a few extra pounds.She finally had follow up lab work done late last week and everything came back normal and her urine is concentrating. The vet said he probably was wrong about his diagnois but is scratching his head as to what was going on. For now she will remain on the Tagament and in 2 months they will decide wheather or not to wean her off. Until then it looks like smooth sailing.
I want to thank you again for the time you took in answering my questions.
Ellen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Sep 22, 2005 - 7:30 am:

Thanks so much for keeping us appraised and delighted to hear about the horses recovery.
DrO
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