Spock's Enucleation for Ocular Melanoma (cancer)

Update after diagnostics:

his x-rays came back clear but they are having a radiologist look over them to check for any abnormalities and will have those back around after noon 6/20/2021)

blood work is mostly good but his calcium levels are a little elevated so we did another test to see what the levels are with the  annondized calcium test and they are still elevated... which indicates malignancy. 

his FIV and feline leukemia test was negative. 

An organization that helped us with the diagnostics (FCIA San Diego) recommends that the prognosis could be good if the lungs are clear. 

So moving ahead with the enucleation (eye removal) is likely. 

I was approved for care credit but I already have very high balances with my current credit cards I would like to save it as a last resort. I have a lot of trouble paying my current bills as is.




Original Post:
6/17/2021 at the vet we were educated that Spock’s eye abnormality is very likely due to melanoma, an aggressive malignant cancer of the eye, which may have already metastasized.

My options are to get x-rays and bloodwork to see if it has metastasized already, and if so probably stop there. but if it hasn’t we would be encouraged to remove the eye, which is a very costly procedure at least at B St Vet Hospital, where I thought they were known to be more reasonable.
the estimate is about $2550.


I think he is only about 5 years old so this could prolong his life significantly if it hasn’t already metastasized.


Spock was my friend Heidi Ann’s cat and after she left this plane, i went out to missouri to claim Spock and rescue him from where he was living, where she died. it wasn’t a great time as i was unemployed and already had a cat and a blind dog but no one else could take him and i had southwest points to get the tickets with.  but i adopted him despite my uncertain finances and while i wish i had been able to get him to the vet sooner it just wasn’t on my radar.

i was calling about some other vet appointments and when i mentioned the eye they told me "you need to come in for that now. don’t wait."
so we went and i even consented to the x-rays and blood work but spock was too panicked to let anyone handle him the second round when they tried to get him for the diagnostic tests. he doesn’t do stuff he doesn’t want to do.

 the other treatment option was to try to see a cat veterinarian ophthalmologist who *might* have different diagnostical options? but when i took allie to the ophthalmologist for her PRA (blindness) it wasn’t a vet (like two vet techs did a fancy eye test in a dark room) at all and we waited months for the appt and it was very expensive, like twice as expensive as a regular vet appt and they didn’t have any treatments either.