"Without treatment she will die within a year"

11:46 PM CST on Monday, November 24, 2003

By Jeremy Desel / 11 News

HOUSTON -- They're supposed to protect your pets, but they could actually be causing cancer. Vaccines could be a potential risk for cats.

Lola has plenty of energy. She sprints around the house like a cat should. But something that has just as much energy is working against her. "Without treatment she will die within a year," says her owner, Kathryn Shotwell. "With treatment hopefully we will get 18 months."

Lola has cancer.

Lola's doctor thinks her cancer is a vaccine-related fibroscarcoma. It was likely caused by a vaccination she received to protect her from disease.

According a task force, scientific research has shown a 1-10 per 10,000 rate of vaccine-related scarcoma in cats that have received vaccinations. That's as many as 22,000 cats a year.

"We don't have a smoking gun that this vaccine product from this manufacturer causes this problem," says Dr. Kevin Hahn with the Gulf Coast Veterinary Clinic. "I think that information is out there somewhere, but I don't think that we can narrow down the root cause of the problem."

But Dr. Hahn still says it is a big problem. He's treated hundreds of cases just at Gulf Coast Veterinary Clinic alone.

What bothers Shotwell is that even with all the research did she any point did get any suggestion that there was a potential danger to her animal from the vaccination. "None what so ever," she says.

The paperwork did contain a warning that an allergic reaction might be possible, but nothing that might suggest a cancer risk. "I wish that I had done my homework better," says Shotwell. "I kick myself every day for not having done that. I wish that I had. It might have changed the course of Lola's life."

The company that manufactures the vaccine is called Fort Dodge Animal Products, A division of Wyath Pharmaceuticals.

When Shotwell contacted the company it offered her $1,500 in compensation to help treat Lola. She declined because the company also wanted her to sign a form releasing it of liability. "I would absolutely think twice before vaccinating any cat."

The animal cancer specialist knows what he does. "Personally I vaccinate my indoor cat once and then they don't get it again," says Dr. Hahn. "I don't know if that is good medicine, but I'm so scared of my cat getting cancer I'm not going to do it again."

He sees enough cancer.

Fort Dodge Animal Products issued a statement: "Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have in veterinary medicine to increase the quality of a pet's life through the prevention of disease. The health risk to a non-vaccinated animal is significant."

The company went on to say: "Independent research has shown that vaccination site-associated sarcomas are a rare complication of injectable products administered to cats."