Need advice on cat's current prognosis. TIA
Background: My cat has always thrown up since he was a kitten. We had taken him to the vet several times over the years but never could figure a reason why. He was generally healthy and never underweight so we let it be.
A few months ago he started throwing up blood. Brought him to the vet, ran blood work, took weight and x-rays and couldn't find anything wrong with him. He was about 9.1 lbs then. They offered to do an ultrasound but I figured since he's always thrown up and the x-rays and blood work came back with nothing then the blood must because he now has an irritated esophogus from 11 years of throwing up almost daily. Switched him from dry to wet food and the vomiting frequency decreased.
Took him back about a month ago for a follow up for some reason or another. Took his weight and he was about 8.5 lbs. Vet wasn't worried because the first scale used (this office has 5 exam rooms and I was in a different one) was notorious for being inaccurate. Okay - no big deal. Took him home.
About a week ago my cat stopped eating completely. He'd nibble a few bites but not eating as much as he was (from about 1 can a day to a few bites a day). Tried coaxing him with different foods, the dry food he liked, nothing. Took him back to the vet to find that he now weighed 7.5 pounds. He lost a pound in a month. I asked to schedule the ultrasound which found that there was a mass in his stomach and his lymphnodes were slightly enlarged. They called me with this and offered to take a sample from the mass and have it examined. They then sent me home with antibiotics to make sure he doesnt get infected from the sample.
I got the call today with the results. They cannot say for sure but the test suggests lymphoma. Now here's the confusing part - since he's been home and on the antibiotics he has been eating. Over the last 2 days he's been eating about 2 cans of wet food + 1 cup of dry food per day. Today he ate a bit less but still ate the dry food he likes. He seems to be gaining his weight and energy back.
Now for the question: Yes, I realize it could be lymphoma, but how accurate are these tests? Is it possible it is some sort of infection that is giving a false positive? I am not denying that there is a mass in his stomach but is it possible it could be removed? Would he have a good quality of life or merely exist? I'm trying to balance what his quality of life would be, expected life span, and costs. I don't want to spend ~$2500 on him if he would only last 6 months and be in pain, but I would spend it if there was a good chance he would have say another 4 or so happy years ahead of him.
Thank you for any insight you guys have.