*lifelong friend dies of medical complications *

News agencies: "<friend> dies after spending a lot of time with <me>"

Honestly...even without the excess weight, I don't know if the tumors would have been discovered in time. It's not like you regularly give a cat an ultrasound to screen for cancer. Cancer often grows internally undetected until it's too late... especially in animals where they do not display outward symptoms of their disease until advanced stages.