Introduction:
The purpose of this thread is to give hope and comfort to others who have loved ones diagnosed with a terminal illness and facing the difficult decisions of treatments and euthanasia or Treatment vs. Euthanasia. What to do?
The day Simon was diagnosed, I started a calendar/diary titled Simon's Diary: "Our Bittersweet Journey...the long goodbye" I've logged his daily progress of eating, drinking, playing, grooming, sleeping, bathroom, etc. with pictures.
Reading it back, I thought this should be shared. If my experience could help others it would be help me during this process as well. It's been a roller coaster ride yet rewarding.
I wasn't sure where to post this info, the Health Forum or Crossing the Bridge, he's in between and wasn't sure, but with the assistance of @Margd and @mrsgreenjeens, we figured Health was the best place. thanks again...
This will be a thread containing daily posts of Simon's Diary, info, experiences, pics etc.
So I won't get too wordy in this post, I'll just give you a quick background:
My 12 year old male Simon, soon to be 13 was diagnosed on February 11th with SCC. I was sent home with Clindamycin and told he most likely wouldn't live to finish the med's. Well, I'm on the 3rd bottle and a month later he's still enjoying life and all faculties are working, some better than ever.
He has some trouble eating since the tumor shifted his bottom jaw to the left and he only eats RC Urinary SO Dry with his favorite snacks being lettuce greens, baby spinach leaves, if you hold them and wheatgrass he can't grab them easily. But I've made adjustments, and since he's terminal, I give him whatever he's interested in eating. Yesterday it was bacon, 1/2 cup cereal milk, 2 table spoons of haagen dazs vanilla and about 1/2 cup of his dry food, along with lots of fresh water. I also have his dry food liquefied which I give him often throughout the day with a syringe.
Until he can't eat and/or gives us signs that it's time, we'll continue to enjoy him as we have been since I found him at 2 weeks old.
(the avatar above was his first night with us).
I look forward to any replies from those who have lost a loved one, experienced scc, cancer, terminal illness, dealing with vets, giving meds, habits, etc. I'll post the start of the journey shortly along with pictures.
The threads below were ones I started when my cats first got sick. Some background for those interested.
2 Cats - 2 Problems - Kidney Meds Issues and Lump Under Chin soon to see vet.
2 Cats 2 Problems - UPDATE! LUMP UNDER CHIN TURNED OUT TO BE TUMOR No Cure!
The purpose of this thread is to give hope and comfort to others who have loved ones diagnosed with a terminal illness and facing the difficult decisions of treatments and euthanasia or Treatment vs. Euthanasia. What to do?
The day Simon was diagnosed, I started a calendar/diary titled Simon's Diary: "Our Bittersweet Journey...the long goodbye" I've logged his daily progress of eating, drinking, playing, grooming, sleeping, bathroom, etc. with pictures.
Reading it back, I thought this should be shared. If my experience could help others it would be help me during this process as well. It's been a roller coaster ride yet rewarding.
I wasn't sure where to post this info, the Health Forum or Crossing the Bridge, he's in between and wasn't sure, but with the assistance of @Margd and @mrsgreenjeens, we figured Health was the best place. thanks again...
This will be a thread containing daily posts of Simon's Diary, info, experiences, pics etc.
So I won't get too wordy in this post, I'll just give you a quick background:
My 12 year old male Simon, soon to be 13 was diagnosed on February 11th with SCC. I was sent home with Clindamycin and told he most likely wouldn't live to finish the med's. Well, I'm on the 3rd bottle and a month later he's still enjoying life and all faculties are working, some better than ever.
He has some trouble eating since the tumor shifted his bottom jaw to the left and he only eats RC Urinary SO Dry with his favorite snacks being lettuce greens, baby spinach leaves, if you hold them and wheatgrass he can't grab them easily. But I've made adjustments, and since he's terminal, I give him whatever he's interested in eating. Yesterday it was bacon, 1/2 cup cereal milk, 2 table spoons of haagen dazs vanilla and about 1/2 cup of his dry food, along with lots of fresh water. I also have his dry food liquefied which I give him often throughout the day with a syringe.
Until he can't eat and/or gives us signs that it's time, we'll continue to enjoy him as we have been since I found him at 2 weeks old.
(the avatar above was his first night with us).
I look forward to any replies from those who have lost a loved one, experienced scc, cancer, terminal illness, dealing with vets, giving meds, habits, etc. I'll post the start of the journey shortly along with pictures.
The threads below were ones I started when my cats first got sick. Some background for those interested.
2 Cats - 2 Problems - Kidney Meds Issues and Lump Under Chin soon to see vet.
2 Cats 2 Problems - UPDATE! LUMP UNDER CHIN TURNED OUT TO BE TUMOR No Cure!