Topic: Chemotherapy (Read 12845 times)

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #37 on:** April 04, 2009, 19:38:10 PM »

Really sorry to hear that MM

She's safe and sound at the Bridge by now, waiting for you until you are ready to collect her xx

You know that you gave her the Greatest Gift...

I always knew this time would come,
From the very instant our eyes first met.
How I loved you then! How I love you now!
I made a promise then, and I will keep that promise now...
You will not suffer from a pain that will not heal;
You will not know the loss of a life remembered, now gone.

It is for me alone to make this decision,
The price for the bright joy and pure laughter
You brought me during the time we shared.
I am the only one who can decide when it is time.
When my hope dies, and my fear rides high,
Just when I need you most, I must let you go.

It is for you alone to tell me when you are ready
For without your guidance, I will not know
When to lay my grief, my guilt, my anger
My sorrow and my selfish heart aside
And give you this last gift, this greatest gift.
Your eyes will speak to mine, and I will know.

The pain of this moment is excruciating.
Tears stream down my face in a river of sorrow.
And my heart drowns in a pool of grief.
For you have spoken and I have listened,
And unlike other decisions I have made
This one brings no relief...no comfort...no peace.

For if there´s one thing you´ve taught me,
If there´s only one thing I´ve learned...
Unconditional love has a condition after all,
I must be willing to let you go, when you speak to me
I must be willing to help you go, if you cannot go alone.
And I must accept my pain so you can be free of yours.

Go easily now, go quickly now,
Do not linger here, it is time for you to leave.
Go find your strength, go find your youth.
Go find the ones who've gone before you.
You are free to leave me now, free to let your spirit soar
Rest easy now, your pain will soon be gone.

I pray I will find comfort in my memories...
In the dark and lonely days ahead.
I cannot say I will not miss you, I cannot say I will not cry.
For only my tears can heal my broken heart.
But, I promise you this; as long as I live,
You will live, alive in my mind, forever in my heart.

So I give you this last gift, all I have left to give,
And this will be my greatest gift...sending you away.
It is the measure of my unconditional love...
For only the greatest love can say,
"Good-bye, go find the bridge, we'll meet again,
Loving you has been the greatest gift of all."

Forever and Always... Until Rainbow bridge....

Janeyk · « **Reply #36 on:** April 04, 2009, 19:28:23 PM »

awwww, so sorry MM, you did your best for and she will know that

godbless Milly xx

Millys Mum · « **Reply #35 on:** April 04, 2009, 19:25:30 PM »

Thank you all

I let her go last night

I watched her all day and could see she was tired, more vet visits would have been too much for her having been there so much over 3 weeks.
What made this so hard is having fought so much to keep her going in hope it was just hepatitis and we could make her better

She went straight to the bridge, an amazing ball of fire in the sky greeted us up the hill, there was no cloud just a brilliant red sun, my milly

CarolM (Wendolene) · « **Reply #34 on:** April 04, 2009, 12:49:52 PM »

Quote from: Teresa Pawcats on April 03, 2009, 18:44:53 PM

The hardest thing is knowing what to do for the best,from the sound of your post you have reached your decision, never feel guilty for choosing one option over another, you love and cherish Milly so very much,it is obvious you have chosen the best for her.

I agree absolutely.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #33 on:** April 04, 2009, 11:41:34 AM »

Tough decision

Whatever you decide will be the right one.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #32 on:** April 04, 2009, 08:35:26 AM »

Other than what the others have already said, the only thing I will add is that the liver is the only organ that can regenerate, so of all the organs to be affected, it is the best. We are all here for you no matter what.

Janeyk · « **Reply #31 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:10:59 AM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on April 03, 2009, 16:32:05 PM

Those were my first thoughts Michelle but today i have been off work and watching her. Iv got nothing to lose by trying it but she has and i think i will find it harder to live with the guilt then the what if.
I know what i have to do

Have been in the position of treating or not myself and the decision is very hard and I have to say there's always what if's whatever option you go for so (still feel them now) at the end of the day you can only do what you feel is right in your heart at that time

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #30 on:** April 03, 2009, 23:06:39 PM »

Can only echo what others have said, I know you will do whatever you think is best for Milly

Judecat (Paula) · « **Reply #29 on:** April 03, 2009, 20:52:39 PM »

Just echoing the others. You know what is best for your beloved Millie, we will support whatever decision you feel is best. You know her better than anyone and will do what is right for her. Having said that, an awful time for you. Lots of hugs winging their way to you.

Kirst · « **Reply #28 on:** April 03, 2009, 19:54:53 PM »

Whatever you decide we will be here for you.

Teresa Pawcats · « **Reply #27 on:** April 03, 2009, 18:44:53 PM »

The hardest thing is knowing what to do for the best,from the sound of your post you have reached your decision, never feel guilty for choosing one option over another, you love and cherish Milly so very much,it is obvious you have chosen the best for her.

Bazsmum · « **Reply #26 on:** April 03, 2009, 18:38:29 PM »

Aw MM what an awful dilema but I know you will do what you think best in the long run for darling Milly......

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #25 on:** April 03, 2009, 18:13:50 PM »

lots of support from me for whatever you decide

Mark · « **Reply #24 on:** April 03, 2009, 17:50:13 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on April 03, 2009, 16:32:05 PM

Those were my first thoughts Michelle but today i have been off work and watching her. Iv got nothing to lose by trying it but she has and i think i will find it harder to live with the guilt then the what if.
I know what i have to do

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #23 on:** April 03, 2009, 17:10:03 PM »

so sorry MM - but no-one in the world knows what's better for Millie than you

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #22 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:50:34 PM »

So sorry MM

moira · « **Reply #21 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:48:37 PM »

So sorry to read your story. Thinking of you now.

Michelle (furbabystar) · « **Reply #20 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:45:30 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on April 03, 2009, 16:32:05 PM

I know what i have to do

I have just gone all cold.....
Not sure what you are saying....although i think i do

pappilon · « **Reply #19 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:35:31 PM »

x

Millys Mum · « **Reply #18 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:32:05 PM »

Those were my first thoughts Michelle but today i have been off work and watching her. Iv got nothing to lose by trying it but she has

and i think i will find it harder to live with the guilt then the what if.
I know what i have to do

MrsR · « **Reply #17 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:26:50 PM »

Michelle (furbabystar) · « **Reply #16 on:** April 03, 2009, 16:24:39 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on April 03, 2009, 15:07:38 PM

Im still struggling to decide whats for the best, Lymphoma is the 'best' cancer for being treated with chemo but theres no certainity it will react positively or even if her liver could repair the damage thats been done and its that what stops her from eating
Shes just been sleeping on my bed when out of her crate, hasnt wanted to leave the room, if i let her go now will i wonder what if for time to come

I am going to stick my neck out and say.....
I think you have nothing to lose by trying the Chemo MM
The way Milly is at the moment she isnt going to last long without it, So its worth trying

You can always stop the Chemo if you feel it is making her worse but if you dont try you will forever wish you had xxxxx

Millys Mum · « **Reply #15 on:** April 03, 2009, 15:43:36 PM »

Locally Rosella with tablets given at home. Shes just got up for a wee and now laying on the doormat, the colour of her wee always upsets me

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #14 on:** April 03, 2009, 15:33:05 PM »

Where will the treatment be given to Milly MM? Locally or further away? My business partner initially had to bring her cat Noodles to Bristol from Brum when he was receiving chemo treatment some years ago and follow up treatment was provided locally (by my current vet as it happens). The initial treatment involved him having to stay over in Bristol for some nights. I'm afraid it was not successful in Noodles' case

.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #13 on:** April 03, 2009, 15:07:38 PM »

Im still struggling to decide whats for the best, Lymphoma is the 'best' cancer for being treated with chemo but theres no certainity it will react positively or even if her liver could repair the damage thats been done and its that what stops her from eating

Shes just been sleeping on my bed when out of her crate, hasnt wanted to leave the room, if i let her go now will i wonder what if for time to come

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #12 on:** April 03, 2009, 08:13:12 AM »

I dont have any experience, other than when I have hypothetically discussed it with the vet, she has said that with some cancers it is worthwhile, but it also goes off the age of the cat, and MAbel was too old and poorly for it to be a consideration. Fingers crossed for you

JackSpratt · « **Reply #11 on:** April 02, 2009, 23:53:34 PM »

I have no experience of this MM, but am sending you a hug because this kind of decision is utterly terrifying.

Michelle (furbabystar) · « **Reply #10 on:** April 02, 2009, 22:59:09 PM »

We (my vet and I) have decided against Chemo at the moment.
Its true that cats seem to cope better with it than humans, however, my vet says the Chemo can cause different problems which could infact shorten her life

You need to chat a good chat with you vet hunny xx

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #9 on:** April 02, 2009, 22:50:54 PM »

One of my client's cats had chemo and he seemed to cope quite well with it. I think, with the treatment, he had about a year from when he was diagnosed and he always seemed well in himself whenever I went to groom him. It is a lot for them to go through though, and like Pav said, it depends how you think she would cope with treatment.

pappilon · « **Reply #8 on:** April 02, 2009, 22:24:26 PM »

MM, i am so sorry about Milly.
Boy is having chemo (Leukeran) , it was December 2007 when i had to take him to RVC for tests but his case was complicated because he was given the wrong tablets by my vet (Norocarp) instead of synulux and the new vet didnt want to do any tests so they refer him to RVC, i am not going to post all the details here because there is a post about this in health section but basicly they never did a full thickness biopsy of his intestines due to increase risk of intestinal wound breakdown and also i told them from the begining chemotherapy not being an option, the reason i didnt want chemo was i was told by my first vet when DD had cancer that they need to do blood test every week and with DD being a nervous cat it wasnt an obtion but then when Boy had his biopsy from his stomac and intestines(not full one) and ultrasound scan it was revealed he has lymphoma and a likely mass in his pancreas, i did ask if the steroids would help him but was told only with chemotherapy. I had concern about the chemo but i was told by the vet in RVC and my vet Caroline that animals DONT react to chemo like humans do , also its todo with the dosage so its gentle for animal than humans. I was alo told that the blood tests are only done monthly which is not too bad, so he has been on steroids and Leukeran since 2007 December, they did say without the tratment he will have 6-8 weeks and with tratment months up to a year, its been 15 months now and i have to say he has good and bad days but he has Hyperthroidism as well , some days he has bad diarrhoea but i think that is bacause of his diet , they put him on Hills D/D Venison for his IBD but he doesnt eat and other foods are too rich, i think its different for each cat you have to see if Milly doesnt get stress with monthly blood tests and medication, and also for people who dont have insurance its a very costly tratment the test and medication is very expensive and i was told the chemo tratment is for life and you cant stop it at any time, he gets B12 injection every month which helps him but as i said he has Lymphoma, IBD and HTyroid . I know for fact if it was Phoebe who needed this i would say NO as i know the stress of treatment and tests for a cat like her would do more harm than good. I hope you can decide whats best for Milly, we are all here for you.

CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls · « **Reply #7 on:** April 02, 2009, 21:31:19 PM »

Bonkers Mad!!! · « **Reply #6 on:** April 02, 2009, 21:01:03 PM »

my mums cat Odo was 8 months old when they discovered an inoperable tumour in his throat. the options were chemo or pts. they were told that even if the tomour shrunk they still wouldnt be able to remove it and gave him around 18 months to live even with the treatment. my parents went ahead with the chemo on the condition that at soon as it became clear that he was suffering they would do the decent thing. Odo lived untill he was 5 and apart from never getting past the gangly 8 month stage (size wise) he suffered no side affects apart from feeling the cold more than the others. there used to be a cat at Foal Farm who'd had chemo (not sure if he's still there) and he had the softest fur i've ever felt, apparently that is a possible side affect.

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #5 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:49:17 PM »

I have never had to make this sort of decision - yet - and I do so feel for you

I hope you will feel able to consider your own wellbeing as well as Millie's - you won't want her to suffer and she won't want you to either

Janeyk · « **Reply #4 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:45:29 PM »

I would be very nervous about this too so can understand how you must feel, discuss it with your vet is what I would say, they will be the best people to ask having experience of how other cats have reacted, or tell you where to get advice

if you need support you can always pm me if you want a chat any time

Millys Mum · « **Reply #3 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:39:31 PM »

I hate having options, would be easier if there were none. It doesnt help having unsupportive family

Mark · « **Reply #2 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:29:34 PM »

No experiences but have heard quite a few times that cats don't suffer the ill effects that humans often do

Millys Mum · « **Reply #1 on:** April 02, 2009, 20:10:40 PM »

Does anybody have experiences they can share, good or bad, of cats having chemotherapy?
I dont know what to do

Author Topic: Chemotherapy (Read 12845 times)