Grandpa. The news we dreaded

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Beck and Philly

Beck and Philly

Member Since 2018
I just talked with the vet hospital. The new ultrasound shows pancreatic cancer that has metastasized into his surrounding organs. It is inoperable. Prognosis is weeks with outside possibility of months.

He is alert and eating and has not vomited so we are going to bring him home tonight and manage his pain while we spoil him. We will watch carefully and help him cross the bridge.

My heart breaks for this sweet guy.
 
I'm so sorry. That is tough to take. I'm glad you can bring him home where you will be able to shower him with love and be sure that your time together has good memories.
Wishing you strength for this time you have together.
 
I've been through this twice. I can't remember the exact dosage but when we brought Nigel home we eventually doubled his BUPE, then doubled it again. He was in the bedroom with us, all we had to do was keep him away from the stairs. He still knew who we were and where he was right to the end.
If he stomach issues...Noah is on transdermal BUPE long term. I can get the details for you if you want. Do you know how to tag someone?
I hope your time at home is peaceful and wish you all well.
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
I've been through this twice. I can't remember the exact dosage but when we brought Nigel home we eventually doubled his BUPE, then doubled it again. He was in the bedroom with us, all we had to do was keep him away from the stairs. He still knew who we were and where he was right to the end.
If he stomach issues...Noah is on transdermal BUPE long term. I can get the details for you if you want. Do you know how to tag someone?
I hope your time at home is peaceful and wish you all well.
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I would be very grateful for any info you can share. I am happy we get more time with him, but I want to make it as good as possible for him.

He didn't have stomach issues until this past week. Then he started vomiting. Bile back up we think.
 
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Thanks all. I know it's part of life when you rescue seniors, but it never gets easier. We just lost a cat to kidney disease in April. Grandpa was diagnosed about a week later with diabetes. We rejoiced that at least it was treatable. I'm now reeling from this turn of events.
 
Beck and Grandpa said:
I just talked with the vet hospital. The new ultrasound shows pancreatic cancer that has metastasized into his surrounding organs. It is inoperable. Prognosis is weeks with outside possibility of months.

He is alert and eating and has not vomited so we are going to bring him home tonight and manage his pain while we spoil him. We will watch carefully and help him cross the bridge.

My heart breaks for this sweet guy.
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I'm sorry. I know how painful that news is. I went through similar with a cat many years ago. We got an extra six weeks with her before she passed. Great cat.
 
Noah's Buprenorphine
0.16mg / 0.1ml
apply 0.05 ml every 12 hours
This comes from a compounding pharmacy. It looks like and has the consistency of toothpaste, comes in syringe. I'm supposed to wear gloves but I never do, just squirt some on to the backside of the little plastic spoons that come with it and rub it on the inside of Noah's ear. He will be on this forever and it has saved his life, he needed all his teeth pulled 2+ years ago but wouldn't survive the surgery. It does get a little waxy buildup inside the ears that you can wipe clean with a damp paper towel. Noah has no problems with stairs, balance or vision. You can also split the dose up any way you want as long as the daily sum remains the same.
If you have any more questions about anything I'm always here. We're all here for the same reason. :bighug:
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
Noah's Buprenorphine
0.16mg / 0.1ml
apply 0.05 ml every 12 hours
This comes from a compounding pharmacy. It looks like and has the consistency of toothpaste, comes in syringe. I'm supposed to wear gloves but I never do, just squirt some on to the backside of the little plastic spoons that come with it and rub it on the inside of Noah's ear. He will be on this forever and it has saved his life, he needed all his teeth pulled 2+ years ago but wouldn't survive the surgery. It does get a little waxy buildup inside the ears that you can wipe clean with a damp paper towel. Noah has no problems with stairs, balance or vision. You can also split the dose up any way you want as long as the daily sum remains the same.
If you have any more questions about anything I'm always here. We're all here for the same reason. :bighug:
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You are wonderful! Thank you! Grandpa is back home tonight and making us very glad we decided to spend time together. He is energetic and social. We've been giving him small pieces of home cooked chicken every couple of hours and he has loved it. I don't know how much pain he might be in since I know they can mask it, but he's bright and alert. Thank you for your advice and
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your support!
 
I am so sorry to hear of Grandpa's bad news, I hope you can cherish his last moments and he can live the rest of his life in peace until he goes.
 
I am so sorry you have been given this news.
My Sheba was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January of last year and died 5 days later. She had obviously had it for some time and because she showed no signs of anything being wrong, I didn't pick it up and you know how we watch of FD babies. She had had a couple of bouts of pancreatitis which were much slower then usual to clear up in the preceding couple of months.......they were her only symptoms. Generally she was eating well, except with the flares, and because she was having tramadol 10 mg twice a day for arthritic pain, she showed no signs of any pain or discomfort except maybe in the last few weeks when I noticed she would not stay on my lap for long but get up which was unusual for her. It was uncomfortable for her obviously...I can see that in hindsight.
One other thing was that her needs for insulin dropped in the last few months.
Her belly seemed to be getting bigger over a couple of weeks ......I wondered if she was constipated....so I took her to the vet, who at first thought she may be constipated but ultimately she had an ultrasound which showed the cancer and a lot of free fluid in the abdominal cavity. I was sent to a specialist who was lovely....she said to me that I would know when it was time because Sheba would just stop eating......and that is what happened. Maybe it was because of the fluid pressing on something...I don't know....The last few days she was eating but not enthusiastically and then on the final day she tried but couldn't....she just looked at me and I knew she was telling me it was time. She passed at home and it was peaceful and actually beautiful which may sound strange but it was.....and heartbreaking too......but I knew I had done the right thing.
Her quality of life was good up until the last day.

Sending many vines to Grandpa and you and I hope you have a lot of extra time to love him.
:bighug::bighug:
 
I'm not trying to give you false hope or make things worse. You said Grandpa's diagnosis came from an ultrasound, I'm wondering if any further tests were done.
This is why and it's something I'm still a little angry about years later. I know that's not healthy.
The last two cats we lost as well as our dog were all misdiagnosed and the story has no meaning without going into detail.
Jacob the cat was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer and was force fed an enormous diet of ever changing pills. It was not an ulcer, it was cancer.
Nigel was diagnosed with GI issues. His meds were not as brutal but his enemas were no fun. They missed his cancer as well.
Finally our dog was diagnosed with stomach cancer, chemo and surgery were not an option. Take her home and treat her like a princess, we might make it to Christmas. She regained all her weight and after 100 days we started calling her our miracle dog and I regretted telling anyone she had cancer. Her diagnosis came after three ultrasounds and two needle biopsies, the last was with an oncologist. I did a lot of research on her and found that a stomach cyst could mimic some of her symptoms. The oncologist and her clinic were too arrogant to admit to anything and wouldn't return my calls. It's the only time I've ever been annoyed with my vet.
Both cats could have begun treatment weeks earlier and we were put through Hell with our dog because someone made an educated guess. Even needle biopsies can be inconclusive and in my opinion "drawing a conclusion" is not fact based medicine.
The last thing Grandpa needs is to be poked and prodded and the last thing you need is a glimmer of hope when there isn't any. I know from our previous conversations you have been through this before. There might be a lesson here for someone else not to always accept what someone in a lab coat tells them.
I hope that made sense to you. Will you be updating us on Grandpa? There is a lot of emotional support here from people who have gone through the same thing.
 
Sorry, one more thing. When I had a brain aneurysm and a partial bleed, basically a stroke, I was told first it was a sinus infection, then that I had pulled a muscle in my face. So when Bob says to me "It's doctor, actually!" I either ask him if that's some kind of Slavic name or I run away. We hold them in such high esteem but someone always finishes at the bottom of the class.
If you don't know, don't just guess! :blackeye:
Question authority. :banghead:
 
Hi. That was my first thought. We had one ultrasound done at our vet. I didn't trust that so we went to the second hospital. The radiologist and two vets there studied the second ultrasound. Even the first vet said they could see something that wasn't right. The second said they could see a very large tumor with more cancer showing in his intestines and kidneys. They said they can see clusters of masses.
 
I'm so sorry about Grandpa:( Me and Sawyer are praying for you guys. I had an elderly cat named Grace (I think she made it to 19 or 20) and around the time she was 16 or so, the vet told us she had an inoperable tumor on her lungs and to make things comfortable for her. After a month passed, and then two, and then three, we quickly realized the vet had underestimated the time she had left with us! this old trooper went on to live for years and was only put down when she was because she was blind, deaf, and had other health problems besides the tumor. I don't want to give you false hope but don't lose hope either! You never know what's going to happen :)
 
I'm sure thinking about you guys and all the pain and anticipation you must be feeling. Just absorb the sounds smells and the feel of your best friend while you can!

Sadly, I've had to put down many of my animals. I knew that I had done all that I humanly could for them and reached the time I had to make that tough decision. 2 of them were horses. Each of them, having been my best friends... carrying me for decades. Because their tail hair was always so tremendously special and beautiful to me, I'd spend hours brushing (with human brushes!), braiding, protecting it and then proudly show it off at horse shows. The loss of my bond with my horses was so devastating that I couldn't let everything go. So before I buried each of them, I braided then saved their tail hair, and display it beside their photos in my home. Funny, that was many years ago, I've not had horses in my life for 10 years. But to this day when I walk past that tail hair... I touch or smell it and instantly a flurry of memories of the many rides through freshly mowed hay fields fill my head. To a girl who loved her horses like I did, it just doesn't get any better than that!

So my hope for you, while you still have Grandpa in your lives, is that you gather with your family remembering all the years of fun and wonderful things you've shared with him! Those memories will remain with all of you... always!!

Much strength to you, your family and Grandpa!
 
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