June's End of Life Care
Donation protected
If you've known us for any length of time, you know June (aka Junebug, June Bug Kitty, June Carter Cat, Princess Juniper of the Junebugs). While technically it was Sebastian's father who chose her, June very quickly chose Sebastian & made it very clear that he was HER boy & no one else interested her in the slightest. He was only 5 years old then. He is now 22 & she has been by his side the whole way (although now she's also come to love pretty much anyone who will scratch her head).
She has been with us for 17 years. She's moved across the country with us & cuddled us through many difficult times. And now it is time for us to see her through this final stage of her life...
On Friday, March 1st, June was diagnosed with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This is a very aggressive form of cancer in cats & unfortunately with her advanced age, asthma, hyperthyroidism, & spondylosis, as well as the location & size of the tumour, surgery is not an option & it's unlikely she would tolerate chemo/radiation well. Survival rates for cats who receive treatment typically range from 3-6 months. Because we are choosing palliative care only, we don't know how long she may have & will have to make the difficult decision of deciding when to let her go.
The first vet we saw (at Thrive Affordable Vet Care) paid almost no attention to June's presenting symptoms & instead focused solely on her elevated thyroid levels, sending her home with Methimazole & telling us everything else was probably just a result of the thyroid. After treating her with this medication for five days, while her breathing difficulties, refusal to eat, & facial swelling only got worse, she had an odd seizure-like episode, prompting us to take her to see a different vet at Allandale Veterinary Clinic. After nearly two hours with this vet, reviewing records & test results from Thrive, performing his own tests & imaging, & a very thorough exam, he discovered the large tumour in the roof of her mouth, which has spread to impact her airway & the left side of her face.
At this point we have made the decision, along with the vet, to use steroids in an effort to reduce the inflammatory properties of the tumour, hopefully allowing her to breathe & eat better. We will also be giving her CBD treats to help with the pain & hopefully take a little of the edge off from the side effects of the steroids. We are hoping that this will provide June with better quality of life, even if only briefly, so that she might be able to enjoy cuddles & pets & sharing life with us just a little bit longer & have a peaceful passing.
Over the past two weeks we have spent roughly $700 (receipts below)between two different vets, tests, imaging, & medications (not to mention Lyft rides, time off work, etc) in order to come to this diagnosis. This money was our rent money. More than half of our rent money, to be exact. And now we are faced with the additional cost that will come when we have to make the inevitable decision let her go.
After losing my job last April & falling behind on credit card payments, my ability to finance anything unexpected has become non-existent. I cannot take out a small loan or extend credit in any other way because my score has dropped & I am honestly in no position to pay it back. And Sebastian has no credit history at all, so he has been turned down (he tried for Care Credit to cover all of this).
I hate asking for help probably more than anyone I know... except maybe Sebastian. It is incredibly difficult for the two of us to be in this position right now. We had to make a choice... take care of June or pay the rent. We chose June & we do not regret it, but now we have to figure out how to keep a roof over all of our heads. So here we are, humbly asking for help.
She has been with us for 17 years. She's moved across the country with us & cuddled us through many difficult times. And now it is time for us to see her through this final stage of her life...
On Friday, March 1st, June was diagnosed with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This is a very aggressive form of cancer in cats & unfortunately with her advanced age, asthma, hyperthyroidism, & spondylosis, as well as the location & size of the tumour, surgery is not an option & it's unlikely she would tolerate chemo/radiation well. Survival rates for cats who receive treatment typically range from 3-6 months. Because we are choosing palliative care only, we don't know how long she may have & will have to make the difficult decision of deciding when to let her go.
The first vet we saw (at Thrive Affordable Vet Care) paid almost no attention to June's presenting symptoms & instead focused solely on her elevated thyroid levels, sending her home with Methimazole & telling us everything else was probably just a result of the thyroid. After treating her with this medication for five days, while her breathing difficulties, refusal to eat, & facial swelling only got worse, she had an odd seizure-like episode, prompting us to take her to see a different vet at Allandale Veterinary Clinic. After nearly two hours with this vet, reviewing records & test results from Thrive, performing his own tests & imaging, & a very thorough exam, he discovered the large tumour in the roof of her mouth, which has spread to impact her airway & the left side of her face.
At this point we have made the decision, along with the vet, to use steroids in an effort to reduce the inflammatory properties of the tumour, hopefully allowing her to breathe & eat better. We will also be giving her CBD treats to help with the pain & hopefully take a little of the edge off from the side effects of the steroids. We are hoping that this will provide June with better quality of life, even if only briefly, so that she might be able to enjoy cuddles & pets & sharing life with us just a little bit longer & have a peaceful passing.
Over the past two weeks we have spent roughly $700 (receipts below)between two different vets, tests, imaging, & medications (not to mention Lyft rides, time off work, etc) in order to come to this diagnosis. This money was our rent money. More than half of our rent money, to be exact. And now we are faced with the additional cost that will come when we have to make the inevitable decision let her go.
After losing my job last April & falling behind on credit card payments, my ability to finance anything unexpected has become non-existent. I cannot take out a small loan or extend credit in any other way because my score has dropped & I am honestly in no position to pay it back. And Sebastian has no credit history at all, so he has been turned down (he tried for Care Credit to cover all of this).
I hate asking for help probably more than anyone I know... except maybe Sebastian. It is incredibly difficult for the two of us to be in this position right now. We had to make a choice... take care of June or pay the rent. We chose June & we do not regret it, but now we have to figure out how to keep a roof over all of our heads. So here we are, humbly asking for help.
Organiser
Lori Scarmardo
Organiser
Austin, TX
