Cancer, Quality of Life and Hospice Care

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi again everyone-

This thread as well as the one about "Pot for Pets" is about the Monday 12/23/19 Empower Hour! webinar with Dr. Rob Silver.

Dr. Rob draws on his decades of experience helping dogs and cats live the best lives possible and enhancing their quality of life (QoL).

The detailed vet article below includes a wonderful discussion about taking the edge off symptoms (palliative care) and hospice.

Many supplements, and some other treatment methods like acupuncture, are in the article:

Quality of Life for the Pet Hospice Patient Dr. Rob Silver.pdf

drive.google.com

In addition, Dr. Rob starts it with a discussion about personalizing treatment and says:

Integrative veterinarians have found that the use of complementary therapies can substantially enhance the quality of life (QoL) of a veterinary patient, especially as they age, and reach the completion of their lives. These therapies are safe, non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and accessible to pet guardian caregivers and professional caregivers alike. Their use can promote natural healing mechanisms that reduce inflammation, reduce pain, and also will create a sense of well-being in the patient, even when faced with end-of-life issues. The use of these therapies can empower the pet’s guardian at home, and provide additional palliative tools for veterinary professionals.

For the veterinary pre-hospice or hospice patient receiving long-term palliative care, it is
important for the caregivers to adapt each individual patient’s program to the individual needs of that specific patient. On-going assessment of the patient’s progress with a given program, and how it impacts QoL, is essential to assure patient welfare during this end-of life period. Most commonly this assessment is performed by the veterinary team in cooperation with the primary pet guardian-caregiver’s input.

One easy and useful tool for assessing QoL is BEAM.

Your pets Behavior, Energy, Appetite or Mood will usually change before anything else.

Follow your pets BEAM at least 3x a day (morning, mid-day, and near bedtime) to get a good idea of their QoL.

Dr. Rob will discuss other methods, CBDs, THC and medical marijuana on Mondays webinar (which you can find in your member area after the live webinar).

He has also put together a palliative care kit through his role as chief vet at Rx Vitamins.

Here are the parts and a bit of info about the palliative care kit:

palliative care kit cancer Oncology_Tool_Kit.pdf.pdf

drive.google.com