Help pup get UC Davis surgery since beating cancer
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$2,343 raised of
78 donations
Her backstory:
My pup was diagnosed with maxillary osteosarcoma (an aggressive bone cancer) in the summer of 2024, and was given 6 months to live. She underwent radiation and chemo as the 'standard of care,’ but I knew there had to be more I could do to help her. I found a clinical trial for immunotherapy research being conducted by the Yale School of Medicine and the Canine Cancer Alliance, and we made the trek from California to a participating clinic in Utah for her initial treatment & booster. I truly believe this is what saved her life. Against all odds, the tumor disappeared. She is now considered a long-term survivor at 2+ years post diagnosis, and has a team of specialists supporting her care.
Earlier this year, she began experiencing late radiation side effects in her eye from the radiation treatment she had two years ago. We traveled to UC Davis for a surgery consultation and were initially scheduled for the end of May. This surgery would reconstruct her maxillary (cheek bone) area, alleviate long-term effects of radiation exposure in her eye, and eliminate long term risks of infection. On the day of surgery, she experienced an unexpected complication from medication side effects and surgery was called off just before anesthesia. We’re currently working with her internal medicine team to ensure we’re able to safely move forward with surgery again. I truly believe this surgery is the only thing standing between her current complications and a full recovery to her life before cancer, so we will stay hopeful. In the meantime, her condition is being carefully managed by her ophthalmology team, and it has given us more time to fundraise! (Hopefully )
I have done my best to stay ahead of her medical bills for two years now, but as you can imagine, the cost of her ongoing care adds up quickly. She is required to have recheck testing every 3 months to continue immunotherapy treatment, which includes X-rays and blood samples sent to Yale for researchers studying how the immunotherapy is working in her system. In addition, her upcoming surgery will be expensive, but will give her the best chance of returning to a completely normal life and will eliminate all long-term health risks of the complications she’s currently facing.
I would be so grateful for any help so I don’t have to worry as much about the cost of her care and can focus on enjoying our time together & helping her heal. Thank you for considering our fundraiser. We would be so grateful for any help to keep us going!
More about the research project she’s a part of:
Participation in the research project is helping researchers better understand how immunotherapy can help dogs fight cancer like osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and transitional cell carcinoma. Through this clinical trial, they hope to get USDA approval to make this immunotherapy widely available at veterinary clinics across the country, as well as research how EGFR/HER2 immunotherapy can be utilized for human applications for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and osteosarcoma. Note: this GoFundMe is my personal fundraiser for my dog’s medical bills. If you’d like to support the research project, please donate to Canine Cancer Alliance (linked below)
To find a participating clinic: ️