Daisy needs radiotherapy treatment for her cancer

Long story short, our beloved dog Daisy has cancer in her nasal passage, and has been given a very short prognosis of around 3 months, which we could extend to around 9 to 12 months or perhaps more with some extremely expensive radiotherapy treatment that we need financial help to provide. We're looking to raise around £3,000 to cover around half of the the treatment, transport, boarding and medication.

It's just the start, because after the treatment, she'll still need looking after and we've now got no insurance remaining.

Please read on for the full story.

Me and my partner Evelin adopted Daisy back in 2021 from the Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary . She was a 5 year old Greyhound who had been racing for most of her life. As part of the rescue, over half of her teeth was taken out. Despite this, she was a very pleasant girl, though very shy.

She's quickly found a way into our hearts and has been an absolutely wonderful pet for these last four years. As a Greyhound she has had a series of minor health issues and a few expensive vet trips, and has struggled with anxiety and general noise as a result of the trauma of her racing career.

Later in 2024, we discovered a lump on Daisy's nose, and after a series of visits to the vets we eventually received the diagnosis that she had cancer. This wiped out her insurance of £3,000. Multiple vet visits and two biopsies are a costly affair. As an elderly dog we adopted when she was 5, she did not benefit from any kind of long-term insurance plan. Of that total, we paid around £600, give or take some admin fees and such.

Through all of this, she remained calm and pleasant, though obviously stressed. Following on from these biopsies, we had to take Daisy to a specialised vets and get her a CT scan. This cost us just over £3,000, and confirmed our worst fears. Daisy had a tumour in her nasal passage which had grown aggressively enough to break through the bone between her eyes and show as a the lump we initially saw in late 2024.

To make matters worse, this CT scan showed that the tumour had reached the bone between the nasal passage and the brain, and that means it could spread to the brain, though thankfully it would only affect her olfactory senses and not anything more serious. Despite this, the prognosis gives Daisy an average of 3-6 months before the cancer causes her to pass. At this point the stress on her is quite visible through the white fur on her face.

The treatment options offered to us come from the Southfields Veterinary Specialists in Essex. They are the best treatment centre in the the UK for cancer in dogs, and came highly recommended. Their consultation cost us £360, and presented us with our path forward. Our options are essentially an extremely expensive and incisive treatment method that costs £13,000 and comes with a high risk of causing a fistula – a hole in the bone due to the cancer and radiotherapy causing the bone to necrotise. This could create extra complications, and despite the longer prognosis of survival, it feels like a poor choice given the chance for extra complications.

This leaves us with the options of a weaker but less targeted treatment plan of Radiotherapy that costs around £4,000 to £5,000. We have some savings, but this is an extremely steep ask without insurance coverage, and factoring in further costs such as cancer medication, further complications, and eventually the likelihood of putting Dasy to sleep, which is why we're turning to GoFundMe.

Using the funds for this treatment will ensure Daisy gets a much higher quality of life and anywhere up to a year of life. She had a terrible start, being forced to race and live in terrible conditions before we adopted her. Any leftover funds will be given to the Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary, though we honestly doubt very little will remain given the cost of the treatment.

Thank you for taking the time to read through our story. Obviously times are very tough, and we're not expecting a miracle, but anything that can help this poor sweet animal would be extremely welcome. We just want to give her the best life we can.

Love from Luke, Evelin, and Daisy