Help Dak Get Radiation for a Brain Tumor

Kate Sawaya is organizing this fundraiser.

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The TL;DR I have Acromegaly (a tumor in my brain) and need radiation.

Hi bestie! My name is Dak and I am a 10 year old black cat who has acromegaly, diabetes, and IBD.

In November 2023, my parents noticed that I was not eating, lost a lot of weight, and was lethargic. They took me to the vet and blood tests determined that I had Type II Diabetes. My parents immediately began learning all they could to help manage my diabetes. With their diligence in changing my diet to low carb food and twice daily insulin injections, I was able to achieve diabetic remission by the end of December 2023!

For a while, I was healthy - fat and happy at around 14 lbs. My parents continued to spot check my blood glucose (BG) to make sure I was still in remission. Then one day, in April 2024, I was mischievous. I hulk-smashed the dog treat canister off the counter and ate all I could. These dog treats were not low carb, so my BG shot through the roof! My parents tested me regularly in the following days to see if there were signs that my body could handle it on it's own, but no luck... it was time to go back on insulin. My parents followed the same diligent routine to try to get my BG regulated but this time it didn't work. We continued to raise my insulin with little to no effect.

My appetite and BG continued to worsen (and I continued to lose weight) as we waited for my appointment with the internal medicine specialist that my primary vet referred me to.

On May 24, 2024, I was down to 10.9 lbs and my BG was getting worse, so my primary vet recommended that I probably could not make it to the appointment and needed to go in through the ER, so I could be seen by internal medicine. While there, I had an ultrasound done which showed that I had inflamed bowels, pancreas, and liver, as well as thickening of my intestines. The vets diagnosed me with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), pancreatitis, and triaditis. They thought it could be handled out-patient, so they sent me home and planned to see me at the scheduled appointment in about a week or 2. This visit cost about $1400.

Over the next couple of days, I continued to get worse. I could not eat on my own, so my parents syringe fed me. The blood ketone meter that my parents ordered finally came in on May 26th. My parents took several readings which all read "HI" on the meter, meaning my blood ketones were so high that the meter couldn't even read how high they were. High ketones and not eating meant that I was in a dangerous situation; I was at risk of going into Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). My parents rushed me back to the ER for help. At the ER, they said that I was not in DKA yet, but was very close, so I was admitted to the hospital for about 6 days to get the care I needed, as well as more tests. This visit cost about $3000.

After several days in the hospital, I had made some improvements and was eating on my own. The specialist wanted to change my insulin to one that worked better for cats and believed that the uncontrolled diabetes was due to the IBD and that once we had the IBD under control, the diabetes should follow. On June 1st, I was discharged with new insulin and new food to try to help manage the IBD.

For the next few days, I was eating a little better, but my ketones were still reading "HI", so I ended up declining again. By June 4th, I could not eat on my own again and was extremely lethargic. Again, my parents knew they needed to take me back for what would now be my 3rd ER visit in one month. This time the ER said that I still was not in full DKA, but was dangerously close, so I was again admitted to the hospital for my 2nd 6 day stay. This time I was severely dehydrated and needed an intense protocol of both intramuscular and intravenous insulin every few hours to treat the DKA, which ended up being confirmed during this stay. The dose of the new insulin was just too low, so the insufficient amount of insulin made me go into DKA. After many days of intense assistance in the hospital, I was well enough to be discharged on June 10th. This visit cost about $3000 again.

By this point, I was down to 8.5 lbs (recommended healthy weight by vet is 12-13 lbs) - a 39% decrease in my weight...

The next several months, with my parents' help, I made slow and steady improvements, but this period was hard. I would have a few good days, followed by a few bad days. My parents were doing everything they could to help me: adjusting my insulin dose, adjusting my food each time I had a bad reaction to one, giving me subcutaneous fluids everyday, and giving me several other medications daily to manage nausea and low appetite.

After weeks of trial and error, we found a food that didn't make my IBD flare up and was low carb for my diabetes (a win-win). We finally started to really get the IBD under control and slowly wean me off the various medications.

But there was still one issue, despite how well I was doing, and no matter how much insulin I was given, my BG would not budge.

On September 20th, we had a follow-up appointment with the specialist to get more tests and see what was causing me to be insulin resistant. One of these tests (IGF-1) checks for abnormal levels of growth hormone. When the results came back, it showed that I had very high levels of growth hormones, indicating that I had Acromegaly (Acro).

Acromegaly is a condition where there is a tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain. This tumor causes the pituitary gland to release too much growth hormone, which leads to insulin resistance.

To treat Acro, I need to get stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) to destroy the tumor in my brain. This radiation treatment is costly and only available at a few clinics that have the highly specialized equipment. The estimated cost of this radiation treatment is $5000-7000, plus I will need scans to assess the tumor's size and position, as well as we will need to travel out of state, since there is no facility in my state that offers the treatment.

In total, we have an estimated cost for the diagnostics and treatment of $10,000-12,000.

Luckily, the outcomes for this radiation therapy are quite good! Most Acro cats just need 1-2 radiation sessions and typically are able to achieve better control of the diabetes (with a lower dose of insulin after treatment). The downside though is that the treatment is expensive.

This process has been stressful and costly, so we could use some help! My parents and I would be incredibly grateful for any help you are willing to give!

Donations will be used to help cover the cost of the imaging and radiation of my tumor.

Follow me on Instagram @dakthecat7