Help Sherman Afford Cancer Surgery

We humbly ask for your help to pay for Sherman’s surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his backside.

Brief History:

In Nov 2020, Sherman had an anal sac apocrine gland adenocarcinoma (anal gland tumor which was tested malignant) removed. It was a heartbreaking process, but we did everything we could and Sherman came out of it like a champ! We couldn’t have been more pleased with the care he received from the surgeon and her team. He was back to his smooshy bully self.

Unfortunately, a year later, we noticed a growth forming in the exact same location. We went back to the surgeon, in Oct 2021, who performed the original removal surgery and she confirmed that the cancerous mass did in fact return. We decided to not do any further treatments and just love and spoil him for as long as he had left. Financially, we just couldn’t pay for another surgery while still paying off the first one. After many sobbing tears later, we decided to take a holistic approach and do whatever we could at home to extend his life. Lots of research later, we switched Sherman over to “cancer friendly” kibble & treats, removing carbs from his diet. We studied the proper dosage of turmeric powder, turkey tail mushroom powder, and CBD oil and began filling capsules that he receives daily. All this in hopes that we would slow the growth and/or spread of the cancer. In hindsight, we should have started these supplements immediately after his initial surgery.

Now:

3 months later, the mass has grown exponentially (photo below), but his behavior and energy hasn’t skipped a beat. He still acts like a puppy playing and running around. On 2/15/22 we decided to schedule Sherman for an ultrasound, chest x-ray and blood work to see what was going on inside. We just didn’t understand how such a large mass wasn’t affecting his daily life. Remarkably, the mass is contained and it DID NOT spread to any lymph nodes (just like in 2020). This is GREAT news. However, we are still dealing with a mass on his bum. The fear now being, as it grows it will ultimately pinch off his colon and he won’t be able to poop. This would be the point where we would have no choice, and have to put him down.

We want to have this tumor removed, and we need your help.

We are asking for help in covering the cost of the surgery. We were able to pay for all the pre-op imagery and lab work, but the remainder of the estimate is too hard for us to cover alone. Especially since we already paid for this about a year ago. The surgeon’s detailed estimate is shown here from BluePearl Pet Hospital in Conshohocken .

Since we did an ultrasound, chest x-ray and blood work on 2/15, we’d like to schedule the surgery no later than March 1st. The longer we wait, we’ll have to pay again to redo the imagery. We’re hoping to avoid that.

Our Shermy Bear Smooshy Pants

Sherman means the world to us. From 2010 onward, he’s been a fixture in our lives. He’s been playful since birth and that hasn’t let up with age. And some of our favorite memories of our lives, Sherman was right there with us. For Kent, he feels like a bridge to his father who passed in 2013. He was there in 2017 for the birth of our son, Sagan. Since, Sagan and Sherman have become best friends. After Sherman was away for imaging for 9 hours, Sagan hugged him and told him how he missed him upon his return. While we understand he won’t live forever, we also feel he has a whole lot of life and love left in him.

If we’re able to raise this money and get Sherman his surgery, there are no words to express the gratitude we’ll feel. It’s been a bit of a struggle on whether or not to set this up and ask people for money. It’s not a decision we came to lightly. We understand that he’s already an older dog. We understand there’s no guarantee it won’t return. But we can’t imagine our pride getting in the way of at least asking for help to try and extend Sherman’s life. Seeing that the cancer hasn’t spread, and still seems contained to the tumor, gives us hope. He’s the heart and soul of our family. He’s a protector and gentle older brother. We love him. And so we put our pride to the side and humbly ask for help for Sherman.

Thank you,

Kent, Nat, Sagan & Sherman