Help Oliver Get Surgery & Treatment

Oliver is my 11 year old cat and my pride and joy. She's my baby. We have been through so much over the years. She has had a lot of health issues. First, she had hyperthyroidism and had to get radiation to treat that. Then she was throwing up her food very often for years and was finally diagnosed with IBD. Then last October (2020), she suddenly out of nowhere went into kidney failure and almost died. Luckily, she survived, but was diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney disease. Since then, she's had to be on a special prescription diet, I have to give her pills daily, and I have to give her subQ fluids at home through an IV daily. (This will be for the rest of her life.) Even though she's dealt with all this, she's done so well and is a happy kitty.

Recently, I noticed a strange lump on her paw. I took her in to the vet and a cytology test was done. It turns out she has signs of melanoma in the mass on her toe.

Next I spoke with a cancer specialist (July 29th, 2021). She told me that what she has on her toe is so extremely rare in cats that they don't even have much info to go on. I can't believe it. They examined Oliver, took bloodwork, did x-rays, and did ultrasounds. The results are that it has not spread to the rest of her body yet, which is good news. We won't know exactly how bad the lump is and if it's cancerous or not unless it's surgically removed and a full biopsy is done.

The bottom line is, she needs her toe/the lump removed. If it's not removed, it will get larger and larger until she can't walk, and if it is in fact cancerous, it will spread. Because of Oliver's kidney disease, she is high risk for being put under anesthesia. It's not a huge risk, the specialist said there's about a 10% chance that something could go wrong. I believe it's worth taking that chance.

I asked the specialist what will happen if the surgery goes well. She said we won't really know much until the toe is removed and we get a biopsy back. But she said there's so little info to go on because of how rare this is. She said the cancer could eventually come back. Oliver's kidney disease is progressing and that could take her life too (it will eventually). But with the surgery, it gives her the best chance to live as long as possible. There's just no way to know how long she has.

The problem is, as you'd imagine, all of this is extremely expensive. The specialist told me the surgery and hospitalization will be around $5,000. The melanoma vaccine she will need four doses of (if it is indeed melanoma) will be around $4,000. The bill I just paid for the examination, x-rays, bloodwork, and ultrasounds was $1800 and the initial appointment with the vet when I brought Oliver in after noticing the lump cost me $450. Then of course there will be expensive follow-up appointments if the surgery goes well. It's all overwhelming... but I want to do whatever it takes to prolong Oliver's life if I can, because her quality of life right now is still great. She is not suffering or in any pain.

I never thought I'd ever make one of these donation things but I figure... why not. If there's ever a time for this, it's now. There's no pressure... if you want to contribute, that would be beyond incredible and it would mean the world to me. Even if it's $5, anything helps. You can also share and spread the word. Thank you for even reading this. Love you all and thank you for your support.