Help Max Beat Cancer By A Nose!
Donation protected
Max has nasal cancer.
Everytime I write that, I can't believe it. If you could see Max, you would not believe anything was wrong with him, except really bad allergies. He runs in circles, plays with other dogs, chases squirrels, eats voraciously, and begs to play tug-toy.
He is an adorable Beagle-Setter mix, so I call him a Better Dog. He just turned 9 years old in August and is as nutty and fun as ever. I can talk factually about his cancer all day long without shedding a tear, but I lose it when I see him chase a squirrel (always the optimist) or pulls me toward the fountains in my neighborhood park so he can splash through them. He has no idea he is sick.
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Our cancer ordeal all started in May when I saw a couple of blood droplets fall from his nose as we were walking. I ran him to the vet who said it was probably just allergies. Max has always been a sneezer - when he's excited or rolling in the grass or about to start barking. She said he probably just sneezed too much and burst a small blood vessel.
It wasn't until about July that he started to sneeze blood. A couple of times one day, then not again for a week or so. I took him back to the vet who sent me to an allergy specialist. Max also had a couple of toenails with growths on them, so we put him on anti-fungal meds and some Benadryl for a couple of months. The bloody sneezes stopped for awhile, but the toenails had no change. Then the sneezes came back.
We then went to an internist who performed a rhinoscopy on Max. We hoped that something was just stuck up his nose, but a biopsy told us otherwise. For $1200, I found that Max had cancer.
This is where the bills really started to pile up.
The internist sent us to an oncologist who took xrays - $500 - to see if the cancer had spread throughout his body (it had not). The next step was a CT Scan - $1300 - that was looking to see where exactly the cancer was in his nose and how invasive. It turns out that it has NOT broken through any bones and has not invaded anything but his nose (no eye, brain or sinus cavity invasion). He is perfectly healthy otherwise - no blood in the stomach nor is he anemic, both signs he's bleeding elsewhere.
Therefore, I chose the smaller of the two radiation treatment options (chemo and surgery are out due to the cancer's location) - I chose 10 doses over 2 weeks vs 21 doses over 7 weeks, for $3500 vs $5000.
So now we are at about $6,500, not including the $100-200 per office visit for the allergist, internist and oncologist. In addition, Max may need pain medication for a few weeks after the last treatment, plus we have a couple of follow up visits coming. I was just beginning to save money for a downpayment on house because I wanted a yard for Max...so I'm lucky to have a few thousand dollars to apply toward the vet bills.
I really struggled with this decision to treat him, but if you could see Max, you would know he is not ready to go. He really has no idea he is sick except for the sneezing and a little nose scratching.
He started his treatments last week, and he is doing very well. I had him back this weekend, and the sneezing was dramatically reduced and no blood at all. The pic above is of him in the park, just before I took him back (Monday AM, Oct 20) for his 2nd, and final, week of treatments.
The vet's office has been great. They let me see where he spends his days - with other doggie patient friends in a big room - and where he gets his treatments. They call every evening to tell me how he is doing.
In the meantime, we would really appreciate any help you can give. I am a consultant who works for myself, so my income is dependent on the hours I am able to work...it drops when I take time off, like now. I don't want to mislead that I'm destitute, but these bills have eaten up the cushion I had for any significant economic downturn. Therefore, the amount you see above is only about 1/3 of the current and expected bills.
Everytime I write that, I can't believe it. If you could see Max, you would not believe anything was wrong with him, except really bad allergies. He runs in circles, plays with other dogs, chases squirrels, eats voraciously, and begs to play tug-toy.
He is an adorable Beagle-Setter mix, so I call him a Better Dog. He just turned 9 years old in August and is as nutty and fun as ever. I can talk factually about his cancer all day long without shedding a tear, but I lose it when I see him chase a squirrel (always the optimist) or pulls me toward the fountains in my neighborhood park so he can splash through them. He has no idea he is sick.
--------
Our cancer ordeal all started in May when I saw a couple of blood droplets fall from his nose as we were walking. I ran him to the vet who said it was probably just allergies. Max has always been a sneezer - when he's excited or rolling in the grass or about to start barking. She said he probably just sneezed too much and burst a small blood vessel.
It wasn't until about July that he started to sneeze blood. A couple of times one day, then not again for a week or so. I took him back to the vet who sent me to an allergy specialist. Max also had a couple of toenails with growths on them, so we put him on anti-fungal meds and some Benadryl for a couple of months. The bloody sneezes stopped for awhile, but the toenails had no change. Then the sneezes came back.
We then went to an internist who performed a rhinoscopy on Max. We hoped that something was just stuck up his nose, but a biopsy told us otherwise. For $1200, I found that Max had cancer.
This is where the bills really started to pile up.
The internist sent us to an oncologist who took xrays - $500 - to see if the cancer had spread throughout his body (it had not). The next step was a CT Scan - $1300 - that was looking to see where exactly the cancer was in his nose and how invasive. It turns out that it has NOT broken through any bones and has not invaded anything but his nose (no eye, brain or sinus cavity invasion). He is perfectly healthy otherwise - no blood in the stomach nor is he anemic, both signs he's bleeding elsewhere.
Therefore, I chose the smaller of the two radiation treatment options (chemo and surgery are out due to the cancer's location) - I chose 10 doses over 2 weeks vs 21 doses over 7 weeks, for $3500 vs $5000.
So now we are at about $6,500, not including the $100-200 per office visit for the allergist, internist and oncologist. In addition, Max may need pain medication for a few weeks after the last treatment, plus we have a couple of follow up visits coming. I was just beginning to save money for a downpayment on house because I wanted a yard for Max...so I'm lucky to have a few thousand dollars to apply toward the vet bills.
I really struggled with this decision to treat him, but if you could see Max, you would know he is not ready to go. He really has no idea he is sick except for the sneezing and a little nose scratching.
He started his treatments last week, and he is doing very well. I had him back this weekend, and the sneezing was dramatically reduced and no blood at all. The pic above is of him in the park, just before I took him back (Monday AM, Oct 20) for his 2nd, and final, week of treatments.
The vet's office has been great. They let me see where he spends his days - with other doggie patient friends in a big room - and where he gets his treatments. They call every evening to tell me how he is doing.
In the meantime, we would really appreciate any help you can give. I am a consultant who works for myself, so my income is dependent on the hours I am able to work...it drops when I take time off, like now. I don't want to mislead that I'm destitute, but these bills have eaten up the cushion I had for any significant economic downturn. Therefore, the amount you see above is only about 1/3 of the current and expected bills.
Organizer
Juli R. Branson
Organizer
Addison, TX