Mika Husky's Cancer Journey

Hello Everyone thanks for looking into Mika's story —

Mika is a 7 year female Siberian Husky that really thinks she is a human. She is friendly, playful, happy, talkative, loving, and everything else that we look for in a doggy. She is my world. If anyone has met Mika and has been able to absorb her love and good energy, then you know how special she is!

In March of 2022, I noticed a very large and strange-looking tumor on Mika's back right leg, on the front side, just above where the foot connects. It popped up fast and out of nowhere, sometime within 2-3 weeks. I scratch Mika’s legs every night and failed to notice it. At the beginning of February, she went to her yearly groomer session and they did not notice anything, then at the beginning of March, we brought her to her yearly vet checkup and they did not notice anything either. Like I’m not kidding, this thing popped up so fast, we all missed it. She also hasn’t been acting any different, she wasn’t messing with it or acting sick, nothing out of the ordinary. Still very playful, lots of energy, excited for walks, etc. 

After I noticed it, I called our vet the next day and brought her in the following day. They did a needle aspirate and were able to determine on-site that it was a Mast Cell Tumor (MCTs) and these tumors are not good news, they are aggressive and cancerous. 

Our vet recommended that Mika is seen by a specialist at Blue Pearl Vet Hospital. On April 6th, we were able to get in to see a surgeon, we spoke of the disease and possible treatment routes. MCTs are hard because they are unpredictable and can’t be “graded” until the tumor is removed and sent for a biopsy. We decided to take another fine needle aspirate sample of the local lymph nodes to see if the MCT has spread (metastasized).

We finally got the results on April 18th and the news was not good news. They found the MCTs have begun to slightly spread into her lymph nodes but on a slight positive note, was caught early and in the initial stages of metastasis. This test was able to show us that this is a more aggressive case (Higher grade MCTs) therefore, we will need to take a more aggressive treatment path for the best prognosis. 

This aggressive treatment path includes: (Surgery —> Radiation —> Chemo)

Now I understand that this is an aggressive treatment for a dog but she is my baby and the only thing that's been by my side for the past 7 years. I have to do everything I can to save her life. This is why I'm reaching out to those who want to help to save Mika's life. If we go with the aggressive treatment, there's a positive outlook for Mika. It's going to be a long road and anything will help us eradicate this horrible disease from Mika's furry, loving body.

I appreciate you all taking the time to read our story and I am beyond grateful to those who are helping us get through this difficult time.