Hi there, my name is Simone and some of you may know me as Patchy’s mum. I adopted Patch in 2021 and since then we have been inseparable.

Most of you may know Patch aka Mr Patch from his Instagram, through his account we’ve been so fortunate to meet so many wonderful people from across the globe who also share a love for Greyhounds.

In September this year, Patch had extreme abdominal pain and spent two days in the ICU. A CT scan showed a blood clot in his abdominal cavity, at the time it was determined he had likely torn his iliopsoas muscle.

A month later he was again in pain and a second CT scan devastatingly revealed the blood clot had been hiding a tumour attached to his iliopsoas and it had doubled in size between scans.

At the time I was given the option of taking Patch home to begin palliative care or to proceed with surgery to remove the mass and follow up chemotherapy. I was warned however that this may still only give us a couple of months together.

The following day Patch underwent surgery and the mass was sent off to Pathology to determine the type of cancer.

I made this decision keeping in mind Patch is only 7 years old and up until this point has been healthy and happy since being rescued. I truly believe he deserves so many more years of love and safety.

Unfortunately Patch’s recovery didn’t go smoothly and he spent an additional three days in the ICU and lost a worrying amount of weight. Since being back home I have been syringe and hand feeding him to ensure he is well enough to receive chemotherapy.

The initial pathology report confirmed the mass was a sarcoma but not the specific type. As all vets I had consulted with suspected Hemangiosarcoma — a very aggressive cancer with a very short survival time even with surgery and chemotherapy, further tests we undertaken, however these too have not completely confirmed what type of cancer it is. Due to the location of the tumour, clean margins were not obtained during surgery and the tumour is aggressive in nature, meaning the chances of it either reoccurring or spreading is much higher.

I have consulted with two oncologists, both of which plan to treat the cancer as a Soft Tissue Sarcoma, using a combination of IV chemotherapy followed by oral chemotherapy. I have also decided to undertake immunotherapy which involves using Dr Chris Weir’s vaccine using Patch’s tumor cells in the hopes it will help Patch fight the remaining cancer cells within his body.

To date I have had Pet Insurance which has thankfully covered 80% of costs. However my policy renewed on 26 August this year, and since this nightmare began only 2 months ago I have already exhausted my $25,000 benefit limit. This means my insurance essentially won’t be available to use again until August 2026.

Having always had insurance, never did I expect I would find myself in this position because I naively believed I couldn’t possibly use the entire benefit limit in a single year. But here I am.

Patch’s upcoming treatment is expected to cost approximately $1,300 per cycle and a minimum of two additional CT scans which are approximately $3,000 each. This doesn’t cover the additional supplements or physiotherapy Patch will need following surgery and his weight loss. I am hoping to raise enough to help ease the financial pressure until my insurance kicks in again.

I hesitated to make this request because I am very aware of how hard everyone has it financially at the moment and I understand not everyone will be in a position to donate. However if you are I would be forever grateful.

Patch has been a constant in my life for just over four years. 2025 has been a very challenging year for me on a personal level but I have always felt I can get through anything with Patchy by my side, so to receive this diagnosis has been so crushing. I also have a number of chronic health conditions and Patch has always been there for me - especially when I need an afternoon nap. I was booked to have surgery myself within the next month however I have postponed this so I can care for Patch.

If you can spare even the smallest amount, it would make the world of difference to us, if that is not an option, sharing Patch’s story would also be so appreciated.

Thank you so much for reading our story and thank you to everyone for all of your love, support and well wishes during this very difficult time.

Love,

Simone and Patch