My name is Hadley and George is my classroom’s fancy bear hamster. He is curious, friendly, cuddly, and adventurous.

Unfortunately, earlier this week we noticed a large lump on his side. The wonderful people at Colorado Exotic Animal Hospital let me know that it is a round cell tumor, growing quickly. After further conversation with them, it seems we have three options for his treatment:

1. Do nothing and let the tumor grow. It is already quite cumbersome for him and will continue to grow and may become necrotic. He may eventually need euthanasia at some point.

2. Opt in for surgery to remove the tumor. The tumor may be malignant and spread to organs like his spleen, but we can do our best to keep him comfortable and cared for.

3. Opt in for surgery to remove the tumor, send the biopsy to a lab to determine if it is malignant, and proceed with further care.

I believe the most ethical thing to do is to proceed with option 2, which costs far more than what I can afford. For transparency, I have attached his discharge papers and treatment plan with prices; it would be around 1400 dollars. Please give what you can to keep our beloved George happy and comfortable. I will post updates on his treatment here! Thank you so much for reading and caring about our George.

Hadley