Please Help Lola Beat Cancer
Hello friends... I'm sure if you're reading this right now, that you already know me in some capacity... and that I am a crazy cat lady.
Lola is my oldest baby. She is 14. I got her when I was 21, so basically she has been through it all with me; all the crazy ups and downs spanning the entirety of my adult life.
In May, I noticed she was snoring and had a runny nose. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection which was treated with antibiotics. After a couple of weeks of this it was clear that the medication was not helping her symptoms. Additionally, she developed a bump on her nasal bridge. After taking her back to the vet it was recommended that she get a CT scan. It was a nightmare trying to get an appointment thanks to massive backlogs thanks to.... you guessed it... Covid. When she was finally able to see a radiologist, it was determined through the scan and a biopsy that she has a nasal tumor. Cancer! A far cry from a case of kitty-sinusitis. I still can't believe it and I don't know how such a precious little creature could turn up with such a terrible diagnosis...
Lola is so strong. Aside from a bit of wheezing and sneezing, her behavior is totally normal: sleeping all day/wreaking havoc all night/glaring at me judgmentally... you know typical kitty stuff. No, but in all seriousness, she eats, drinks, poops, plays, climbs, jumps, snuggles, hangs with her brother Kicsi and her BFF Atilla the gecko... She is just otherwise so healthy... It would be wrong to give up on her when she is so full of life.
Nasal cancer typically stays local, which means it has not spread and her lymph nodes are clear. Her blood work is good, lungs and kidneys functioning well. The tumor itself thankfully is very, very small! (although it still managed to damage her poor little nasal bone)
If it goes untreated, the prognosis is not good; she would have maybe 3-6 months.
There are two types of radiation routes to take in order to treat this.. one is a more palliative approach which is end-of-life care/ making her as comfortable in her final days as possible. The other is more aggressive, which will eliminate the tumor. I have decided that I will be going the more aggressive route because Lola is clearly not a dying cat. She is a healthy, very much alive cat, who has a tumor that we can prevent from killing her. I would never prolong her suffering if she were...
A lot of sacrifices have been made to make this happen.. I have canceled my summit to Kilimanjaro and have been working many extra hours, including delivering peoples groceries and selling my belongings to get together the money. A lot of what had to be covered up until this point has had to go on credit cards. I feel so weird even starting a gofundme but to the advice of many people who I love and respect, here I am.
Costs have already exceeded $17,000, and while I am never going to stop working my tail off to always make sure she gets everything she needs, I have to put my pride aside and admit I could use the help from anyone out there who loves animals, or has a dollar to spare towards a good cause.
Lola is not just a cat, she is my best friend, my baby and my whole world. She has been the most consistent thing in a chaotic life. She is so loved by me and my parents and we just can't imagine life without this sweet chonky girl. I will never give up on her.
Absolutely anything is appreciated, even if you can just spread the word on our special baby. I promise you that I would do it for any of you reading this right now, you can count on me for anything you ever need....
