
Meech Peech's Journey to Removing Pulmonary Carcinoma
Donation protected
Update: Unfortunately, we weren't able to raise/save enough funds for surgical removal. We had an appointment with the oncologist today, and given that he is still asymptomatic, we opted for blood work and other lab tests to get him approved for chemotherapy. Starting today, Meech will be taking Palladia 3x a week. This can either shrink the mass or maintain its size to prevent it from metastasizing. We took this route with the hope of revisiting the option to remove it if we are in a better financial state. The visit today alone was $720. I wanted to express my thanks to you all for sharing and donating!!! I will continue to share this in hopes of raising more for this ongoing journey. I could never say enough just how much it means to me to everyone that helped/helps. Financially, emotionally, ALL OF IT. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hey yall. My name is Rachael Richmond.
As a lot of you know, I've always been a cat person. In fact, I have always had a love for just about every animal.
One in particular being my cat Meech. Meech has always had quite the unique personality. The biggest one being that he is the biggest momma's boy in fur baby form. He is the epitome of a cat with all the anxiety attributes combined into his spicy personality mixed with all the humorous and boisterous tendencies. He loves his time in sunshine, his cuddles in bed, and just acting flat out goofy (my boyfriend is convinced he's a cat pretending to be a cat).
This feline has tagged along with me through all my life journeys starting out in college riding out all the heartbreaks, the exam stresses, the different roommates, to moving across country from Mississippi to Utah to be closer to my family. He's been there for me from my darkest times in my life to the celebrations, big and small. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old to his now sweet age of almost 14.
We were initially going in for just a routine check up along with some vaccinations and some thorough blood work to make sure everything was in place. The vet recommended I do an X-ray due to his inappropriate urinating (peeing in my bedroom dude? come on). They further inspected and noticed a mass right next to his heart. We were referred to a radiologist to define whether it had anything to do with his lymph nodes or not. Unfortunately, they confirmed with us that the mass they detected was indeed Pulmonary Carcinoma. To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement.
To some people, animals are pets. But to some, they are family. Meech has been my ride or die, and I can't fathom even thinking of deciding to not do anything about it. The worst news is that I am not in the financial state to be able to resolve this immediately.
Meech's vitals and overall health look exceptional for his age amidst the cancer. He is in the stages where the mass is small enough to attempt surgical removal. The process entails a CT Scan of $1,500 following a surgical removal costing roughly $5000. The vet gave me a 4-6 week window to have this procedure performed as a viable option. If we can't continue with the removal, he will be referred to an oncologist to look over options with chemotherapy.
Regardless, it is with a huge strike on my pride that I ask for any assistance much less monetary help. I understand that everyone has their own obligations to tend to in life. I guess this is my attempt to reach out and say that I need financial help. Even a single dollar would make it that much closer to feeling like I've done something for this cat the way he's done so much for me in companionship. To say I would appreciate it is not even close to how I feel. To have the opportunity to have shared a love with an animal this immensely makes it incredibly hard to just give up. For anyone to take the time to even be empathetic of this situation has my gratitude and all my love.
If unable to donate, spreading the word, sharing this, anything would be overwhelmingly appreciated. I hope to reciprocate to those who even take the time to read this.
My love for this cat is undying. I just don't want him to go before he has to.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you.
Organizer

Rachael Richmond
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT