Luna’s Surgery

My name is Erin Mooney and I am raising money for my best friend Amanda Millions to afford life saving surgery for her dog Luna. Amanda is an incredibly generous and caring person who always rallies for those around her. If you know Amanda, you know she loves her dog more than anything else in the world. Amanda is a full time student facing a sudden and costly surgery, and any contribution as well as sharing this around would mean the world to her. I’ve included more details about Luna’s condition below.

A little over a month ago, Luna started excessively drinking water and having trouble controlling her bladder. After multiple vet visits including treating for (what we were hoping was) a UTI, blood panels, kidney tests, and an 8-hour blood test for Cushing's disease, Luna was referred to a specialist at the U of S College of Vet Medicine.

Two weeks later, April 16th, at her appointment at the WCVM, Luna had an abdominal and chest CT that revealed a very large cranial mediastinal mass - a tumour in the area between her lungs and next to her heart. The tumour is causing an increased calcium level in her blood that is putting strain on her kidneys, which is what caused the initial symptoms. A sample was taken from the tumour using ultrasound-guided needle aspiration to determine whether the mass was lymphoma or thymoma and how it should be treated. On April 17th, it was confirmed that the mass was thymoma (a tumour of the epithelial cells of the thymus) which requires surgery to remove it.

The surgeon at the U of S is able to operate on Luna as soon as tomorrow (April 18th), but is away for two weeks following that date. Due to the large size of the mass, Luna's doctor is concerned about the potential implications of waiting the two weeks. Luna is 8 years old, but is as energetic and playful as a puppy. Surgery is expected to buy another 2 years of time with her, whereas the survival time for this type of tumour if left untreated is typically a few months.