Treating Ragnar's Tumor

Ragnar has a tumor. You may already know this, if you've seen us at work or hung out with us lately. It's slowing him down, making him blind in one eye, and will kill him if we don't treat it.

The treatment has a 70% chance of success for tumors like his, and our vet thinks he's otherwise in pretty good shape. He's got good odds, if we start soon. What we don't have, however, is the budget to pay for it. The MRI alone will cost $2,000. Treatment will cost about $3000. So, $5,000 overall. Every bit helps.

He's a great dog and has been my closest companion since 2011. A lot of you have met him, played with him, hugged him, or scratched his butt at some point. Some of you have named him our team mascot. I hate to ask, but I'm hoping you'll help us.

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What Ragnar Means to Me:

He's my best friend, the reason I drag myself out of bed when I'm depressed or anxious. He is goofy and lovable and reliable and absolutely determined that he fits in my lap.

Ragnar is my emotional support animal. He travels with me, goes to therapy with me, works overtime with me, and keeps the bed warm.

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Ragnar's Condition:

Ragnar has Cushing's disease, which is most likely caused by a pituitary tumor. The tumor itself is probably benign, but it's getting bigger and starting to press on his optic nerve, hence the partial blindness.  He's also starting to stumble and go in circles. These tumors are known to cause seizures, loss of appetite, behavioral changes, and pain.

We need to confirm the presence of the tumor and start him on radiation. (There's a chance something else is the source of the problem, but the tumor is the most likely). There have been studies showing excellent outcomes for dogs with pituitary macroadenomas (the tumor); one cited a median survival of 43.6 months following treatment while another cited a mean survival of 46 months (or 1405 days).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1800960/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2007.tb03060.x/pdf

One potential plus is that the treatment may also help control his Cushing's disease, though that seems to be a 50/50 proposition.