Hi guys,

For those of you who don't know us my name is Taylah, I am a 23-year-old dog mum and my furr child is Brax who is a 4-year-old American staffy. We live in Wollongong NSW

I currently work two jobs within the disability sector as well as studying a Bachelor in Nursing full time. This year in 2023 was meant to be the year I finished my nursing degree to become a Registered Nurse. However, due to current circumstances, I am having to consider deferring at this stage just to financially be able to cope and pay for all of Brax's health expenses.

Right before Christmas Brax and I received some bad health news that turned our world upside down. What began as a little scab on his skin developed into a lump and upon taking Brax to our vets we were told he would need surgery to remove what they suspected was a mast cell tumour.

After proceeding with the lump removal surgery (which cost $1800), a sample was sent off which showed the lump as being a cancerous (Grade 3) mast cell tumour. The next step was to determine if the Mast cell tumour had spread to nearby lymph nodes with a stomach ultrasound and samples of the lymph nodes (which cost $1200). With Brax only being 4-years-old and having no other health issues I was more than hopeful that this tumour was a one-time thing that got removed and everything would be okay.

However, on 8/1/23 I was notified by our vet that unfortunately, the mast cell tumour had spread to Brax's sentinel lymph node. Without treatment, I was informed that Brax's life expectancy would be 8-10 months so we were referred to an animal oncologist in Sydney.

On 12/1/23 Brax had his oncology consult which consisted of a few options, chemotherapy, invasive surgery and palliative options for him to enjoy the remainder of his days. Anyone who knows me personally knows how much love I have for my dog and the bond we share so palliative options (which felt like giving up) was not an option for us.

In conjunction with the oncologist, we decided the best course of action for Brax to give him a fighting chance was to commence chemotherapy. Brax will be receiving Chemotherapy for 3-6 months (which will cost $1300 each month) then we will assess how he responds to it and more importantly how the cancer cells respond.

Our ultimate goal would be for Brax to receive chemotherapy to fight the cancer cells and eventually end up in remission so he can continue living his best life not just for months but years.

I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of asking for money however thought it couldn't hurt for the people who know, love us and may want to help. Any donation would be appreciated as this will help Brax and I with the cost of chemotherapy and potential surgeries required over the next few months.

All our Love

Brax and Tay xx