Support Toby's Fight Against Lymphoma

Toby is our 3 year old Corgi who was diagnosed with lymphoma in May 2024. We are raising money for his hospital bills and chemotherapy treatment. Please read below for the full story. Toby is considered to be in “partial remission” right now as he’s doing very well! We appreciate your support! ❤️

At the end of April/beginning of May, we noticed that Toby had a small cough. We thought maybe it was due to allergies, until May 5th when Toby didn’t eat his breakfast, didn’t want to walk, and was very lethargic. We took him to the vet the next day (Monday, May 6th) and an x-Ray was performed. The vet noticed a mass near Toby’s lungs, but thought maybe it was fluid due to pneumonia. We were sent home with medicine to treat pneumonia and were told to follow up with another appointment on Thursday, May 9th.

Monday-Thursday, Toby was very picky with his meals. He was also still lethargic. We returned to the vet on Thursday and they took another X-ray. The vet told us that the mass did not decrease in size, which lead them to believe that the mass was most likely a tumor. We were told that Toby was most likely nauseous from the pneumonia medicine, and to see a veterinary oncologist.

That Thursday afternoon, we called every oncologist in the area. Most places didn’t have an available consultation appointment until June. The earliest appointment we could get was for 6 days later at an ER/Veterinary specialist in Gaithersburg, Maryland - 1.5 hours from our home. We took the appointment, but we knew with Toby’s lack of appetite we needed to see someone fast.

We opted to drive to Gaithersburg that same night of Thursday, May 9th, hoping that an oncologist there would see him. X-Rays were sent over, the ER doctor examined Toby, and his x-Rays were shown to a radiologist. At this point, the oncologist had gone home for the night and did not examine Toby. The ER doctor and the radiologist confirmed that the mass in Toby’s chest was a tumor, and due to the large size, it was most likely cancer. They could not confirm the cancer until a CT scan was performed and a biopsy was done. At this point, Toby’s vitals were normal and his bloodwork looked good, so we were told to return for his appointment on May 15th.

The next day and all throughout the weekend, Toby’s breathing began to worsen, to the point where every breath sounded like snoring. Sometimes he would take fast and short breaths, but we were able to calm him down. At this point he was only drinking water and had not eaten a full regular meal since Tuesday.

On Sunday, May 12th, Toby took a turn for the worst. He was lying on the couch sleeping when he woke up and began to hyperventilate. We couldn’t get him to calm down, and he began foaming at the mouth. We drove 30 minutes to the closest animal ER in York, PA. I held Toby in the front passenger seat as he struggled to breathe - it felt like the longest drive of our lives.

Upon arrival the vet immediately put Toby on oxygen and said that his oxygen levels were at 87%. They gave him a sedative to calm him down, and began calling all the animal hospitals in the area that offered oncology. They explained that Toby would need to stay overnight (on oxygen), and that he needed a CT scan right away so that he could be properly diagnosed and treated. Gaithersburg, where we had visited on Thursday, was the best option as they could keep Toby overnight and give him a CT scan the next day (Monday, May 13th).

We drove Toby from the ER in York 1.5 hours to Gaithersburg, where he stayed overnight on oxygen. The next day, May 14th, we received a call from the oncologist, stating that Toby was doing well. They were going to proceed with the CT scan and do a biopsy. The oncologist called us that evening and reported that Toby had a large cranial mediastinal mass, caused by large cell lymphoma. She suggested that they monitor Toby again overnight on oxygen and try to get him to eat.

The next morning, the oncologist called us to discuss chemotherapy as treatment. She explained that lymphoma responds very well to chemotherapy, and that 90% of dogs become cancer free after treatment. The downside, was that there is no “cure” for lymphoma, and that the cancer has a habit of returning within 6-12 months after treatment. Despite the odds, we knew we couldn’t give up on Toby and we had to try everything we could.

The doctors were able to give Toby an initial chemo treatment that shrank the mass in his chest by 20% in only 12-72 hours. This allowed him to breathe on his own and come home with us on Tuesday, May 14th after spending 2 nights in the hospital. We were asked to pay roughly $10,000 in hospital bills, with no payment plan options.

Since May 14th, Toby has had 4 chemo treatments. There are 16 treatments total over the course of 25 weeks, totaling around $10,000, in addition to the cost of more x-Rays and any medicine Toby may need. We know we have a long road ahead of us, but we are so happy to have our Toby back again and doing so well. We thought we would never see the old Toby again, but he is back to eating, walking, and (loudly) barking. Our goal is to take it day by day and enjoy every moment with him.

Thank you everyone for your support and we will continue to provide updates on Toby’s journey. If you know Toby personally, you know he’s too stubborn to let this cancer win!

Here is a rundown of all our costs (so far). We’ve discussed that we want to be completely transparent with everyone wishing to support Toby on his journey

$493.80 = Vet appointments/x-Rays

$910.30 = Gaithersburg ER (Thursday, May 9th)

$349.60 = York ER (Sunday, May 12th)

$4,215.00 = ER Night #1 (Sunday, May 12th)

$5,792.57 = ER Night #2 (Monday, May 13th)

$503.87 = 1st chemo (Tuesday, May 21st)

$517.54 = 2nd chemo (Thursday, May 30th)

$622.50 = 3rd chemo (Wednesday, June 5th)

$947.62 = 4th chemo (Thursday, June 13th)

TOTAL AS OF 6/13: $14,352.80

REMAINING TREATMENTS: 12 / 16