Kuma’s Chance to Beat Cancer

Kuma is a 4 year old male Siberian Husky with the sweetest, most gentle temperament. I brought him home when he was 8 weeks old. He instantly bonded with my other husky, Kiera, and became a beloved member of my family. 

A little over a month ago my playful, energetic pup fell ill. He became lethargic and began vomiting every meal he ate, eventually losing his appetite entirely. I took him to the vet thinking it was a minor stomach bug. They gave him IV fluids, injections, ran some tests (including bloodwork and x-rays) and sent me home with antibiotics, anti-nausea medication, and prescription food. It appeared to help when he began eating again, but his improvement didn’t last long. He began vomiting again and would not eat. We went back to the vet and got more anti-nausea medication and IV fluids. At this point he had already lost 9lbs.

The vet referred me to a specialist to have an ultrasound done. The ultrasound revealed that he has inflammation in his small intestine that is not allowing much movement. The report also said it could potentially be cancer, but would need a biopsy to be certain. The primary vet decided to treat it as irritable bowel disease (IBD). He started Kuma on prednisone (steroid to reduce inflammation), flagyl, and changed his prescription diet to hydrolyzed protein kibble and cans. Again, Kuma appeared to be improving. The first week on the medication, he had an appetite again. But at the beginning of the second week (which was last week) his appetite had dwindled again. By the weekend he was vomiting again. I’ve been struggling, trying to get him to eat anything.

He’s so fluffy it’s hard to see how thin he is, but if you touch him you can feel all of his bones.

I took him to the vet today (7/8/20) for a recheck. He’s down another 8lbs for a total of 17lbs lost. He’s just skin and bones now. The vet gave me several other things to give him including an appetite stimulant, probiotics, and Cyclosporine (an immunomodulatory drug to help with IBD). And then he told me, “I think it may be cancer. We’re treating the IBD very aggressively and he isn’t improving.” They ran another blood test today and sent it to the lab for deeper analysis. If Kuma isn’t improving in a week, he’ll need an endoscopy and gut biopsy.

Cancer? CANCER?! When he said the word cancer, my ears started ringing, my chest felt tight, and I couldn’t see straight. This CAN’T be happening to my baby Kuma. I’m praying desperately that it isn’t, but trying to prepare myself for the worst. 

Both of my dogs have always been very healthy and I never expected anything like this to happen. If you know me at all you know I spoil my dogs and treat them like they are my children. I‘ll do anything and everything I can to make sure that Kuma is okay, but I’m already drowning in the cost of his medical expenses. Below are his invoices to date. It has cost over $2500 so far and the endoscopy and biopsy are going to cost several thousand more, not to mention the cost of treatment if it is confirmed to be cancer... I know many people are struggling financially in the midst of COVID-19 and I understand if you are unable to donate. But if you are able, please consider helping me with Kuma’s medical expenses. 

Thank you for your consideration and for taking the time to read this. If you are unable to provide financial support, I ask you to please support us in other ways. Please share this fundraiser to help get the word out and please please pray that Kuma recovers. ❤️

Invoices of costs incurred thus far:

Above were from the first vet visit.

Ultrasound report: