Zoya’s Cancer Fund

Just over a decade later, on Tuesday, July 28th, Zoya was admitted to the hospital for lethargy, dehydration, inappetance, and a high fever. On Wednesday, the hospital’s internal medicine team found a mass on her spleen that required emergency surgery to remove her spleen, and it was immediately sent to the lab for biopsy. After a couple of days in the hospital, she returned home to heal up and wait for the test results. Miraculously, her appetite had returned, and she seemed more and more herself each day. 

Then, on Tuesday, August 4th, just one week later, our worst fears came to pass when the biopsy results confirmed the mass on her spleen was hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive malignant cancer with a devastating prognosis. Without treatment, she likely has only 90 days to live. 



While hemangiosarcoma is ultimately considered terminal, the “average” prognosis is based on the usual circumstances for diagnosis: dogs display few to no symptoms until a tumor ruptures and bleeds internally, causing cancer cells to spread through the abdomen rapidly. By this point, metastasis is almost certainly guaranteed, and since it moves so quickly, there is little hope for recovery. 

However, in Zoya’s case, we were lucky. We found the tumor, and it was removed before it ruptured. The surgeon found no visible signs of metastasis in her other organs, which she said all looked “beautiful.” Since she was diagnosed at such an early stage, we have the rare chance to explore several promising new treatment options that could extend her life well beyond the year she would likely have with standard chemotherapy.



That said, treatment is expensive, and we already owe close to $10,000 for surgery and emergency bills. Her oncologist is hopeful that with combined chemotherapy and an innovative molecular targeting approach that is now used as standard of care in treatment of human cancers, she could be the rare exception to the dismal prognosis.

It is hard to overstate the devastation and hopelessness I feel. In a time when so many are suffering, our families are often our only source of comfort. I believe wholeheartedly that you have two families -- the one you are born with, and the one you choose. Zoya is as much my family as any human, and, if I’m being honest, more than most. From college graduation to global pandemic, she has been by my side through my entire adult life, and the thought of having to face the world without her is breaking my heart. But seeing her return to her happy, energetic self the last few days has given me renewed strength to keep fighting for her. 

By nature, we know when we bring our pets home that the contract we agree to with them is always too brief. For the boundless love and fulfillment they add to our lives, we pay the price of knowing there will be a time when we have to go on without them. Since the day she came home with me, my life has been for her. For most of the last ten years, it has been just the two of us. Far from home, roommates and boyfriends have come and gone, but we have always been a package deal. Through homelessness, unemployment, loneliness, and loss, she has been my greatest comfort and healing, and my reason to fight on. Through joys, celebrations, and success, new friends and new loves, she has been my confidante, my soulmate, and my whole heart. 


I know all too well the burden these dual pandemics we are living have placed on far too many people and their families. I know that cries for help in a time like this are bound to reach those who need help themselves. And I know that dogs’ lives are short. But I also know they are magical, and they deserve to be as full and as whole as they make ours just by being here. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her. 


If you are able to give any small amount, and believe me, every penny helps, I promise every cent will go directly toward Zoya’s medical bills. At this time, we are pursuing a standard course of chemotherapy, coupled with a promising experimental immunotherapy vaccine that has been shown to extend prognosis twice as long as chemotherapy alone. We are also interested in taking a holistic approach by pursuing herbal and cannabinoid treatments for comfort and to help with any side effects from chemotherapy. Any funds we receive that exceed the cost of her treatment will be donated to organizations helping pups in need.



There are no bounds to my gratitude for each and every penny that comes our way. And there are no words to express how much it means to me that in the midst of coronavirus, racial inequity, rampant unemployment, healthcare workers, school teachers, and children left behind, explosions in cities, and communities coming together to create a better, more just future all on their own, you would find it in your heart to choose us. I can’t do it alone, but with your help, I hope we can save her. 


Thank you so, so much. 



Please see below for our vet bills so far. Thank you so much!! - Sasha and Zoya