UPDATE 12-4-2011—

I want to write about my dog Senci. I just found out that she had cancer. Her cancer is called Peripheral Nerve Sheath Cancer.

One day, me and my mother noticed a lump on Senci’s side. At first we figured it was just a fatty cyst, because black labs are known for getting them. As time progressed, her lump got bigger and bigger. We still thought it was just a benign fatty cyst. We wanted to get the lump removed, so we had it removed. It costs us $500 dollars, which took us forever to save for. All seemed back to normal. Then we got the phone call. It was our veterinarian, Dr. Simmons. He told us the news that Senci’s lump was actually cancer, called Peripheral Nerve Sheath Cancer.

You never think that someone you love would get cancer, especially your dog. But my baby girl has it. And to completely get rid of it through radiation treatments, (which is her best option) will cost us $6,000 dollars. We don’t have that kind of money, and me and my mother struggle enough as it is. I don’t know what we are going to do. I’ve been looking at sites on the internet that give funds to people who can’t pay for their dogs cancer treatments, but they only give you so much money. My mother has sold all of her jewelery, even the jewels that has been passed down to her. I’d sell my soul if it meant I could keep my little baby alive and healthy. She’s the best dog anyone could ever ask for. She’s full of life and loves to play and at times I swear shes laughing. She’s an angel. And I can’t even save her.

Thank you,
— Karen

The CCA Board of Directors has allocated $1000 to help pay the costs of Senci’s treatments. Please help Senci receive the treatment that she needs. Any sponsor donations made on behalf of Senci will be used to pay unpaid invoices and the checks will be sent directly to Senci’s vet.

To help sponsor treatment, you can click on the PayPal donate button below or send a check to:

Canine Cancer Awareness, Inc.
44 Devoe Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

DONATIONS FOR SENCI:

Kelsey

UPDATE 8-17-09 —

On July 4, 2009, I found a baseball sized lump on my sweet Kelsey’s tail. I took Kelsey to the vet that next Monday and she felt that it was a seroma and drained some fluid out of it.  She didn’t see any strange cells and we proceeded to hope for it to go away.  Not even a week later on the 10th of July, it was bigger and we tried to drain it again.  This time, nothing would come out.  We scheduled an operation to drain and insert a drain tube in this mass and headed in for the operation.  When Dr. Teter got in there, she noted that this was a tumor and she sent out a biopsy (which I opted to have sent next day air because I couldn’t stand waiting for the results…I had a bad feeling).

Tuesday the 14th, we got the call.  It was a malignant nerve sheath tumor. I stopped breathing.  I cried.  I was angry.  I was scared.  We decided a chest x-ray was needed to see if there were any other masses on the lungs. This came back negative.

I got an appointment with a local surgeon, Dr. Johnson for a consultation to see if she could remove the mass.  She felt that Colorado State was our best option.  We made the long 9 hour drive to Colorado on the 7th of August and saw Dr. Ramesh Sivacolundhu.  He performed the surgery and, while Kelsey lost his tail, we got the call this past Saturday that the cancer is GONE!

Now we’ll go to the doctors every three months for follow ups and every six months for chest x-rays for the next two years.  A small price to pay to have the kisses and love of my sweet boy.

Cancer is a battle, but it can be won in some cases and throughout this, I’ve learned that it’s an ugly disease and has no concerns for how we feel about it.  BUT, we won and Kelsey is my sweet survivor!

Cody, Omaha, Nebraska