Daisy, our adorable Norwegian Elkhound, was diagnosed with Mast Cell Tumors, at the age of 2 that were found in two locations on her body. After her diagnosis the tumors were removed and the pathology report rated them Grade II, meaning they had a 44% chance of recurring. With early treatment and proper care, dogs with Grade II tumors have an excellent chance of survival. Thanks to the wonderful work of cancer researchers, early treatment, and the funding provided by the National Canine Cancer Foundation, at age 10 Daisy is a now 8 year cancer survivor. We are so grateful for the National Canine Cancer Foundation so all dogs can have the same chance for a long life. Daisy is now the national spokesdog for Canine Cancer Awareness with John Nelsen Moosedog Rescue Fund – Elkhound Rescue. In her Canine Cancer Awareness educational booklet Daisy says “My tumors may come back anytime. It could be tomorrow, in 10 years, or never – but it is very important that Mom check me frequently for so new growths can be caught before they spread…so be sure to check the skin on your dogs for lumps & bumps because you never know what they can be.” Daisy and I are so blessed that she remains cancer free so we can enjoy each & every day together.

Sunshine was diagnosed with Lymphoma March 1,2011 after losing her eye to a tumor. She was given 4-6 weeks to live. As she was 11 years old we decided against Chemo treatment and put her on natural supplements. She is now in her 14th month remission heading into her 15th! She is the light of my life and such a fighter! She has taught me to never give up hope.

Tucker was diagnosed with Anal Sac Andenocarcinoma in May of 2010. Our vet found a tumor the size of a golf ball when expressing his anal glands. The entire left anal sac was surgically removed. I decided to forego radiation therapy due to the side effects, being separated from his family and not much difference in prognosis with or without radiation. Our holistic vet changed his diet to range-fed meats with no dairy and no grains. He eats a veggie mash from raw veggies, also. He has bloodwork and an anal exam every 6 months. So far, so good. He is 11 years old and going strong. You would never know that he had cancer. Tucker is very special to me. He brought me out of my post cancer funk. So I returned the favor of taking care of my boy. We are survivors! The photo is from two years ago at the first Canines for the Cure Texas Agility Shoot-out!

Axel’s story begins over 3 years ago, when he began having collapsing episodes. He would just lay there, panting, not moving, or when he did move he would cry. Ever time i took him to the vet, i was told he just had an upset tummy. These 3 or 4 episodes passed relativity quickly, with only a few hours of down time. After countless trips to the E-vet my vet begin to think that i was being a hypochondriac. I was starting to wonder if i was myself, but i knew something was wrong. They did several blood test and X-rays and could only find a slight UTI. This was treated for months and months with antibiotics until one day on 12-12-09 Axel had another episode where he collapsed and was unresponsive. I walked in the door, he didnt get off the couch and i knew something was wrong. When he did stand up, after a lot of coaxing on my part, he immediately fell over, breathing hard and shallow, and then finally, became unresponsive. I called my E-vet, it was 130am, and he acted as if i was over reacting. After waiting an hour for the vet to get to the office, Axel was doing worse. His gums were pale and he was in complete shock. The vet had no idea what was wrong with him, ran some blood test, and found nothing out of the ordinary. I left axel overnight, not expecting to see him alive again. I got a call the next morning that axel was doing good, he was awake and responsive. They had done nothing to him except give him fluids. They did x-rays, ran more blood work and could not find any issues. The doctor thought that the UTI had went to his kidneys, even though blood work showed no infection. After a few days of recovery, Axel was back to his normal self again. A month went past before he had another small episode. At this point i was recommended to an internal specialist over an hour away from where i live. I took Axel to the specialist on March 15th, 2010 and within 15 minutes the Doctor told me that he had a tumor on his spleen. He told me that he was bleeding out occasionally, and that is why he was collapsing. He would bleed out and then reabsorb the blood, and be ok, until it was such a large rupture that he didnt recover. He also said he had a 50% chance of cancer. Axel had his spleen removed on March 15th, 2010 with no complications. He came home and was back to his normal self within a day. i got a call on March 19th from the doctor, confirming that he had stage 2 Hemangiosarcoma. I was devastated. I had been reading online about it, fearing that he would be diagnosed with it, and i knew that prognosis was very poor. We did IV chemo and oral chemo treatments, with more in the works, and i have switched over to low carb high protein and fat diet, with Fish oil, vitamin and Bone meal supplements. Axel is doing great. The chemo went well, and didnt affect him, in fact he LOVES going to the vet. It cost a lot of money and time, but its worth all of it to have him around. Axel gets bi yearly ultrasounds, the last ones which showed no signs of metastasis! He gets another one tomorrow, actually. He did have some complications from chemo and has some heart issues, which is is on sotilol for and almost back to normal. The vet did say that he would be in congestive heart failure within 6 months, and that was over a year ago as well, he is still going strong, and the meds seem to be working wonders for him. Every vet he has (and he has a lot) call him a “miracle” We’ve made it past our 2.5 year mark, which everyone said wouldnt happen. Each day is a blessing and is treated as so!

On January 20th, I found a lump on my 8yo border collie boy’s ribcage. Just eleven days later, on January 31st, he had three ribs and part of his sternum removed due to a tumor that exhibited both osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma characteristics. We declined chemotherapy, and supplemented with artemesinin and Hoxsey’s tincture. Two weeks after surgery, Curzon was cleared to swim and begin physical therapy. Four weeks after surgery, Curzon was cleared for full activity, including flyball. The surgeon said she’d never seen a recovery like his. 13 weeks after surgery, Curzon returned to flyball competition, turning in times in the 4.7 second range. We are now at 20 weeks post-op, 141 days survival when we were told that 90 days was the median survival rate that he’d be lucky to make, and Curzon is showing no signs of any metastases or recurrence. He ran in a tournament the first weekend of June, and will run in another this weekend. For those of you who are forced to deal with cancer in your canine companion, don’t give up hope – learn all you can, move as fast as you can, and keep your eye on your dog and you will make it through. ♥

Scooter (chihuahua) was 9 yrs old when diagnosed with synovial cell carcinoma of the left forearm. Scooter had licked his left forearm for at least one year and I was led to believe that he had arthritis. As a result, Scooter began to receive laser therapy to the left forearm. I noticed that his joint actually began to swell. With more diagnostics,it was discoverd that my beloved little boy had cancer. Immediately the next day we headed to the University of Illinois to meet with an oncologist. Dr’s at the U of I were near certain that the cancer would be “cured” with amputation. A few days later, my strong Scooter underwent his surgery. Following his surgery,numerous pathologists could not agree on the type of cancer Scooter indeed had. Scooter’s tests were sent to a Dr at the University of California who confirmed that Scooter indeed had synovial cell cancer and that amputation gave him the best prognosis. Scooter just celebrated his 10th Birthday! He is the love of my life and gives me great inspiration. He has adapted to his “tripod” life without any problems. He is greatly independent and does not want assistance in tackling stairs or jumping.He has adapted to chewing “chewies” and uses his right forearm to actually reach for items and pull them near him. He beat that stupid cancer and is a SURVIVOR!

My 6 year old toy poodle, Mickey, was diagnosed with mast cell cancer in Feb. 2012. He underwent 2 surgeries in 4days and then had an allergic reaction to the cancer which sent us to an oncologist.She told us this is a very rare reaction but gave us tons of hope. Mickey was on heavy duty meds for about a month and we were very afraid of loosing our best friend but for the grace of God and our vet Mickey is with us and was declared cancer free. There is hope and a cure will be found. Mickey will see the dr. in December but is he back to running and playing like always.God bless everyone who is helping to find a cure!

RCi is the epitome of a blessed angel that was put in my life for a reason. My RCi left me with her precious legacy that I have been carrying out since 2003 – she has enabled me to help other fur kids and give advice to their parents on what to do, where to start, what is next, etc. RCi was diagnosed with Fibroscarcoma (January 2003) and lived an amazing 34 months of a quality of life with no tumor removal, no chemo and no radiation treatment – we just could not subject her to the radical treatments that were prescribed and would compromise her quality of life, so we went a supplemental route, high in antioxidants (which we developed into a product APA Antioxidant Booster). We were shocking the white coats off a team of university oncologists with each month that passed and RCi continued living her quality of life with no side effects. Very little information and help was available on the internet back in 2003 about canine cancer. But because of RCi and her will to live, in addition, we were also dealing with the situation with my mother-in-law who had ovarian cancer. The both of them put my persistence into overdrive to do something, be proactive and take part in giving then a quality of life and encouraged me to spread the word to others via creating a website, so that they would not feel alone, lost or stuck in depression. Thus the entity of A’Dobe Angel was created in both their honors. www.adobeangel.com is chuck full of information, advice, testimonials and positivity! What is ironic or coincidental, is when I finally finished the A’Dobe Angel website in October 2005 and released it as a domain, I remember turning to RCi hugging her and saying, “Your website is done!” Within a couple of days, she decided it was her time to Cross the Rainbow Bridge, her mission was done and mine had just begun. Had RCi left me before I had finished the website, I don’t think that I could of finish it – the pain of her loss would of been too great and she knew this. I truly believe my RCi waited – she knew helping others would be the healing therapy for myself. Fast forward to the present, RCi and I have touched many, many lives. When ever I am contacted by a fur kid parent dealing with cancer, I know my angel RCi is the one who guided them to me for advice, and her halo gleams a little brighter and her angel wings are hugging my heart! Since Rci’s passing we have kept the rest of our pet crew on the APA Antioxidant Booster as a supplement in hopes as a preventative and have happy, healthy fur kids for a long time. Please take a moment to visit: www.adobeangel.com.

I saw a lump on Sammy’s belly while giving him a belly rub one day and thought it was odd. The next day I couldn’t find it, figured it was nothing and forgot about it. Weeks later it showed up again and I was worried. I flew to the vet and they did a FNA (fine needle aspiration) and they told me they saw malignant cells- a mast cell tumor. I started crying instantly and they thought I was crazy. Little did they know I lost my first dog to breast cancer and now here I was reliving the nightmare. They told me it was a mast cell tumor and they could remove it next week maybe; they weren’t concerned. Well I sure was. I spoke with the vet that owned the practice and he was so kind- he understood I was worried and even though his surgery schedule was full, he would stay late and remove it the next day. I was so grateful. He took wide margins and they came back clean. Sammy is healthy now- 10 yrs old, full of life and spunk. I am vigilant in checking him weekly for growths, go the vet every 3 months for checks, and every lump is aspirated and removed. He has 1 brother and 2 sisters now and I am so blessed. One of his sisters is a twin for Misty who I lost to breast cancer. And I am determined to make their lives the best they can be.

We adopted Gwen as a rescue in 2003 and in 2006 we found a small bump on her side belly – had it removed and nothing since then. One Friday night in January 2013 we found a huge lump on her belly the size of a baseball, bright red and tender. emergency trip to the vet to find out she had 4 mast cell tumors and four groups of fat cells. Ultrasound and chest x-ray were clear. Treated with Predesone shrunk two to nothing but surgically removed the other two. 8 rounds of chemo and rough spring and she is tumor free and happy. She has aged a bit from the ordeal but she is about 10 years old and starting to slow down. Gwen is my girl and still always by my side hopefully for a few more cancer free years.

Amanda W. abwhite8@gmail.com Hope Hope was diagnosed with a Mast Cell Tumor in August 2012. After discovering three masses, one of which had become very red and irritated, our veterinarian recommended surgery. Hope had her first surgery on August 13, 2012. Two weeks later, on August 28, 2012, we got the call from our veterinarian that the red and irritated mass on Hope right hind leg was a Mast Cell Tumor. Hope was immediately scheduled to go back to the veterinarian on September 4, 2012 to check for any additional masses. Four additional masses were found and Hope underwent surgery that same day to have them removed. Fortunately all were benign, but Hope’s story doesn’t end there. After a few days of recovery from the second surgery, Hope was ready to get back to her daily walks. On September 11, 2012, Hope, my boyfriend, and I set out for our usual evening walk, but Hope decided to go off trail for an adventure through the woods, as she love doing. As we got to a fallen tree that she normally jump right over, she stopped and would not move. I reached down and patted her on the side and told her “let’s go”, but instead of moving, she bent to smell of something and that’s when it happen…a copperhead that had been camouflaged from my boyfriend and I, struck Hope just behind the nose. We rushed Hope to the veterinarian and after a few days, she made a full recovery from the snake bite. Not long after the snake bite, Hope had another mass to come up, so it was back to the veterinarian. A fine needle aspiration was performed and the mass was diagnosed as a benign Lymphoma. We decided against surgery to remove it and inquired about naturopathic and holistic approaches for Hope. After contacting an acupuncturist and a holistic veterinarian, we began Hope on a daily regimen of Resvantage, probiotics, omega-3s, turmeric, and Nature’s Sunshine Immune Stimulator. It has been almost six months since Hope’s cancer diagnosis and she is doing great. Since starting her on the supplements, the mass on her chest that was diagnosed as the benign Lymphoma has gone from about the size of a baseball to about the size of a fifty cent piece. Hope will celebrate her 8th birthday on April 11, 2013, but she doesn’t seem to know it. She is walking 1.5 to 2 miles a day, playing with her toys, which she has done in years, and she has a great doggie sense of humor. UPDATE – October 10, 2014 Just wanted to give you an update on Hope. We had a big scare in August as we came up on her two year cancer free anniversary. We found three tumors in her chest area. Took her to our vet on Monday, August 25 and she was schedule for surgery that Friday. Our vet was worried after getting her opened when she found the three tumors were connected and one was very close to the jugular vein, she feared liposarcoma. After two days at the vet we were able to bring Hope home and she was not doing good…very weak and could barely stand and was very bruised because the surgery was so extensive. However, after a few more days Hope was back to her silly lab ways, as we continued to wait for biopsy results. Finally the call from or vet came the day before Hope went back to have her stitches removed, Hope was still cancer free 🙂 all three tumors were lipomas. It has been just over a month since Hope’s surgery and she is back out there saving the world from those vicious squirrels 🙂

My name is Bandit, and I’m a survivor. I was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in 2012. The vets at home said I didn’t have long to live without an operation on my nose to remove the tumor. The bad news was that I would have to go to Colorado Animal Hospital -CSU to have the operation. My mom was a mess, and my sister was out of the country. But they made arrangements to get me down to CSU. With much jetlag, my sister came home and took me and mom to CSU. They said that with the surgery I would be just fine. After some agony on mom and sister’s part they decided to go a head and do the surgery. This is my cute little face now. After the surgery, mom and sister beat themselves up over the decision. Had they done right by me? Were they being selfish? These were questions that they asked when judge-y people came to visit and saw me. But I’m really happy. I get to play, and sleep on the couch in front of the AC, and I get all kinds of treats! Mom doesn’t care that my black nose is missing, sister doesn’t care that my black nose is missing. And now I get to write to sick children in local hospitals in Colorado and encourage them while they are sick. I don’t have any top teeth anymore, but I still don’t mind smiling!

Good afternoon I have wonderful news to report…this is Nemo. He is a 7 year old Flat Coat Retriever who was diagnosed with a Grade II Mast Cell Tumor on his snout in Aug 2011. He had it removed with clean margins along with a lymph node & endured 8 rounds of chemo. Aug 2012, he had ANOTHER lymph node removed, followed again by ANOTHER 8 rounds of chemo. As of today, 2 years to the date of the tumor removal, HE IS CANCER FREE!!!!! We now will go to his oncologist every 6 months instead of 3!! I felt compelled to share his story to give folks hope.

My name is Tina and i have a 13 yr old pit bull mix name Scooby Dee. She was diagnosed 3 years ago with “Doggy Breast Cancer. The vet found 3 lumps and Scooby underwent surgery to have them removed, unfortunately when she went back for her 3 month check up…the cancer had returned and spread to all her mammary glands. She was now diagnosed with full blown mammary cancer. She can undergo another surgery which is a two part surgery but there is a 50/50 chance that the cancer has spread further. I will not put my baby through another surgery. She is not in any pain and doesnt know she is sick. She is my heart and i love her very much. I will not let my dog suffer but for now, there is no pain and the lumps arent getting any bigger. It’s hard to know that my “puppy” has cancer, which makes it more difficult because my sister has stage 4 breast cancer. It just doesnt seem fair. Thank you for taking the time to read mine and Scooby Dee’s story.

Hi! (For some reason, my people call me ‘Jack In The Chair’!) Jack Black is our wonderful lab mix who turned 9 in August 2013. After a large lump on his abdomen was removed April 2012, it was found to be fibroblastic sarcoma, intermediate stage. We opted for paliative care at home w/no chemo or radiation. He takes lots of supplements & 1 prescription antibiotic. Almost 18 months later and our precious boy is still with us.

Bear is my 7 year old Golden Retriever who likes swim, to love and to receive ‘rubbies.’ One day, I was lying on the bed holding Bear. She was lying on her back with her belly and legs facing the ceiling. I lied down next to her on the bed and started rubbing her belly and chest. As I was rubbing her chest area, I felt a little bump (size of my pinky nail) underneath her left armpit area. I thought it may be a fatty tumor, tried to ignore it and continued with my night. The next morning, my heart couldn’t let go of the thought of the bump, so I brought her into the vet. The vet aspirated the area, came back 5 minutes later and stated it was a Mast Cell Tumor (MCT). As I cried, Bear stood in front of my face and licked away my tears. She went into surgery 2 days later (Monday a.m.), the vet removed the MCT with 2 inch margin clearance. The MCT was 100% removed and that was about 2.5 yrs ago. Bear is our team sponsor every year for the Bark and Bowl.

At age 3, Maxwell developed a weird bump on his skin. My family took him into the vet. They did not know what it was. So the vet did a punch biopsy, it turned out it was skin cancer. They did surgery, and Max survived. Right now Maxwell does agility, flyball, and a little obedience. Thanks to me, noticing that bump, Max survived.

What a special day! December 31, 2013 marked the end of Brinkley’s battle with lymphoma! Throughout the last 6 months, she has been such a trooper through all the ups and downs of chemo, but that doesn’t surprise me one bit! Brinkley’s life started out full of turmoil and heartache as her first family tossed her aside, but she never gave up and over the last 4 years with us, her story has been rewritten with a much happier ending! She fought for a new beginning and won! She makes our hearts smile each and every day! I am overwhelmingly grateful my beautiful girl has survived, and I promise I will not take that for granted. I feel deeply for those who have lost their beloved furbabies, and I dedicate Brinkley’s Battle to each and every one of them! To everyone who has been a part of this journey: Much love, peace, and blessings to you all!

Hi Dazzle my Border Collie got the bad news on sept 27 2013 , started chemo on Oct 17 2013 and is in remission today. We are working on strength training to get her ready for agility regionals this June as chemo has weak end her rear end and legs. We are inspired by lucky’s story as Dazzle and I loved agility so much before this cancer, we do so hope we can do it again. Dazzle was 2nd last year in Regionals and 2nd again at Nationals in 2013….we have a large amount of friends encouraging us on we are going for it, we are living large after chemo, loving each day we have together.

McKenzie was diagnosed in January 2013 with Transitional Cell Carcinoma.After IMRT Radiation followed by chemotherapy we are now going strong 15 months post diagnosis! It has not been an easy ride many bumps in the road but the ride has been worth it!

Milo is my 16 yr old Jack Russell Terrier. He was diagnosed in 2008 with a sarcoma on his rear hock as well as a sarcoma in his chest. He underwent 19 radiation treatments as well as a lumpectomy at Cornell Companion Animal Hospital in Ithaca, NY. It was a tough battle but my Milo won. He is 6 yrs cancer free and going strong.

Meet Copper! Copper is an 8 1/2 Golden Retriever and is 1 year cancer free! Copper was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in his right rear leg in June of 2013. It was a devastating discovery. Since puppyhood, Copper has been my partner competing AKC obedience, rally, junior showmanship, and agility- winning multiple Grand Champion titles, AKC titles, and State fair placements- as well as creating an inseparable bond between dog and handler. After amputation and five rounds of chemotherapy, Copper is doing fantastic! It will be one year since his amputation next month and he still has the energy to play ball and jog by my side every single day. Life on three legs hasn’t slowed him down one bit!

My Iris has hemangiosarcoma. A tumor on her spleen ruptured 10 days ago. There were no symptoms. She been healthy for all of her nine years. She survived the surgery and complications, but has been giving a short time to live. Now, I am looking for other persons with information on this disease. I am looking for hope.

Tucker is a bichon and a puppy mill rescue we adopted in 2008. He is now 8 years old and has a few benign tumors and warts on his body. A new growth appeared recently and the vet agreed it was “suspicious and concerning”. Tucker had surgery the following week in which the growth was removed and biopsied. The vet called me with the news that the growth was cancer. I felt I had been punched in the stomach and began to cry. All my children are grown, so Tucker is my “baby”. Thankfully, Tucker had another visit and it was confirmed that all his margins are clear, and for now is cancer free. We don’t know if he will get it again, but he has been so amazing and such a happy guy after surgery and during his recovery, that we are enjoying every day we have together.

My Dog Kody a 10 1/2 year old white german shepherd was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma of the heart and received surgery on October 4th, 2014. He has since received 5 rounds of chemo and has done remarkedly well with the treatments. He has been on the I’m Yunity capsules since surgery. We are entering Month 6 with this disease and while I am thankful for everyday with him, in the back of my mind Im always wondering if this is my last day with him.