[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=”” add_clearfix=”” children_same_height=”” margin_bottom_class=”” animation_type=”” animation_duration=”1″ animation_delay=”0″][vc_column width=”1/1″ margin_bottom_class=”” animation_type=”” animation_duration=”1″ animation_delay=”0″][vc_column_text]
Survivor Stories
These days dealing with canine cancer can be frightening. You have statistics. You have your Veterinarian explaining what the cancer can do and what the prognosis is.
We believe at times like this, one also needs HOPE. It’s our belief that the survivor stories on these pages will give you just that, HOPE that your sweet pup can win the battle.
Together, We Are The Cure
Would you like to share your survivor story for our supporters to give them hope. If so please email us at suggestions@wearethecure.org and please send your dogs story, name, your name and a picture.
Thank you
Gary Nice
Founder and President of the NCCF
Find all of our Survivor Stores pages at these links Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Gwen’s Story
By Nicole Gersper
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Hope’s Story
By Amanda W.
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 🙂
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Bandit ‘s Story
By Liz Marnell
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!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Nemo’s Story
By Bonita Layfield
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Scooby Dee’s Story
By Tina Morshed
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Jack Black’s Story
By Nancy
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Bear’s Story
By Ronda Sobel
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Maxwell’s Story
By Heather
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Brinkley’s Story
By Angela Jackson-Brunning
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!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Dazzle’s Story
By Mike Shortland
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
McKenzie’s Story
By Pam Dixon
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!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Milo’s Story
By Casey Boire
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.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Copper’s Story
By Danielle Miracle-Gray
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!
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=”” add_clearfix=”” children_same_height=”” margin_bottom_class=”” animation_type=”” animation_duration=”1″ animation_delay=”0″][vc_column width=”1/1″ margin_bottom_class=”” animation_type=”” animation_duration=”1″ animation_delay=”0″][vc_container][/vc_container][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Recent Comments