Roman

About the Campaign

Roman is a 10-year-old male Puggle who had surgery two and a half weeks ago to remove a grade 3 mast cell tumor, an aggressive form of skin cancer in dogs. The surgery did not get clean margins, meaning cancer cells remain at the edges of where the tumor was. His vets have recommended vinblastine chemotherapy to go after what is left and give him the best chance at remission, and it needs to start right away.

Lisa first noticed a small ball under Roman’s skin about two years ago. Over the next six months it grew and turned squishy, and the vet at the time said it looked like it might be lymphoma but to leave it alone if it was not bothering him. That was a mistake. About six weeks ago it exploded, growing fast and leaking fluid and pus. She rushed him to the emergency vet in Waldorf, who sent him on to a specialty hospital for surgery. Roman came through it well. What he needs now is the chemotherapy that makes the surgery count. Lisa is comparing prices at clinics that administer chemo and has an appointment next week to get him started.

Roman was Lisa’s son’s first dog. They drove to a small family breeder in Pennsylvania, met the mother, and were told to pick out their puppy. They chose Roman, who turned out to be the runt of the litter and looked it. Lisa says they fell together right away, and she has never had a dog with this much personality. He has been healthy his whole life until now, and he is the only pet in the house.

Lisa has already put everything she had into Roman’s surgery. Her pet insurance benefit for the year is used up, and her credit is maxed out, so even though he is insured, the chemotherapy is not covered. She lives on SSDI and a small pension from her years as a Safeway cashier.

Grade 3 mast cell tumors are serious, but chemotherapy after surgery is the standard next step and has a good success rate. Donations will cover his oncology consultation, bloodwork, the vinblastine chemotherapy course, anti-nausea and supportive medication, and monitoring visits during treatment. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Below is the estimate for one chemo session, he will need multiple, click to enlarge: