Sumi

About the Campaign

Sumi is an 8-year-old female Siamese with mammary cancer. Her vet has recommended a lumpectomy to remove the tumor. A full mastectomy and chemotherapy would give her the best odds, but her owner Tessa cannot afford them, so the plan is to take out the tumor and give Sumi the best chance the family can manage. Tessa has already gathered $1,000 from private donors and her local humane society.

About a month ago, Tessa was giving Sumi one of the belly rubs she loves and felt a lump the size of a finger. It had appeared quickly and was hard. Tessa knew that mammary tumors in cats are rarely benign, made an appointment right away, and saw the vet three days later. The vet also suspects that Sumi’s spay left a small piece of ovarian tissue behind, since she still goes into heat occasionally; the hormones from that tissue are a known driver of mammary cancer in cats. The vet is holding off on addressing it because of her condition. Without treatment, this cancer spreads, and the prognosis is poor.

Sumi came into the family eight years ago through a Craigslist listing. Tessa was browsing cats without really planning to get one until she read that Sumi had been left without a home for a couple of months. They decided they needed each other and Sumi was adopted! She is the family’s only pet.

Tessa is a stay-at-home mom to 2-year-old and 10-year-old. She worked at Amazon until her husband Cole, 35, took over as the earner. Cole served in the Army honor guard at Arlington and now works for a security systems company; he also lives with FSHD, a degenerative muscle disease. The family spent years on food stamps and Medicaid and only got off them this past year. They are making it work, barely, and a cancer surgery on top of that is more than they can have access too, though they have worked hard rounding up funding for Sumi!

The family has worked hard raising what they could. Donations will cover Sumi’s bloodwork, chest x-rays to check for spread, anesthesia, the lumpectomy, biopsy of the tumor, pain medication, and follow-up care. All donations are paid only to the veterinarian. Estimate below, click to enlarge: