Help Korra Fight Her Battle Against Cancer

Tamitha Tindall is organizing this fundraiser.

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Korra needs your help. She developed the first signs of a lipoma just a couple of years after we adopted her in 2013, and our vet at the time reassured us that it was benign and it was best to leave it alone unless it bothered her. Over time it's grown and erupted, and on repeat visits ever few years we were reassured it was benign and that "at her age" it was best to do what we could to keep it clean and otherwise leave it alone. But it just never fully healed up.

In the middle of January my wife, our three cats and I moved from Kentucky to a small town in Central New York. It's taken time but we've settled in and it's started to feel like home. But by the start of April, her mass had grown & took on a sickly quality and smelled like rotted meat. It was obvious it was infected and we called to make an appointment at the vet's office. Maybe because it's a smaller area, the first available appointment was almost two weeks in. We did what we could to clean the area, to hold back the infection but our proud kitty became a bit more lethargic and started sleeping more and more.

I took a "long lunch" from work Thursday to take her in. The smell had faded and I was hopeful for news that it was *just* an infection and that she was on the mend. After taking a small biopsy the doctor came back in and said she had a large amount of white blood cells and that her infection was very much still active. But even worse, there were signs of a "multi-cell tumor".

We immediately asked about surgery and asked for an estimate for the costs and care. The veterinarian warned us that at 13 it's possible she wouldn't wake from the anesthesia. And even if she did, if they didn't find and excise *all* of the cancerous material it could come back stronger, and faster. All my wife and I have are our cats. After more than a decade in our lives, they *are* our babies. We asked again for the estimate.

We were provided with a "low amount", if we're able to get her records from the 2 vets back in Kentucky and if she was up to date on her shots and tests and a "high amount", if we aren't able to get the records or if she's missing any shots. Having moved half way across the country just a couple of months ago, we don't have anything in savings. We both tried for CareCredit and were denied. We have two options in front of us. Fight the infection and let her live as best she can until the cancer becomes too much... or ask for help.

We know a surgery at her age is risky, but the doctor says her lungs are clear, there's no fluid around her internal organs and best of all the tumor seems to be on top of the muscle. We've started her on antibiotics to fight the infection, and she's such a good girl. She doesn't complain a bit when we're shaving the fur from her belly, or when we're cleaning the mass.