Help to Fund Lexi's Cancer Treatment

Last Updated: 18/02/2025

Hi everyone - my name is Georgina Howlett, and I'm the proud, adoring owner of a special cat called Lexi.

Lexi came to me in 2021 after I adopted her from her previous owner during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her previous home, she had been facing bullying and aggression from another cat, and was no longer happy there.

When taking her in, I was told she was around seven years old and had been found as a stray kitten. She had only ever been an indoor cat, and as such had not been taken to the vet very often. Thus, the first thing I did was register her with a vet and get her up-to-date with her vaccinations, as well as have her put through a full health check. At that time, she seemed perfectly healthy, but there was no guarantee of no underlying health conditions due to a lack of medical history. Due to this, I couldn't accurately fill in quotes for insurance and insurers wouldn't provide me with estimates, so I decided to set money aside instead in case of emergency for her.

Fast forward to March 2024, and I felt a lump near one of Lexi's nipples while stroking her belly one day. Ever the pessimist, I took her to the vets within weeks, and they agreed that this lump felt abnormal and should be surgically removed. I used my emergency funds to pay for this surgery, and thankfully, it was deemed a success. The lump was tested and identified as a benign cyst, and I was very relieved and glad that it wasn't cancerous. I thought that was the end of Lexi's troubles... but sadly, she has a talent for troublemaking!

By the middle of 2024, I had felt another two lumps rising under Lexi's belly fur - one again on a nipple, and the other nearby to one but on the other side. Again, I opted to surgically remove these and used a large portion of the redundancy payout I'd received from my past employer to fund it. I was lucky to have entered employment again by this time, and opted to use my money for her surgery over anything for myself.

These two lumps were then tested, and sadly, both came back as malignant cancerous tumours. Formally, Lexi's diagnosis is of intraductal papillary mammary carcinomas, which I have been told is a rarer type of mammary cancer in cats that usually affects older female cats.

Due to the complexity of the tumours and how they grow, I was referred to a specialist veterinary care centre - AURA, in Guildford - to investigate next steps for treatment. These have been/will be the following:

• Staging: A sequence of tests and scans, potentially including a CT scan, to identify how far the cancer has progressed and if it has metastasized to any other organs or local lymph nodes. I was quoted £3000-£3500 for this (if CT performed).
• Radical Surgery (mammary chain and gland removal): Provided that the cancer is still within treatable margins, Lexi will need to have her remaining nipples, mammary glands and related nodes removed in a sequence of (likely) two surgeries. Due to the increased complexity and range of these surgeries, the two together will cost £7000 (quoted by AURA).
• Chemotherapy: To finish the cancer off, and/or as preventative treatment, she will then need to undergo 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy, occurring every three weeks. Each session will cost between £500 and £700, meaning an expected cost of between £2000 (min) and £4200 (max).

By now, I have exhausted almost all of my personal emergency funds for Lexi, as well as all of my redundancy payout. I am fortunate to have a supportive network of friends and family around me who have agreed to help with affording the staging process and first surgery, but beyond this, my ability to afford the complex care she will need is in question. As such, I have decided to set up this fundraiser in the hope of pooling together the additional funds I will need to give Lexi her best chance of survival and to beat this terrible, rare cancer into the ground.

For transparency, the initial goal amount for this fundraiser was set around £3000 as I believed this would cover her surgeries if she should be eligible for them based on the cost of her previous surgeries. However, it has quickly become evident that this will not be enough due to the specialist treatment required and complex nature of the remaining treatment. As such, the goal amount has now been increased to £7000, which will cover both mastectomy surgeries. The true cost of the whole course of treatment will be close to £10000, so I hope to raise as much as possible to help with any potential additional costs.

If you are able to donate even a small amount to this fundraiser to support Lexi's treatment and recovery, I would be infinitely grateful. She is my first ever cat and personal pet, and I honestly don't know how I'd have coped without her for the last few years.

And I will, of course, supply as many photos of her loving life as possible. Thank you.

Here's one to tug on your heartstrings:

Thank you,

Georgina Howlett and Lexi