Kai Needs Radical Jaw Surgery for Aggressive Tumor

Hi, my name is Hannah and I'm trying to raise funds for testing and treatment for my German Shepherd mix dog, Kai.

Summary: Our 2-year-old rescue, Kai, has a cancerous tumor on the roof of his mouth that has made roots into the bone and requires radiation therapy and additional testing to fight the cancer cells. We cannot afford to pay for more testing after surgery, medications, and tests that we've already had done. We're asking for any help anyone can provide to us to ensure he has a fighting chance against cancer. Kai was rescued from being abandoned in the desert in March 2024, underweight and with emotional trauma from a previous abusive household. He is so full of love and is a gentle, sweet baby that just wants to be loved by everyone.

Ive attached photos of his biopsy results and the tumor in its current state on Dec 12th 2024. This is one month after surgery to remove the tumor, where he dug deep into the roof to remove it. It is quickly growing larger. I will receive results from the lab who performed the biopsy on the 23rd to see which cancer he's suffering with.

Full Details:

Back story of Kai first. I adopted him in May 2024 from a rescue who had found him underweight, abandoned in the desert, with obvious abuse trauma. He was about 45 pounds when we adopted him; right now he's a healthy 69 pounds. He bonded to me immediately and treats me as his mommy; he's literally attached at my hip as much as possible. I'm his emotional support human. He was abandoned at about 1.5 years old in March. We recently celebrated his 2nd birthday in October.

We'd taken him to a vet shortly after adoption to get an overall health check because I'd noticed a growth on the roof of his mouth. The vet we took him to said he was healthy and wasn't concerned about the growth.

In November, I happened to see it have a hole, like it was punctured, maybe by his sister Delilah during playtime. We adopted her to be his playmate back in October. We kept an eye on it and a week later he had bloody drool during a nap and the growth had swollen up like it was infected. I rushed him to an emergency vet (we're 1.5 hours away from one) and they had to perform surgery to extract it. We found out the growth would need to be sent out for testing, since it couldn't be fully removed. It had grown roots up into the bone (palate) of the roof of his mouth and the surgeon couldn't go any deeper than he did. We received confirmation on November 30th that it was cancerous and one of three types of cancer. I've ordered more tests to be done to determine which cancer it is.

We contacted an oncologist who specializes in radiation therapy, which is needed for mouth cancers. She needs more tests to be run, including CT scans for his head and abdomen and examining his lymph nodes to see if the cancer has spread, where else it is, and how bad it is. After that, she can give us a more detailed treatment plan and prognosis. Right now, after the $3,400 I've already paid out, it's another $3,400 to perform these additional tests. To do low-dose radiation therapy is $6,000 for the treatments. For the high-dose radiation therapy, it's $11,000. If it is melanoma, there are vaccines we could give him that would continue to slow down the cancer cells. I find out on December 23rd just what kind of cancer we're facing for Kai. It'll give us a better idea of how to fight it.

Right now, I can't afford to do the CT testing nor can I afford to pay for therapy or possible future treatments/medications. We do not have pet insurance and they wouldn't take us with cancer being a pre-existing condition. Our doctor said that Kai's cancer cells are high and the tumor is aggressive. With the way he's been acting this week, and looking at the surgical site, we believe his tumor is already growing back. We need to get him into the doctor as soon as possible.

Our doctor's top priority is to ensure Kai's comfort and quality of life are as high as can be. We, as a family, are wanting to make sure he's as spoiled, loved, cared for, and comfortable as we can make him, for however long we can help him fight this cancer. I'm asking for any help, to get him his testing and treatment and to provide him with the medications he needs. If you're not able to donate, if you could please share his story. I'm one of those kinds of people who do not like attention and does not ever want something I post on social media to go viral. This... for Kai, I'm willing and okay with it to happen. It's not fair to Kai to be cheated out of a long and healthy life he deserves, especially after the life he led before being rescued. I swore when I adopted him I'd give him the best possible life I could. He's the sweetest, gentlest, goofiest dog I've ever had and cancer just... sucks...

I will continue to post updates here on his health, results, treatments, and anything else requested about him for everyone. I will also make sure to post lots of photos of him while we navigate these unknown waters.

Funds will be used first to pay for the cost of testing which is $3400. This is for sedating, CT use, full body CT scans, lymph checking.

If I'm able to raise more funds than that, it'll be going towards being able to pay for his radiation therapy. If we're unable to pay for the radiation therapy, the oncologist said there would be no reason to pay for all the above testing. So if there's no way I can get the funding for radiation, I'll have to find a medical oncologist who's willing to take on his case and would be willing to find alternatives to radiation to try to save him. If I'm unable to do that for him, the funds will be going towards his medications and making sure he's as comfortable and pain free as can be as long as can be until the end.