Meet Honey, This is the poor soul Dumaguete Animal Sanctuary rescued today. Honey was dumped in severe condition with the biggest tumor on her face. Swollen and infection, she suffered this pain long time without any help. Day 1: We are with her now at Animal Wellness getting X-rays to find out if this mass is treatable.
Her initial blood tests showed normal organ functioning but she is anemic. She also tested positive for heartworm. We will put her on anti-inflammatory for 2 weeks and also work on raising her red blood cell count. Then she will need surgery and chemo. She has a good chance of a normal happy life! Day 2: We will need to do surgery to remove the mass, followed by chemo if it is cancerous.
It’s a complex surgery given the location of the mass so we will need to do it at animal wellness as they have gas anaesthesia, which will give honey the best chance of survival. Day 15: Before anyone comments that she hasn’t got anything to lie on, she keeps ripping up anything we put in and doesn’t want to lie on anything.
Her red blood cell count is still low so tomorrow morning she will have a transfusion. Then hopefully surgery will be done soon after. Day 17: Honey’s surgery has just begun. Here she is with Rina and Rudylyn just before she was sedated. The surgery will be done at Animal Wellness as we will use gas anaesthesia, it’s safer for more critical cases.
It’s going to be long and complex due to the position of the tumor so close to her brain. Please keep Honey in your thoughts. Day 19: Honey’s surgery was as successful as it could be given that the tumor had grown around so many of her facial and optical nerves. Unfortunately, nerves that control her left eyelid had to be cut and she is left with a slight droop.
The tumor was huge, and as a result the surgical wound is large. She is eating chicken which is a good sign. Day 21: Honey had to have her ear removed as the tumor had invaded too much of it. She will still be able to have a good quality of life without it. She is now eating a little on her own but her face is still swollen from the surgery, and inflammation so once that goes down we are hoping she will eat more.
She is still in the very early stages of recovery from such an invasive surgery, and each day she survives without complications, is a blessing. Day 25: So far she is recovering well and Doc Gama says she is ready to come back to the shelter. She is eating well and standing up which is great, though you can’t see much past the massive cone! Day 28: She is recovering well though still a little wobbly on her feet, likely adjusting to the loss of her ear.
She’s such a sweet friendly girl, despite all the struggles she has endured. It must be such a relief to have that huge tumor gone. Thank you to everyone who donated for her treatment. With the surgery, blood transfusion, multiple blood tests to keep a check on her organ functioning and red blood cell level.
Honey is such a good patient! Here she is this morning having her stitches removed. Day 32: We don’t know what her future holds as we are waiting for the results of the biopsy from her tumor. But whatever happens, she is currently very happy and not weighed down by that awful tumor. Thanks again everyone who sent their hard earned money to save her life.
Day 35: We took her back to Doc Gama yesterday to check on her healing progress. Day 43: Honey is doing really well. Here she is out enjoying a walk with Jack. Day 48: We just had the results of Honey’s tumor biopsied and unfortunately it’s malignant. The best chemo drug for the type of cancer she has is Doxorubicin.
We need to act fast to arrest the growth of any cancer still in Honey’s system. Day 53: Honey is in a serious situation. Her bleeding has slowed down but still continuing so she needs surgery, to remove her uterus and the tumors that are causing the bleeding. However, her redblood cell count is really low which means there is a high risk if we do the surgery.
We love this little girl – she is so sweet and has fought hard to survive. Day 55: She survived the surgery!!! Honey is still considered critical but she’s alive and waking up. she is eating and has a good appetite but as was the case before – she wont eat the clinic food – only chicken! Day 60: Honey is home from Animal Wellness!!! Day 70: Look at this brave brave girl. Honey has been through so much already.
When we removed the tumor from her head we knew it was likely she had more but we really wanted to give her a chance with chemo. Chemo is always a risk as it destroys healthy cells, weakens the immune system and when it breaks down tumors, the toxins can affect the kidneys. She is such a happy girl and recovered so quickly from her last two surgeries.
Day 72 Day 90: The amazing news is that the tumor in her vagina has shrunk by 60 percent since she started chemo and she has only had two sessions so far. She’s gaining weight and is generally in good spirits despite being on chemo It’s still tentative on her prognosis as chemo does affect the organs, but we have faith she will make a full recovery.
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