Costs Pile Up For Redondo Family Trying To Save Dog With Cancer

REDONDO BEACH, CA – Dog owners love their dogs like they love their family. So when Jill Weintraub Klausen's pup Lola was diagnosed with cancer, they did what any dog lover would do, and got her the treatment she needed. Now, they're stuck with more than $10,000 in medical bills and are asking their community for help.

Lola had arthritis for multiple years, and received physical therapy and acupuncture to treat it. When the pain was too unbearable, Klausen wrote, they put her on Tramadol and Gabapentin, along with glucosamine, condroitin, MSM, turmeric powder, and Missing Link for joint health.

Last winter, Lola's elbow joint became very swollen, and that's when they got the bad news – cancer. The poor pup had histiocytic sarcoma, and the only treatment at that stage was an amputation. Lola is now a happy, recovering three-legged dog.

"Unfortunately, the doctor found cancer in a lymph node removed from her shoulder, so it's definitely elsewhere in her body," Klausen wrote. "But now the good news! Her chest x-rays were negative, the abdominal ultrasound was negative, and her CBC blood work was normal!"

Now, Lola is still not cancer free, it's still in there microscopically, she wrote. "That means we treat her with chemotherapy to zap those little buggers, and put her on some holistic treatments as well," Klausen said.

But the bills keep piling up – the family's savings account was drained and the credit cards are maxed out, she wrote. But because they love Lola so much, it was important for her to have the best quality of life.

"She's tolerating the chemo like a champ (so far, no side effects!) and really getting around well," Klausen wrote. "She's actually happier than we've seen her since this whole thing began."

Klausen set up a Go Fund Me account, asking the community to help donate towards Lola's medical treatments. The fundraiser hopes to raise $10,448.90 – just more than $300 has been donated so far.

To read more about Lola's story and to donate, visit the Go Fund Me page.

Go Fund Me is a Patch promotional partner; Images courtesy of the Go Fund Me