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#sashcancerhero: Will Denny: Luna

Published on December 1, 2022.

Story from #sashcancerhero: Will Denny: Luna

Luna’s story

We first met Luna at the Animal Welfare League in February 2019. She was 2 years old.

She had been found wandering the streets in Mawson Lakes. Knowing her like we do now, she must have been so scared, lonely and confused. We couldn’t imagine how she ended up in that position, but we were so grateful to the amazing people at the AWL for looking after her, and so glad we had found her.

She was such a sweet girl, and we immediately fell in love with her.

Luna instantly became a much-loved member of our family. She particularly loved her human brothers and they loved her right back.

Luna is a big girl, weighing in at around 45kg, but she has never understood her size. She sometimes thinks/wishes she was a lap dog.

She loves walks, trips to the beach, visiting the skatepark with her brothers and, well, anything really, as long as she’s with her family.

Luna doesn’t like it when we try to go on holiday without her, so we mostly go places where she can come with us.

In July 2022, we noticed a lump near her bottom at the base of her tail. At first we weren’t too worried. After all, Luna had shown no signs of anything being wrong. She seemed perfectly happy and healthy.

But just to be safe, we thought we had better take her to the vet to get the lump checked, and thank goodness we did! Our vet took a biopsy and our world was turned upside down when it revealed she had a high-grade Mast Cell Tumour (MCT).

We didn’t know much about MCTs but we soon found out they are one of the most common skin-based cancers in dogs.

Being a high-grade MCT, there was a high likelihood it would spread and Luna’s initial prognosis was not good.

Luna was immediately referred to SASH Adelaide where she underwent comprehensive staging of her lymph nodes and organs. She then underwent surgery to remove the MCT, and a course of chemotherapy over about 12 weeks.

Luna is not a fan of needles so she was always a little nervous when arriving for her chemo sessions. But, thanks to the amazing doctors and nurses at SASH, she took it all in her stride. She was always happy and smiling when she left.

With the support of her medical team at SASH, Luna was able to maintain her great quality of life throughout her treatment. In early October, Luna finished her treatment, and she is as happy and healthy as ever!  

Luna’s experience is a reminder for us all to keep and eye out for any abnormal lumps and to get them checked by a vet.

Luna will reunite with her friends at SASH in 3 months for a routine check-up. Until then, Luna is back to living her best life.

We love her so much and can’t thank SASH enough for saving our beautiful girl.

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SASH is home to some of Australia’s leading specialists and veterinary experts. If you have any concerns about your pet, please get in touch with us.

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