Jackie and Adam Greenbank spent tens of thousands of dollars on IVF but after three years of heartbreak with no success, they now pour all their love into German shepherd Allirya, who is the Ballarat couple's "fur baby".
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A simple trip to the vet for an annual checkup six weeks ago has left the close knit trio devastated and Allirya, 8, undergoing expensive chemotherapy to treat two separate and unrelated cancers.
To date the Greenbanks have spent more than $15,000 on veterinary treatment for Allirya and made at least six return trips to a canine oncologist in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill as they fight the disease - and they have no way of knowing what other specialist care Allirya will need or what heights her medical costs will reach.
"Allirya is my world, my fur baby. She goes everywhere with me, even on holidays," Mrs Greenbank said.
The first sign of trouble was when vet Dr Ruth Gore from Eastwood Vets felt a lump near Allirya's bladder which resulted in emergency surgery to remove her spleen and a tumour, later diagnosed to be a splenic sarcoma which is common in German shepherds.
But scans after the operation revealed a nasty surprise - a small tumour in her saliva gland near her jaw. Further investigations showed it was completely unrelated to the original cancer, which veterinary experts have conceded is "extremely rare".
"My world has disintegrated, that's how I'm feeling at the moment," Mrs Greenbank said. "It's been a long dragged-out process and very emotionally draining. Normally you don't even know a dog has got a splenic sarcoma. There aren't usually any side effects or symptoms and the only thing I had noticed was she was tired more than normal."
After the first surgery Allirya had her first round of chemotherapy, which terrified Mrs Greenbank who just three years ago watched her mother fight, and eventually beat, cancer herself.
"They say chemotherapy doesn't affect dogs as harshly as people. Allirya went off food and wouldn't touch chicken, her favourite food. She lost weight and wouldn't eat but then came ok. But soon after she had trouble with her kidneys - treating one thing can set other things off."
"We are just like anyone with a cancer diagnosis. We are still in shock - you don't see it coming. You've got a healthy fur baby then your world is just turned upside down."
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Each round of chemotherapy costs about $600, and to determine whether the chemotherapy is working she will need another CAT scan costing about $2500. An ultrasound to check on her kidney function is $600 and blood tests around $200 - $300 each.
Because the couple do not have pet insurance, they have started a Go Fund Me campaign to help raise money for Allirya's treatment.
"It's really hard to find that money in a short amount of time," she said.
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