As many of you have noticed Sparky has been in and out of the office lately, usually reappearing with a neon bandage. Recently, Sparky was diagnosed with very advanced squamous-cell carcinoma. Instead of viewing this as a tragedy, we have decided this could be a great way to give back to humanity.
Sparky has been under the care of two major veterinary offices: Tampa Veterinary Hospital and University of Florida Small Animal Hospital, as well as a major biotech company called Morphogenesis, Inc. Sparky’s doctors have been working seamless together to ensure that Sparky’s treatment and well being are top notch! This is such an amazing feat because Sparky is contributing to a current study performed by Morphogenesis to develop investigational immunotherapy treatment for cancers in dogs and hopefully humans. The trial vaccine, that Sparky will receive as part of the study, is grown specifically for Sparky using cells from his tumor. Morphogenesis grew the vaccine as part of their ImmuneFx platform. “Results in canine trials have shown in all cases that the vaccine produced significant humoral and cellular tumor-specific immune responses without adverse side effects,” Morphogenesis, Inc.
Sparky’s talented doctors are Dr. R Flake Chambliss, DVM with Tampa Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Kelvin Kow, DVM, MS with University of Florida.
Here is a video of Sparky under the radiation machine at the UF Small Animal Hospital.
