I completed Reiki levels I and II in the Fall of 2014 where I trained to give Reiki to humans. I also joyfully gave treatments to my furry best friend who loved energy work! Molly was my first dog and animal client. She has since crossed the Rainbow Bridge but at the time she was my 10 year old, spayed female, golden retriever. She would roll on her side, struggle to keep her eyes open, smile the way that golden’s do, and simultaneously release deep sighs and flatulence. It was an odorous bliss!
One day in December 2014 when I was doing Reiki, I stumbled upon an energetic mass in Molly’s upper left abdomen. It shocked me because it was the size of a grapefruit and filled with cold, stubborn energy. Immediately I panicked and begged my mom to take her to our veterinarian. During her visit, Molly got a physical exam and routine laboratory work. The only abnormality was a low normal thyroid level, something not uncommon to senior canines.
I allowed myself to relax and a few months passed. Molly acted like her normal, smiley and gassy self until she developed a cough in early March 2015. This was suspicious because Molly hadn’t had any new animal exposure and had not strayed from her normal eat, sleep on the couch, repeat routine. My mom took her to the vet and radiographs of her chest showed small, white bumps in multiple locations meaning Molly had cancer. My mom called to share the diagnosis and explained to me that due to Molly’s age and the appearance of multiple tumors, she had opted out of further treatments. The sadness was overwhelming, so I used my fear of losing Molly as motivation to do everything in my power to save her and did Reiki sessions whenever I was able.
It was a warm, sunny day on May 19, 2015 when Molly collapsed after a morning walk around her favorite lake. She was rushed to an emergency veterinarian but passed shortly after. Molly ultimately succumbed to a disease diagnosed as hemangiosarcoma, a cancer that attacks blood vessel walls and commonly affects the heart and spleen.
I was crushed and felt an enormous amount of guilt over Molly’s diagnosis. In my mind, I had failed her by not sensing the energetic mass earlier and blamed myself for lapsing on regular energy treatments. This news added weight to my burden of guilt because I had detected an energetic mass in the appropriate area just 5 months prior.
I now know that hemangiosarcoma often affects golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, and German shepherds between the ages of 9 and 12. I also know that the cancer cells attack blood vessels, tumors spread quickly and early. The odds were against Molly from the start with her being a senior golden retriever. Compound this with the disease characteristics and I accept that this was never something I had much influence over. My experience with Molly taught me that it is not always possible to save a being no matter how much it hurts to lose them or how difficult the collective fight was. I also understand that I was using fear to motivate me when I needed to use love instead.
Reiki itself is a loving gift bestowed upon those driven to connect with others and that everyone has the ability to give and receive energy regardless if they are aware of it or not. Molly sure was a giver, she supported my family and I during all 10.5 years of being with us on this Earth. I now smile when I reminisce about Molly and am grateful that she taught me how to be a loving being to use my Reiki training for others.
A few years passed, and I turned away from the metaphysical and focused on my professional goals in the scientific community. My heart healed from Molly’s passing and I wanted to add a new member to my furmily. I adopted my cat Charles in June 2017 from a local cat rescue and he quickly became a purrfect fit.
Charles was originally trapped on a riverbank in Las Cruces, New Mexico in October 2016 as part of a Trap Neuter Release program which controls the population of feral animals by sterilizing and returning them to the wild with a tipped ear. Thankfully, Charles turned on his charm and lived with a foster family while being treated for an upper respiratory infection. He spent eight months recovering in New Mexico before traveling to Colorado in May.
He was just over a year old when I brought him home, skittish and feisty but I truly felt that he was meant for me. A few months passed and Charles learned to trust his new surroundings which included having a big canine sister who was five times his size. On October 4, 2017 in what felt like a strange twist of circumstances as I was switching jobs from laboratory diagnostics to a small animal veterinary practice, Charles fell gravely ill.
Initially, our veterinarian diagnosed him with pancreatitis, so the plan was to keep him on intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Coincidentally enough, this was also the one day of the month where the clinic had a veterinary radiologist visit to review cases so it was easy to ask her to complete an abdominal ultrasound on Charles. The official report noted a malformed kidney, inflamed pancreas, and enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes. My veterinarian later informed me of a devastating set of differential diagnoses: Feline Infectious Peritonitis, lymphoma, or carcinoma, all of which are terminal and progress quickly. I was hit hard by the realization that my 19 month old cat may not make it to Christmas.
We were sent home with steroids and pain medications. I gave him two doses of each and focused on alleviating his symptoms with twice daily Reiki energy treatments. (DISCLAIMER: I am in no way advising or prescribing, this is shared as part of my story. Always consult a licensed medical professional before making changes that concern the health and well being of you or your pet.) Energetically, it felt like Charles was carrying a baseball sized rock inside and on top of his body. It was solid, unresponsive to energy, and I felt my energy treatments were as effective as using the bristled end of a toothbrush to break up a boulder. To my great relief, during his appointment two weeks later, the inflammation decreased and his mass became amenable to surgery. I relied on my Western medicine trained veterinarian to remove part of Charles’ pancreas and tumor engulfed spleen.
A veterinary pathologist diagnosed Charles with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma and an ultrasound ten days later confirmed new tumor growth. His oncologist told me that this type of cancer was highly unusual for Charles’ age, aggressive, and not shown to be susceptible to chemotherapy. These facts left me with a decision of having Charles live 1-2 months if I did palliative care or 4-5 months if I attempted chemotherapy.
Based on his theoretical life span, I bravely chose the chemotherapy option and continued his daily Reiki energy treatments. Additionally, I consulted with my Reiki teacher who suggested adding turmeric supplements to his food. (DISCLAIMER: I am in no way advising or prescribing, this is shared as part of my story. Always consult a licensed medical professional before making changes that concern the health and well being of you or your pet.) Research revealed the active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, decreases inflammation and one published case study hypothesized tumeric supplements increased the susceptibility of human pancreatic carcinoma cells to chemotherapy.
I took a leap of faith and prayed that the combination of energy work, turmeric, and chemotherapy would be enough to eradicate the cancer on all levels. I knew my role was to assist with his whole body healing so I happily supplied the energy work. However, it felt like a fire coursed through his tiny body and left my hands burning after chemotherapy visits. I trusted my veterinarians but it was still difficult to witness the side effects of nausea and lethargy after each round of chemotherapy.
I remember being emotionally exhausted and withdrawn from the world when Charles was in the thick of his disease but I was too stubborn and emotionally involved to let anything thwart my efforts to save my cat. Between chemotherapy visit numbers two and three, my guides led me to check out a book called Heal Your Body by Louise Hay. The index in the back has disease names and locations in the body which may be symptomatic, the emotion or thought that is the source of discomfort, and a mantra to alleviate the symptoms. According to Hay, problems with the pancreas represent the sweetness of life and the mantra to correct this is “my life is sweet”. During our next energy session, I explained to him that while his life may have been difficult, he can accept my offer to be part of my family, to be safe and feel overwhelming love for as long as he chooses.
Charles awoke abruptly and fiercely nuzzled his nose and body against my chest as if he were accepting my offer and telling me “thank you, mom”. Then quite literally, all of a sudden his energetic mass was about 90% gone. I was speechless. Charles’ severe reaction to his next chemotherapy visit seemed to support the changes I sensed energetically. Chemotherapy dose number 3 was at the same volume as his previous two but instead of being able to retain small bites of food, Charles could barely keep water down for more than a half hour after ingestion. I consulted with his oncologist and she believed his symptoms indicated an abundance of chemotherapy medication for a small amount of remaining tumor cells and lowered the dose for his next treatment. I do not know what Reiki does in the body, but I am definitely intrigued by what I have seen.
After twice daily energy treatments for four months, surgery, twice daily turmeric supplements for two months, four rounds of chemotherapy, loads of tears, and prayers, Charles received his “in remission” status on January 5, 2018. Over the next 18 months, Charles underwent bimonthly ultrasounds, radiographs, and blood work until he was officially declared “cancer free” on July 5, 2019!
Our journey began with me feeling hopeless and believing we only had one Halloween to play dress up and one Christmas to celebrate. After each passed, I waited with baited breath until we met the next milestone and celebrated his second birthday, then his one year adoptiversary and so forth. In total we have celebrated: two Halloweens, two Christmases, one “in remission” anniversary, two birthdays (March 8, 2016 😺 ) and I did not take a single one for granted.
Charles will be a lifelong oncology patient. I am profoundly grateful for every day I get to spend with him and value our army of supporters (check us out on Instagram @charleshasninelives). I openly acknowledge that at times I veered from Western medicine and tried alternative treatments. The truth was that I was desperate for my cat to live and was willing to branch out from that if that is what it took. I also understand that his survival could be a fluke because he is an oddball whose cancer cells responded to chemotherapy or due to any number of circumstances that may never be investigated or occur again.
One thing I know for sure is that Charles is my furry best friend and second chance cancer pet. A cancer diagnosis is not to be taken lightly and I’m so thankful that I had the financial and emotional support to undertake this journey. More than that, I am grateful and inspired by Charles because he wanted to live which made it easier for me to fight with him.
To you as readers or prospective clients, I thank you for making it to the conclusion of my story. I do not make any promises about what I can or will accomplish with you or your pet, but I want to assure you that I will help if I am able and send all energy with love and guidance in accordance to my future oath of do no harm.
Many blessings,
Kara