10/23/2025
Fly high, sweet Max. You were one of my toughest goodbyes. 🕊️
We said goodbye to a very special patient and friend, Max Travis, at the age of 15. 💙
I first met Max when he was 7 years old. He had a subcutaneous mast cell tumor (MCT) over his left shoulder, removed with narrow deep margins.
But because he tested positive for a c-kit mutation, we knew the risk of metastasis was higher. We started chemotherapy, and Max completed six months of treatment like a true champ.
After that, he became one of our regulars, visiting us twice a year for monitoring. Over the next six years, I built a bond with him and his mom. He was a favorite here, gentle, brave, and always full of licks and kisses.
Then in 2022, Max was diagnosed with a second, unrelated cancer: an oral malignant melanoma (OMM) in the left caudal maxilla.
It wasn’t surgically resectable, so we pivoted to a multi-modal treatment plan: radiation therapy, the melanoma vaccine, and chemotherapy. At his recheck CT nearly a year later, there was no recurrence and no spread.
But sadly, two years after the initial OMM diagnosis, a repeat CT and biopsy confirmed recurrence. Max’s condition quickly progressed, and as he started developing neurologic signs, his family made the compassionate decision to say goodbye.
I treated Max for eight years for two different cancers. Eight years of extending life, preserving joy, and sharing a bond I’ll never forget.
He was truly one of a kind, a fighter, a heart-stealer, and deeply loved by his family and our team. It was an honor to care for him and walk alongside his family through the years.
To Max’s mom: thank you for trusting us. For letting us love him with you.
Rest easy, Max. I’ll miss you always. 💙
