Tale Tale Of Tully’s Triumph
By Mark Preston

Battling cancer—be it in humans or animals—is a tough task. It is a battle in the truest sense of the word, requiring not only individual strength and resilience but also group support and informed decision-making. Armed with those things, it is a battle that can absolutely be won. Cancer need not be a death sentence; in fact, for those who triumph over the disease, life itself can become that much richer and more rewarding.

Tully the French Bulldog might just qualify as one of the all-time best examples of that philosophy. The feisty Frenchie—who recently celebrated her 12th birthday—isn’t just a survivor, she’s a thriver. She is the poster girl for the powers of possibility, living her best life after finishing first in her tenacious battle with mast cell cancer.

To retrace Tully’s tale, it was her owner (read, mom) Saxon, who first noticed a small bump on Tully’s muzzle. Tully’s veterinarian advised Saxon to keep an eye on the growth and for several years, it remained unchanged. But in December, 2020, the bump became raised and mottled and apparently painful so Saxon took Tully to have the growth removed and biopsied. That biopsy showed a Stage 3 mast cell tumor, which is a type of tumor consisting of mast cells—white blood cells that are found in many tissues of the body.

“[That type of cancer] is super aggressive, so we jumped into high gear and took her up to Cornell University Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Conn.,” Saxon recalls. “They said we’ve got to do surgery on her to remove the margins because even through the vet had removed the actual cyst, there were of course cells remaining that could be trouble. So she had her entire lip cut open and a section taken out and sewed back together. And then we did eight rounds of really strong chemo because with her breed they said there was a higher chance of something going wrong with radiation.”

“They also did biopsies of all her internal organs, including her spleen and liver because usually mast cell presents as a skin lesion and the secondary site are the internal organs, which is the real killer.”

“She was sick but she went through it really well. She’d be sick for a day and then she’d rally and she’d be herself again,” Saxon says. “It was an ordeal, but she was really tough. We decided we were going to fight it and give her the years of her life that we feel she deserved to have.”

Now cancer-free for nearly four years, Tully is fully enjoying every day of those years. Several times a week, you can find her and her mom at her favorite dog park in N.Y. She’s traveled with her family—including Tully’s “sister,” fellow Frenchie, Ivy—to such fabulous destinations as Las Vegas, Sedona, Ariz., and Hawaii. You could say Tully’s living the good life—but “good” hardly seems a sufficient superlative in her case.

“She is incredible,” says Saxon. “Her health is perfection. She is super active, she keeps her five-year-old Frenchie sister on her toes. She’s always trying to get the younger one to play with her. She has so much energy and she brings us all so much joy. She’s just in great, great condition.”

And now, other than her annual checkup with her vet, all of Tully’s experiences with doctors and surgeons are a distant memory, far removed from her day-to-day.

“When she ended her oncology stuff, they said she could come in to do ultrasound every six months,” Saxon notes. “But I asked them, very frankly, how many recurrences of cancer have you found with those checkups? And they said they never had. So we decided not to do it.”

Tully’s journey to this point has been a long and arduous one, but her beating cancer is testament to her toughness and to the love and care she received from her family and her medical team throughout. It has been both a loving experience and a learning experience for Saxon.

“I think what I’ve learned is that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, Saxon says. “My mom also had breast cancer and survived, and while I know that’s not the case for everybody, it’s just a reminder that modern medicine is incredible. There’s a very good chance that you will get through it and maybe even thrive, not just survive. And I think that’s what I’ve seen in both watching my mom and Tully—the two favorite ladies in my life.”

Saxon recalls an evening with Tully on the beach in Hawaii that stands out as an exclamation point on Tully’s triumph over cancer.

“We were on the beach at sunset, watching the sun go down over the ocean and I said, ‘Okay, Tully, let’s go, it’s over,’ and she wouldn’t leave,” recalls Saxon. “She laid there, rolled over and was scratching her back all over the sand. The waves were coming in and it was just this really lovely peaceful moment. She kept looking up at me as if to say, ‘There’s no way I’m leaving.’ And so we sat there for another half hour or so after sunset because she was just really happy and it was a really lovely moment. As a dog mom, knowing you’re making your dog happy is such a blessing.”

“Tully is literally a daily blessing. Every morning when she wakes up, I’m like, ‘You’re alive. You did the only job you needed to do today—that’s it. So you’re good for the rest of the day.’

“I watch Tully now, running around and having this wonderful era of her life at 12. And for a French bulldog, 12 is pretty old, but she shows no signs of slowing down. It really kind of instilled in me this deep gratitude for second chances, and I think Tully’s second chance is proving even more robust and fruitful.

“Tully’s story is the best kind of story; one with a happy ending,” said Barbara Cohen, ACF Executive Director. “It is exactly the kind of story that the work of the Animal Cancer Foundation is aimed at creating more of through its commitment to funding research and advancing the cause of cancer care in pets. Tully’s journey is a powerful reaffirmation of why our mission matters.”