Every chance I get I mention how important my wife was/is in my treatment and infant recover process (6 weeks out of treatment) but she just looked at me and asked "and what about the cats?". She's right, we have 7 cats and a bunny. The two times I had to stay overnight in the hospital, she reminded me that they all waited by the back door and didn't sleep with her. When I was home they were always on the bed with me and they did make me feel better. If you have a pet they will comfort you during this trying time and if you don't have one you might want to think about getting one. JMHO.
David
Hi David,
I cried when I read this. I would have never made it through my treatments without my beloved cat, Skippy, who slept curled up in my arms the entire time I was having radiation. After week 2, I hit the bed for about 20 hours a day and he was always there to purr me asleeep or to keep me warm. Unfortunately, this beautiful virbrant feline got felled by pancreatic cancer this spring. One month he was healthy as horse, romping around the backyard at age 14, the next he simply stopped eating. The tumor was inoperable so no chemo. They gave him steroids which gave another good 6 weeks, but then it was time to say goodbye. I miss him so. I have two others but none will replace him. Pets are marvelous creatures and can really be a confort when you are ill. They seem to sense our needs.
Take care,
Eileen
I would have never made it through this without my dogs - I had 4 Bichon Frises. I had to put one down to colorectal cancer last year ("Angel" was 16). One of my boys had a rare form of skin cancer and was operated on for that. The surviving girl and my first Bichon (who is approaching 17) has had a tumor removed and has been going downhill for some time - arthritis, kidney failure, etc., but not ready to leave yet. The boys learned very quickly how to get out of the way when I had to run to the bathroom and not to jump on my stomach. They were very protective and loving and knew the gravity of the situation. They also knew when I was freezing to snuggle up, and on the correct side, to allow me to quickly depart when need be.
I had the unique blessing of raising them from birth. They have lived in the same house all of their lives.
I had cats for years who were great sick bed companions but they had both died when I fought my cancer battle and I often wished one of them was there to curl up with me. We can't adopt new cats because we adopted my grandfathers elderly beagle/mix when he died and she is a cat-chaser (even though she is deaf and partially blind so a smart cat could sneak around her without too many problems). She was a good companion to me when I was sick in her own way, but she tends to prefer to sleep in areas where people won't be walking around her at night (I believe my grandfather must have tripped on her sometimes) and I was up so much at night, she mostly slept in the other room. She did come and put her chin in my lap once in a while during the day in a very sweet way, though.
I would have missed her if I had decided to not be treated at home. Wanting her presence around, wierd though it seems, is one of the reasons I decided to be treated locally.
Nelie
We have two very large German Shepherds, whose best gift to me was to get me out walking after I was coming back from no white cells and precicous few red ones. These big, strong dogs walked as slowly as I needed to, and when I had to sit down, they stood by to let me hang on to them to pull myself back up. They were as happy as I was when we resumed running. Except when away at school, I have always had pets and I cannot imagine life without them. A cat has come to live with us, so the animals outnumbering the people, we are now officially a zoo.
My wife is a collector who believes all the cats in the world are hers and most are on loan to other undeserving people. It is not uncommon for me to open a room that we seldom use only to find a new addition that she hasn't told me about. Some she is more bold in bringing home like our newest addition...she found a kitten at Walgrens sitting outside in the pouring rain a few nights ago. She picked him up and he was soaking wet. We took him to our vet and they told us he was totally deaf so that was one lucky kitten. She saved his life for sure and he will now spend his life as royalty. I wish I was one of our cats. LOL
Loved these stories - heartwarming and true, as animals do tend to "feel" our emotions. I hope to hear a few more. JaneP
Hey, this is fun, so I'm gonna introduce our 3 dogs. Punkin, the oldest is a Lhasa Apso,an anniversery present from John to me. She's 12 now and has always been my dog. Scooter, a Shitsu\poodle mix,[11 yrs. old] weighing in at about 10 lbs, but definitely King of the Hill, is John's dog- follows every step he takes and never leaves his side if possible. Biggest problems we have with Scooter is that he doesn't want anyone but him and John on John's bed and when John is out of the house, he sits by the front door waiting for him to return. And then there is Tanq-no one knows what mix of breeds he came from.{he's pretty funny looking] A friend found him, not yet weaned, wandering down the road in August 1998. Just so happened that we went to their house for dinner that night and after plying me with two Tanqueray and tonics, she plopped him in my lap and naturally he's been my dog ever since. All 3 are house dogs and their fun blends in very well with the dust.
We love them almost as much as the grandkids. Amy
I KNEW there was a reason I liked you Amy! Suckers recognize each other! Warmly, JaneP
We have our three Standard Schnauzers -- Bulwinkle, Shamu and a new puppy, Cory -- I have had this breed since 1959 and have bred them since 1962. I agree dogs and cats are wonderful to boost your spirits and hgive you cofort when you are ill or "down" for any reason, I know they were a big comfort to boyh Barry and me during the last year.
We lost our beloved Stubby in July due to a rare cancer which the veterinary oncologist said was due to environmental exposure to a carcinogen -- makes you wonder what we are doing to ourselves and our environment. I do a newsletter for our dog club and was just given an EU report on the effects of bisphenyl A-diglycidyl ether ("BADGE") which is used in the linings of pop-top cans and has been found to be an endocrine disruptor at very low concentrations and may be involved in the increase in hormone-related cancers.
Another warning for dogs -- Xylitol gum, which many OC patients chew to increase mouth moisture and reduce tooth decay, is quite poisonous to dogs.
Gail
Being the animal lover that I am I had to put my 2 cents in too! We have 2 Akitas (Blaze and Nike) and a cat named Jazz (he looks like a cross between Morris and Garfield). These "furry" kids of ours gave us so much comfort while my husband was battling this disease. It's amazing how in tune they are with us emotionally. I can't imagine life without animals. I tend to spoil them a little....so much so that my father in law says after he dies he wants to come back as one of my pets!
Shelley
I have had pets all my life and I never had one to get cancer. It is surprising, no dishearting, to me how many of these posters' cats and dogs have/had cancer. Man I'm tired of cancer!!!
I totally agree,
We have 3 cats. One of them wants nothing to do with my wife or myself. Loves the kids though.
When I was going thru treatment, he would sit on the bed and let me pet him. I mean he was always there. It made me feel better but also a little like he knew something I didnt. Which was a little freaky.
Ever since I got out of treatment, he is back to being distant.
Cool huh!
Take it easy,
-rh
Scary statistic -- of dogs that reach 10 years of age, 50% will get cancer. (This from NCI). When I started in dogs, it seemed to be rarer -- now more common, and our vet oncologist says mixed breeds as well as pure-breds, so most of these cancers are not genetic.
Gail
My dog Cody, a 13 year old cairn terrier, is my best buddy! He has been through so much with us and loves us all the same!!!!Carol
My wife came home this afternoon and told me that she just saw something that brought tears to her eyes. Knowing it had to have something to do with animals, I asked "what?". She said she just passed a little old man at a bus stop with a cat in a cat carrier and she felt so bad she almost cried. Thinking that my wife had finally started having feelings for the human race, I said "sweetheart, at least the little old man has a pet that keeps him company. He'll be fine." She looked at me and said "I don't care about the old man, I want you to go back to that bus stop and rescue that cat. What type of person would take a cat on a bus!!" Oh well, at least she is consistent.
Three years ago I got my full grown (3 to 5 yr. old) mixed breed dog from the humane society. He had been rescued from a kill shelter. He's medium size and appears to be a mixture of some sort of hound/terrior/sheltie. He was obviously abused in the past and we worked through many issues. He has been my constant companion and has helped me through my darkest days of treatment.Looking back prior to my diagnosis I can distinctly remember my dog Hecter sniffing at my ears and sometimes my nose. On several occasions as I bent down petting him, he would sniff my ears in a strange sort of way as if picking up on a scent which I thought was so odd. He did it so often that I kept cleaning my ears out thinking he could smell wax. Now in hindsight I wonder if he detected the cancer but was unable to tell me. During treatment he stopped that behavior of sniffing at my ears and nose. Now I purposely get close to his face to see if he reacts to any scent of mine. No reaction from him. This may sound weird but I try not to stress so much before a check up because my dog is not alarming me. I've even considered putting him through some sort of training where he would be trained to pick up on cancer. Has anyone else experienced anything like that from their animals? Barbara
At our recent Standard Schnauzer Club National Specialty, we had an educational program given by Drs. Jim and Dianne Walker of Florida State. They are working on the ability of dogs to detect cancer, and also, the level at which dogs can discern odors. Their Std. Schnauzer "Stormy" is a protege of the famous cancer-sniffing SS "George".
Their reserach has found that dogs can detect odors at tremendously low concentrations, in the parts per trillion range, and have olfactory sensitivities 10,000x or more better than ours.
They have worked on melanoma but are now studying bladder and breast cancer detection. Bladder is detected from urine but breast cancer is detected in the breath! Thus some factor (what it is has not yet been identified) makes it from the cancer to the bloodstream to the lungs and out. They are not sure if the dog actually detects the cancer, per se, or some by-product of cellular breakdown, metabolism or even immune reaction. This is all being studied. They gave us a very impressive demo and also, showed video clips.
"George" famously detected residual melanoma in a patient who had been declared cancer-free -- complete excision of the target skin area and thin-sectioning revealed microscopic cancer. But the dog knew it was there.
So it is not at all unlikely that your dog smelled "something wrong" -- there are many anecdotes about this.
Gail
In addition to my husband, my baby girl and my family, my dog Molly (a 5 year old, 42 lb black lab-mix) was constantly by my side throughout treatment. I have always been amazed by how intuitive she is-sensing everything that is right or wrong with us. She would follow me from the front door to the bedroom and lie on the floor next to the bed every evening.
A couple of years ago, she had a lump under her arm and I immediately thought the worst. Thankfully, it was not cancer, but I was a nutcase for days (it was a Saturday when I found it and we couldn't get into the vet until Monday afternoon). I told my husband that if we had to put her to sleep that he might want to ask for a "2-for-1 deal" because I didn't know how I would be without her.
What a terrific topic! During and after treatment our black cat "Snowball" stood constant watch over Kenny. During his worst days it was difficult to get her to leave Kenny long enough to eat. I am sure she helped save his life. As Kenny finally began to heal, I found myself needing the comfort of a pet (Snowball is definitely Kenny's cat!). After having to put down our Chesapeake Bay Retriever a few years ago, Kenny swore we would never have another dog (broke his heart). Anyway, I ended up adopting a Boxer in March (a birthday present to myself). After only a couple weeks of puppy love from Jax, Kenny was hooked! In June Kenny rescued a female Boxer (Daisy) and we are now one big happy family.
So - here's to the pets that have provided warmth, comfort and love! They deserve so much credit that they never seem to get.
Thanks for sharing!
Carol
We just learned that our black cat, "Shadow", has cancer. It's chondrosarcoma, a kind of cartilage/bone cancer and is untreatable. The veterinarian rescued him about 2 1/2 years ago when the owner brought him in to be put to sleep because he kept getting kidney infections. The vet knew we were looking for a cat and called us.
Shadow has become part of the family and even accompanies us and the dog, a big labrador, on walks. He communicates very well with about a dozen different meows that all mean something. He's affectionate and loves to spend quality time with us.
Right now, he has a big tumor on his hip and is limping. He doesn't eat much and sleeps a lot (more than usual). We'll keep him comfortable as long as we can-until it's obvious he's in too much pain.
I sure will miss the little guy.
Here's an interesting tidbit that I found in my travels - the leading cause of cancer death in dogs is melanoma.
RileyMc,
When my Skippy stopped eating because of the cancer, he was running a high fever. He says, 'if a cat can't smell, it won't eat'. The vet gave him a megadose of antibiotics and steroids and a dose of hydration under the skin. When this cat got home, he leap up the staircase to get his dinner aand couldn't wait to get out. Hydration was given for two more days. Vet says sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. This got us about 6 weeks. The next time the treatment didn't work. Obviuously not a cure, but gave us humans time to say goodbye and Skippy a little more time on this earth feeling normal. I asked hubby what exactly the vet gave Skippy, but he doesn't remember. He seems to have blocked out everything that happended after the ultrasound and diagnosis of no chemo.
My Skippy was a special guy also who was extremely intelligent and I swear spoke English. We 'talked' all the time and he too had a whole set of vocal requests and mannerisims to tell us what he wanted. I know how hard this is going to be for you. Give him some love from me. email me if you want more support. This is really tough.
Take care,
Eileen
One of my cats and another dog I had both died of cancer. It's scary that it's so common among pets, but I wonder how much of it is that, like us, their lifespans have been expanded quite a bit compared to what it would be in the wild thanks to the care we give them and this allows cancer to become a leading cause of death. of course if it is becoming more common in recent years, that's less likely to be an explanation. I'm loving all these pet stories!
Nelie