I have never had so many telephone calls and letters about a subject since this column was started so long ago. Cancer, like AIDS I suppose, is known to every person; and everybody knows someone who has had the ailment. On top of that, we hear how (life-ending) cancer can be. This deluge of calls and letters has made me wonder if I have done the right thing. Have I stirred up an emotional issue that is disturbing people? Am I creating a panic when surely this was not my intention? After much thought I am pretty certain that essentially it is in our companion animals’ best interest to expose all aspects of this ailment. The point I wish to bring across is simply that this ailment need not be dreaded. Sure it can be lethal, but in dogs (as I suppose is the case with humans) there are so many interventions that can be undertaken to pleasantly prolong the animal’s life. Cancer does not mean prolonged suffering and agony. Cancer does not mean death.
After reading this paragraph above (and last week’s column) the subconscious question, I think, on a pet owner’s mind would be: How likely is it that my dog/cat will develop cancer? Well, I don’t know whether any of my colleagues has carried out a statistical analysis of cancer conditions in dogs/cats here in
