Please Not the Dreaded Limp

May is Pet Cancer Awareness Month.  We, like many other greyhound custodians, know very well the hell that comes with a diagnosis of cancer.  Osteosarcoma is a very common cancer in racing greyhounds.  I do specify racing greyhounds because show greyhounds do not get osteosarcoma at anywhere near the rate that racers do.  I once heard a talk given by Dr. Guillermo Couto where he stated that one in three retired racers will get the

dreaded “O.” 

That is why all greyhound owners live in fear of ever finding their greyhound limping.  That is usually the first sign that your life is about to take a big turn for the worse.  Usually you can convince yourself that it’s just a regular limp.  Maybe arthritis.  Maybe he or she hurt themselves playing.  Or running.  Or stretched wrong.  Anything.  Usually the limp goes away and you firmly put it out of your mind.  A couple weeks or even a month later, the limp returns. 

Now you’re sweating.  Can you rationalize it any more as a normal limp?  Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t.  But either way, by the second or third round of limping you end up at the veterinarians for the x-rays.

This sounds familiar to so many of you I’m sure.  All anyone has to do is post that they are worried because

they found their greyhound limping and immediately everyone knows why.  Sometimes you don’t catch the limp and the first notice you have that something is wrong is when your baby’s leg breaks out of the blue.  Having caught Girly Girl’s cancer fairly early on, I often wonder if it would have been somehow easier if my notice had been a leg fracturing unexpectedly.  Either way it feels like a Sophie’s choice.

Many of us have lost more than one beloved hound to cancer.   Most of us have been touched in some way by cancer.  And lest you think that osteosarcoma is the only type of cancer that can affect greyhounds, that is not the case.  Lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma and a whole other host of “omas” can affect your hound.  And to add insult to injury, I’ve read of hounds who survived one type of cancer only to succumb to another type later on. 

This is why a cancer awareness month is so important.  Research is happening every day that is aimed at curing canine cancer within the next 10 years.  That is the goal.  And along the way they are finding new and better treatments.  I hope to see the day soon where cancer of any sort becomes a manageable chronic disease.  Then ultimately, curable. 

There are all kinds of ways you can join in the fight but I will single out two here.  The Morris Animal Foundation funds research into all sorts of canine diseases.  A major focus of its research is canine cancer.  Your donations go directly to help fund this essential research.  Visit their website (www.morrisanimalfoundation.org) and you can see all the research projects they are funding as well as learn about the results of these studies and the breakthroughs that have been made. 

The dog food company Blue Buffalo has a cancer foundation called the Blue Buffalo Foundation for Cancer Research.  They have partnered with Petco to raise funds for this foundation.  Every May you can donate at any Petco checkout counter and of course, donations are always accepted through their website (www.petcancerawareness.org).  Purchasing a bag of Blue Buffalo food sends another dollar to research.  If you visit Blue Buffalo's site and create a trading card in May, another dollar goes to research.  And seriously aren't these trading cards pretty cool?  This foundation also supports organizations that fund cancer treatment for families who can’t afford it. 

I absolutely believe that one day cancer will not be a death sentence for our furry children.  I intend to help wherever I can to make sure that happens in my lifetime.  It’s too late to help my Girly Girl, but not too late to save Blue, or Bettina or the hound laying next you.  Please consider donating to these worthy causes in honor of all the dogs we’ve lost.

The "C" Word

I’ve made no secret of the fact that the loss of my heart dog Girly Girl has been a devastating event in my life. Every day has been tough without her but for 4-5 weeks before her birthday in February and again before the day I lost her in mid-October, my heart always reminds me of just how broken it is. Sometimes I don’t even realize at first why I start crying more. Why I feel so much more sad than normal. Then somewhere in those weeks I figure out what anniversary is coming. The flood gates open for a while. During Girly Girl’s cancer battle, I spent a lot of time on Grey Talk. I distinctly remember one lady telling me that 10 years after the loss of her heart dog, she was still greatly affected by it. I recall thinking that is a long time to actively grieve for any living creature, even a heart dog. But here approaching anniversary number two since her passing, I have no doubt that I’ll be in the same place at year ten. I have learned for myself that there are some things that you just never get over.

Canines and cancer have not only been on my mind, but they have also been much in the news lately. There have been a couple of interesting study results published that give me hope. The Ohio State University Greyhound Health and Wellness Program in collaboration with Dr. Carlos Alvarez of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have sent for publication the results of a study they had been conducting on cancer genes in greyhounds. They were able to isolate a particular gene that, when carried by a greyhound, pre-disposes them to osteosarcoma. That in itself is not a cure but knowing about the gene, we can now test dogs to see if they carry the gene. We can apply everything we know about prevention and stack the deck in our favor. Breeders can make informed choices based on the presence of this gene. Not too much further down the road, they will develop gene therapy which will target the cancer at its genetic source. Possibly, even further down the road, we will find a way to simply switch that gene off so it will never be expressed. It’s a first step with a long way yet to go, but paraphrasing Lao Tzu, every journey must begin with a single step.

The other study done by two veterinarians from the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Veterinary Medicine took dogs diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma and gave them compounds called PSPs derived from a type of mushroom called Coriolus versicolor. This mushroom is more commonly known as Yunzhi. The dogs who received this compound had the longest survival times EVER reported for dogs with hemangiosarcoma. This is a particularly pernicious cancer that affects blood cells and is incredibly hard to treat. Prognosis for the unfortunates with hemangiosarcoma is dismal even with treatment. The possibility that the time we get to spend with our babies can be extended, potentially significantly, just by adding a mushroom supplement to their daily regimen is incredibly hopeful. This may end up being a step that is inexpensive and within the reach of most of us even when expensive surgeries and chemotherapy are not. I remember the feeling of helplessness in the face of cancer all too well. I was lucky at the time to be able to give Girly Girl all the treatment available. The thought that I don’t have that option any longer should Blue or Bettina get the dreaded diagnosis keeps me up at night. Here is something that we can all easily do which can prolong the quality and length of time we get to spend with our companion animals.

Though this mushroom has only been studied on canines with hemangiosarcoma; there is also every possibility that it will have similar effects on other types of cancer as well, including osteosarcoma and lymphoma. Further studies are planned to confirm the results of this study and compare the results from using the mushroom to groups receiving conventional treatment.

The fraternity of loss due to canine cancer now has these two things to celebrate. The pace of research and discovery is picking up. The Morris Animal Foundation, the AKC Canine Health Foundation and many other groups are funding scientists so that by the time I reach the 10th anniversary of Girly Girl’s loss, we won’t be having this “C” word discussion about any more of our beloved companions and I’ll have to find something else to write about every October.