Campaign has goal of curing canine cancer within 20 years
The Morris Animal Foundation (www.morrisanimalfoundation.org) has announced a drive to cure cancer in dogs within the lifetime of a dog: 10 - 20 years. They are dedicating $30 million to the campaign.
It is a very ambitious goal, and a very admirable one. The medical advances involved in reaching such a goal would not only benefit dogs. Cats and even people would benefit as well.
For more information, go to curecaninecancer.org.
You have questions. 
Admirable goal, yes. But I wish money was spent in prevention of cancers instead, not just in animals but humans. I truly believe more could be accomplished in changing the environment, foods, & whatever else triggers there are that ‘turn’ cancer on in the body.
As someone who just lost a beloved pet to cancer, I know how hard it is to understand any subtle changes that may indicate cancer growing inside. What good does it do to have a ‘cure’ for cancer when the disease has progressed too far to do anything about?
I realise there are various types of cancer with differing symptoms. Some are slow growing & can be discovered in time. But most are not obvious till they’re well along. And anybody who’s had pets, especially cats, understands how well animals hide their illness.
My cat was almost 14 years old. In all her life, she’d never been even slightly ill - no UTIs ever, no nasal or eye discharges, even hair balls were rare. She was fed top quality food (grain-less) with added cat-suited supplements (like omega-3 fatty acids & vitamin E). She was slim & active - a picture of health. She passed with flying colours routine examinations & geriatric blood panels. Most thought she was only about a year old when they saw her.
Yet in the last 2 months, I could tell something wasn’t quite right. The changes were subtle but I had her checked out. Nothing could be found. Only in the last 2 weeks, did abnormalities show up in her blood tests. She was booked for an ultrasound in less than a week. The morning of her ultrasound, I could tell her stomach was swollen & knew it meant ascites (fluid in the abdomen). In the previous 4 days, her health had declined alarmingly so.
The ultrasound showed a smaller tumour plus a very large one in her abdomen. There was infiltration of the cancer well into her liver (which explained the 2 abnormal liver enzyme levels). At this point, with the disease so advanced & the rapid decline in her health, I didn’t want her to suffer & choose to pts. I discussed with my vet if there was anything that could be done before I made my decision. He said with the cancer spread into the liver as it had, he wouldn’t even be able to cut out a portion for survival.
So I ask, how much good can be done in curing cancer in pets when we don’t even realise they have it till far advanced? I watched my two cats like a hawk for any symptoms of something being wrong. If cancer is still hard to detect in early stages in humans, how much more difficult is it to detect it in animals?
Yes, an admirable goal, this ‘curing’ of cancer but I suspect the pharmaceutical companies will end up benefiting more than pet owners. Sorry to be cynical but I think, realistic. Where’s the profit for pharmaceutical companies in preventing cancers as opposed to curing them?
Judy, yours is a very sad story, and I am sorry for your loss. And your story illustrates a couple of points about cancer. First, it is usually a disease of animals that are well cared for. Second, it is very insidious in its development.
“Curing” and “preventing” cancer, in the case of the goal set by the Morris Animal Foundation, should be considered the same thing. Really, the goal is to eliminate cancer. This means learning more about its causes in order to prevent it, determining how to detect it earlier, and discovering cures for cancers that develop.
The Morris Animal Foundation is nonprofit, and I thoroughly believe that their intentions are not tainted by any form of greed. And, given the current rate of advances in science and medicine, I actually think their goal of eliminating canine (and hopefully feline) cancer within 20 years is not impossible. Difficult, but not impossible.