National Pet Week 5/4/08-5/10/08

This past week Barney, a yellow lab less than 2 years old, had a malignant tumor removed from his leg. We are still waiting to hear if the cancer has spread anywhere else in his body. I invite you, dear reader, to take a moment to say a little prayer or send some positive energy Barney's way.

For National Pet Week (May 4th through May 10th) I wanted to write about cancer in pets, an issue I care about deeply. I hope you find this information thought provoking, informative and useful.

Cancer is an issue that hits close to home for me. I have lost both animal and human family members to cancer. In addition to my animal communication practice, I also work part time at a major cancer center helping patients. My work at the cancer center has granted me access to information I would not have known otherwise regarding environmental toxins and their relationship to cancer.

My last two cats who I love dearly died of cancer at early ages. Since our animal friends have life spans significantly shorter than ours, exposure to environmental toxins can make their life spans even shorter.

Not only do we need to take action to decrease the amount of toxins in our environment. We also need to take steps to minimize the impact these toxins have on the health of both humans and animals. If you agree with me I invite you to support the work of groups such as Pets for the Environment and The Environmental Working Group. Another site worth mentioning is an eco-friendly site for people and pets called Allie's Green Answers.

To become more educated on cancer causes, treatment & prevention I look to practitioners of integrative veterinary medicine. This modality combines conventional theory & therapies with complementary and alternative medicine for a comprehensive approach. Books I recommend include Dr. Allen Schoen's Kindred Spirits and Dr. Marty Goldstein's The Nature of Animal Healing . Another book I haven't read (it's sitting in my "to be read pile") but it looks great is called Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs. Whole Dog Journal is another great resource that recently had an article about the toxins contained in certain plastic toys.

For those of you interested in supplements to help prevent cancer or support a person or pet with cancer, you may want to check out medicinal mushrooms. Fungi Perfecti makes a pet formula which can be seen by clicking here . For people, I also like Herbalist & Alchemist's "Seven Precious Mushrooms" blend. To read up on the many benefits of medicinal mushrooms, including their anti-tumor and immune system properties click here.

There is so much information out there ranging from vaccines causing cancer to ways diet can contribute to cancer. In an article on Allie's Green Answers, Allie writes about her dog possibly getting cancer from his microchip. Click here for that story. I think this information is all worth seriously considering, however, it can easily become frightening and overwhelming.

My intention for this article is not to frighten or overwhelm you. Being frightened and overwhelmed can easily lead to feeling powerless and therefore not taking action. My intention is to encourage you to get educated, from reliable sources, and then make mindful, conscious choices about what you and your pets eat, drink, breathe and absorb through the skin. (Have I covered all the bases?) My hope is that as we become more educated we become more empowered and can take appropriate action to be agents of positive change for the benefit of all. My hope is that we can all take a stand for what we value and have our actions promote the health, wellness and longevity of people, animals and our planet.

Green blessings,
Deanna