CanineCancerDiagnosis •BJANDREWS continued frompage 174
In late July 2017, I could find nothing connecting either cancer study to any cure or treatment or additional information release relative to the 2010 release or this one that held such great promise - “The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) have created the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium, a program designed to study naturally occurring can- cers in dogs to better understand why both pets and people get sick.” In fact there just doesn’t seem to be any definitive “cure or successful treatment or prevention for cancer”. The eliminating fac- tor in all internet search engine returns seems to have been the words “cure” and “successful.” After billions of dollars in funding over the last 2 decades, we are left with but two conclusions. Either there is no cure for cancer or the research funding is of more value than a cure. In fact, many health experts in both animal and human medi- cine have said as much.
In the meantime, multi-million $$$ “federal stimulus grants” such as those to the “Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium, which includes TGen and VARI in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Pennsylvania, Michigan State University, dog breeders and veterinarians” will con- tinue to roll in. Note that such donations are tax-deductions to the giver. When you look at the good publicity gained by mega- names such as PetSmart, Hills Pet Nutrition, and other pet supply companies, mega-donations are like “found money” in addition to providing invaluable press cov- erage. The Executive Chairman of PetSmart stated “We're proud to be part of such an innovative approach that fully supports our mission of providing total lifetime care for pets, and one that will offer hope to people and dogs who are suffering from these ill- nesses.” Let us hope that some dog, some- where, sometime, will benefit from canine cancer research. n
Barbara J. Andrews published The Akita
Handbooks and instituted the Register Of Merit sys- tem for top producing sires and dams in 1974. Bill and “BJ” set multiple breed records in Rottweilers, Akitas, and Miniature Bull Terriers. She now owns 7 Toy Fox Terriers. BJ served as columnist for The Dog newspaper, Dog World, Kennel Review Magazine, The AKC Gazette, and Canine Chronicle until 1993 when she became exclusive columnist for ShowSight Magazine. BJ has authored eight breed books pub- lished in eight languages, including World Of The Akita (Breed Book Of The Year Nominee), The Chihuahua , and The Miniature Bull Terrier .
{1} http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/blog/rates-of-cancer-by-dog-breed {2} http://www.fetchacure.org/resource-library/facts/ {3} https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00046339 {4} http://alcherabio.com/deals_info_archives.php
178 • S how S ight M agazine , A ugust 2017
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