Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets?: How You Can Protect and Treat Your Animal Companion

I recently discovered my beloved Rottie has cancer and this book helped me learn of the many options out there for treatment and how much of a problem companion animal cancer is becoming. It helped me center myself and get a better idea of the directions I could go. This book also helped me understand what to do from here on out, to help all my companion animals so that they live a healthy life. It explained the importance of a good, not overly processed diet. I am a board member of an animal protection organzation and have had dogs my entire life, and even with that I learned so much more from this book. If you love your animals read this book for them, it could change their lives and yours!!!

Deborah Straw has addressed a problem that has been plaguiging more and more pet owners daily. This well documented book looks carefully at causes, preventions, treatments and very cautiously at cures for the epidemic of cancer which is devastating our pets today. She covers every aspect of the subject and makes her statements credible with references to the many professionals with whom she has consulted. Straw's understanding of this disease and its ramifications is thorough and comprehensive. She deals with traditional as well as non-traditional aspects of prevention and treatment, leaving out nothing. Thereby, she offers the reader a myriad of choices as well as the power to take charge when that dreaded diagnosis is made. As a pet health care professional and an owner of four dogs who have died of cancer, as well as one who has survived the disease, I found Straw's book enlightening and hopeful. It is a book with which every pet owner should be familiar.

I've had a cat with cancer for the past 15 months, so I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. This book not only talks about the diease itself, but covers all related topics--causes, nutritional support, insurance, and the loss. I especially like the sections on alternative care, which I believe can be as effective as any conventional treatment. Straw's resources are excellent, too, and she provides lots of fuel for further research. It's the only book of its kind, one you should add to your library even if your pet doesn't have cancer.

This book is a breakthrough - it is truly exceptional, both in terms of its content and in the warm, easy-to-follow way it is written. It is the best-written book on dealing with pet medical issues that I have ever personally seen or read. It's informative, excellently-researched and packed with great preventative tips, warning signs and statistics which put cancer into perspective for pet-owners. A great gift for any pet-loving friend or family member, and a great resource book to have on hand to help you keep your pets safe healthy and as protected as humanly possible.

Deborah Straw's book is at once comprehensive and compassionate. She has written it, she tells us, "because animals have enriched my life, and because I see our role regarding animals as that of stewards." The work is rich with interviews, poignant case histories, colorful anecdotes, and plain hard facts. It deals with methods of prevention and the emotional history of animals, as well as with treatments, both conventional and holistic. Our pets are dying from cancer in greater numbers than ever, the author allows: from brain and bone tumors, from melanomas, from head, nose and neck cancers. They have fallen prey to pesticides and pollution, to second hand smoke, to high levels of stress, and to certain toxic vaccines--the author's cat died of a vaccine-induced feline sarcoma. And yet, she insists, "Do not consider a diagnosis of cancer as a death sentence." This beautifully written book is filled with fascinating--and frightening facts. Did you know that Siamese cats are more prone to cancer than other breeds of cats? That indoor pollution levels are much higher than outdoor? That clay-based and clumping cat litters can lead to disease and death? That some rawhide chews contain lead and arsenic? That cats have a lower stress threshold than humans? That many commercial pet foods contain rendered, euthanized pets and rotten meat from supermarket shelves? No wonder our pets are getting cancer! Veterinarians differ, the author notes, in the treatment of cancerous animals, but Straw describes all treatments, in full and specific detail. Do we go with radiation and chemotherapy--or with acupuncture, herbs, and hands-on healing? Whatever you choose, this book will give you new knowledge--and hope. I look now at my fifteen-year-old cat Bennie with fresh eyes. Tomorrow I'll make us both a home cooked meal of turkey with brown rice, squash, and clover sprouts, as one vet recommends. Tonight I'll give my cat companion a warm hug.