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 Pets and companion animals
Many people find that pets provide company and comfort. In fact,
having a pet can provide support and help you cope with having
cancer. However, there are some things to think about if you have or
are thinking about getting a pet.
Tell your cancer care team about any pets you have and your routines
for caring for them. They can help you figure out whether your pet
might pose safety concerns for you during cancer treatment. It’s
also a good idea to visit your pet’s veterinarian to find out what
kinds of illness your pet might pass to you during times when your
immune system is weak.
You may also need to take steps to protect your pets when you are
home during or after cancer treatment. Be careful to keep any trash
or body waste away from pets for 48-72 hours after receiving
chemotherapy. Keep the toilet lid down when you're not using it to
keep pets from drinking the water. If you are receiving systemic
radiation, you may need to avoid contact with pets for a period of
time.
One other important thing to think about: Make sure you have someone
who can take care of your pets if you get too sick or have to be in
the hospital. Keep written instructions for feeding, cleaning,
toileting, medicines, and veterinary contacts ready if needed.
Also know that there are restrictions on where pets can go. They are
not usually allowed to go into health care settings.
Emotional support animals
An emotional support animal (ESA) provides comfort just by being
with a person. However, unlike a pet, the purpose of having an ESA
is to help a person deal with specific mental health issues. For an
animal to be considered an ESA, a person must have a prescription
from a mental health provider. Most often, ESAs are ordered for
anxiety disorders, major depression, or panic attacks. These
problems are experienced quite often by people with cancer.
ESAs can be any small animal that might be kept in
your home as a pet. Dogs and cats are the most common ESAs. ESAs do
not require specific training or certification, but must be able to
behave properly in all situations. When choosing an ESA, look for an
animal that is calm and easy to control. Animals that are likely to
get upset or are hard to control around other people will probably
not be a good choice. ESAs might be allowed
to go with their owners into some health care settings. The owner
will likely need a letter from a doctor or psychiatrist to do so.
However, most cancer care settings have rules about animals coming
with owners.
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If you would like to bring an ESA into a cancer care
facility, contact the facility ahead of time. Let them know why you
feel the need to bring the animal, see what their policies are, and
ask whether they can allow your request.
Service animals
Service animals (most often dogs) are trained to work with or do
certain tasks for someone with a physical, sensory, or mental
disability. There are different types of service animals. For
example, a service animal may guide someone who is blind, alert a
person with diabetes when their blood sugar levels are too high or
low, detect an anxiety attack and help calm the person, remind a
person with depression to take their medication, or assist a person
in a wheel chair.
Service animals are specially trained to do certain work or tasks
that go beyond providing comfort. While there is no certification
process or standardized training recognized under the Americans with
Disabilities Act, the American Kennel Club provides guidance on
choosing and training a service dog. If you have a disability that
qualifies you for a service animal, you will need to either work
with a service animal training organization or train one yourself.
Service animals are allowed to go almost anywhere with their owner,
even places where animals are often not allowed. If you have a
service animal and will be going to a cancer care facility, contact
the health care provider ahead of time to let them know.
It is important to know that there are times when service animals
may not be allowed. And if the animal is causing problems or the
owner cannot provide full care or control the animal, the owner may
be asked to remove the animal.
Can dogs smell cancer?
There have been news reports about people whose cancer was found
after a change in their dog’s behavior. This led some researchers to
study whether dogs can smell cancer on the skin, in urine, or on a
person’s breath. A few small studies have been done, but with
different results. More research is needed to decide whether dogs
can be helpful in detecting cancer in more people.
[The American Cancer Society medical
and editorial content team]
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