Battling a Health Challenge With a Pet
- Beloved weather anchor Al Roker, who beat obesity and prostate cancer, is remembering his late dog Pepper just one year after she passed away—and he’s received heartfelt words from fans, with one saying dogs are “better than humans.”
- Roker was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 after a routine PSA screening, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This test measures the level of PSA in the blood, and higher levels can indicate cancer.
- He underwent surgery one month later, but it’s important to know that not all men diagnosed with prostate cancer require surgery, with doctors instead, using active surveillance, a “watch-and-wait” approach for less aggressive cases.
- It turns out that finding joy in family pets as a means to cope with grief, or even to cope with your own cancer battle is a fairly common practice.
- Experts suggest that therapy dogs can be beneficial for people grieving and going through treatment.
The Queens, New York native, a captioned a tribute post create for his late dog, who died on June 10, 2024, “It’s been a year since our little Pepper left us. And a year later, she is still missed.”
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Other fans commented, “Their only flaw is that they don’t live longer. … Those sweet photo memories” and “She will always be missed but in a good way. The memories of all the love they gave us. Doesn’t go away. Blessings they are.”
Roker’s TV journalist wife, Deborah Roberts, also shared a heartfelt compilation of memories in an Instagram post, writing, “Hard to believe that it’s been a year since our world shifted so heartbreakingly. We said goodbye to our sweet Pepper.
“I’m shocked by how profound and hard this loss has been. Only now can I see her pictures or dogs who resemble her and smile, wistfully. Warmed by the memory of her absolute devotion. Experts explain it this way: Unlike humans, a dog’s love is generally free of complexity. It’s simply pure and unconditional.So the loss can hit deep.”
Expert Resources On Coping With Loss
Roberts continued, “Often, when I would choke up talking about Pepper, many would ask, ‘are you getting a new dog soon’ never meaning to be insensitive. But I could not easier answer that question than I could about finding a new family member after losing one.
“Only your heart can know when and if it’s time to move forward We miss you dear Pepper.”
In response to one of her followers’ comments on the post, Roberts noted that pepper was rescued and possible a “Javanese poodle mix.”
Last year, just one day after Pepper passed away, Roker wrote on social media, “12 years ago, this sweet little girl named Pepper changed our lives. Yesterday, we had to say goodbye. While our hearts are heavy, they are also fuller because of all the love she bestowed on everyone who got to meet her.”
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We’d like to point out how Pepper offered support for Roker and his loved ones, especially throughout difficult times, like when he battled prostate cancer.
People often find joy in their pats as a means to cope with grief or a health battle and experts suggest dogs are beneficial for people going through cancer treatment or feeling sad after a loss.
Al Roker: Prostate Cancer Survivor
In 2022, Al Roker suffered from dangerous blood clots after going through prostate cancer.
“It’s a good news-bad news kind of thing,” Roker told TODAY at the time of his 2020 diagnosis. Like many others, he had almost delayed his appointment because of the pandemic.
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“Good news is we caught it early. Not great news is that it’s a little aggressive, so I’m going to be taking some time off to take care of this.”
In November 2020, he explained he would be having surgery. “My first reaction was, ‘I just want this out. I don’t want to do radiation,’” Roker previously told SurvivorNet.
“At the end of the day, I thought, ‘surgery first,’ then I thought, ‘no, maybe radiation,’ then I went back and (said), ‘no, surgery.’ That was that. Once I make a decision, I don’t really second guess it.”
He ultimately had his prostate and some surrounding tissue and lymph nodes removed. This type of surgery, a radical prostatectomy, is known to affect a man’s sexual function since it requires removing the seminal vesicles.
“There really was no pain,” Roker said on how he felt post-operation. “The biggest issue, obviously, is sexual function, and there’s treatment for that. I’m happy to say everything’s working fine.”
Dogs Through Cancer
Cancer therapy dogs are trained to help people with cancer feel better emotionally and physically. A cancer therapy dog helps a person going through cancer treatment by reducing anxiety and lifting a person’s mood. These types of dogs mainly provide comfort and support through cancer.
Studies have shown that spending time with dogs lowers a person’s blood pressure and the stress hormone, cortisol. Therapy dogs may help with pain management, too, as time with dogs can trigger a release of endorphins which mitigate pain and discomfort.
How Can Dogs Help?
Anecdotal evidence from SurvivorNet’s experts says that having a positive mood through cancer can benefit treatment. Also, scientific evidence around depression and cancer shows that treating depression positively impacts cancer treatment. This is where help from cancer therapy dogs can play a tremendous role. However, for more severe cases of anxiety and depression, speak to a psychologist before pursuing treatment or support from a furry friend.
Jane Kopelman, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and owner of All About Dogs, said during a previous interview that the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Caring Canine Program was hoping to get more pups involved in the program because patients request them so often.
A ‘Plum’ Assignment: Therapy Dog From Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
“What most patients say, and studies have proven, is that the dogs reduce anxiety, reduce depression, and they give people a sense of hope they often motivate people,” Kopelman said. “Patients have said that they were so eager to have the dogs come that it motivated them to get up.”
The dogs can visit patients who are in the hospital after undergoing surgery and also visit outpatient locations where patients may be undergoing treatment like chemotherapy.
If you’re interested in pursuing a cancer therapy dog, speak with your doctor about the following steps, or an oncological social worker or organizations to connect with that train these types of dogs. Note that waiting lists for service dogs are often long and their training period is a lengthy process, as well, so time is of the essence if you wish to get a service dog.
Life After Loss & Coping With Emotions
It’s normal to feel sad about changes in your life that might be brought on by death or a cancer diagnosis.
“Grief comes in waves,” says Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “They’re grieving the change in their life, the future they had imagined is now different.”
RELATED: Learning More About Grief
Some days can be tougher than others, but Dr. Irwin says talk therapy is helpful so it’s important to reach out to your doctor, to a therapist or to support groups in your community.
Remember, when a stressful life event occurs, people may react with a range of different (and quickly changing) emotions. This is completely normal.
“The way people respond is very variable,” Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik tells SurvivorNet. “Very much consistent with how they respond to stresses and challenges in their life in general.”
In this video, Dr. Plutchik is speaking mostly about how people react after a cancer diagnosis which can be a huge range of emotions from fear to anger to determination.
Handling Stressful Life Events
However, the conclusion remains the same no matter what stressor someone may be dealing with: your emotions are valid and seeking mental health help may look different for every person.
“People have a range of emotions when they’re diagnosed with cancer,” Dr. Plutchik explains. “And they can include fear, anger … and these emotions tend to be fluid. They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process. Going through a cancer diagnosis is just the beginning of a complicated, complicated process.”
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Dr. Plutchik explains that the patient, or person going through the stressful event, should accept that emotions will be fluid. You may feel fine one day and then feel a massive wave of stress the next. It’s also important for those you look to for support whether that’s a therapist, friends and family, or both to understand the fluidity of stress-related emotions.
If a stressful event is affecting how you think and feel, it may be time to seek some sort of mental health treatment. This could mean traditional talk therapy, medication, changing lifestyle habits (like exercise and diet), seeking out a support group, or many other approaches.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
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