How Pets Can Help During and After a Health Journey
- Fox News TV personality and comedian Kat Timpf has introduced her one-eyed rescue cat Juan on Instagram, showing him in a dusty blue sweater hoodie and joking “Baddies missing body parts” after her recent battle with stage zero breast cancer, known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
- Stage zero breast cancer refers to DCIS otherwise known as Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. DCIS are abnormal cells that line the duct in a breast. A normal breast comprises lots of ducts (these ducts carry milk to the nipple in a woman who is lactating).
- Research published in JCO Oncology Practice highlights the benefits of animal therapy—including pet and horse therapy—for individuals living with chronic conditions or cancer. It helps reduce anxiety, improve mental health, and promote relaxation.
- A medically reviewed report suggests that pet therapy can lessen the need for pain medication in chronic pain patients while also boosting mood, lowering stress, reducing anxiety, and alleviating loneliness and social isolation.
Timpf made the joke because her cat is missing his eye and she had both of her breasts removed after being diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer, known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
“Animals have the power to heal. This precious kitty will help you handle anything.”
In a followup Instagram video post, which Timpf captioned, “If u watch this video u don’t need therapy,” she then proceeds to show off her adorable cat.
She explains in the footage, “Okay, so everyone knows I had a really rough year last year. Diagnosed with breast cancer, 15 hours later, went into labor, gave birth to my son, had a double mastectomy, my dad helped me through the whole thing. And then two months after my son’s first birthday, my dad just dropped dead.
“So it’s been really hard, been going through a lot.”
Expert Resources On Pet Therapy
While lifting up Juan and presenting him to the camera, she continued, “However … And if you’ve gone through a lot of loss, as I have, as long as you haven’t lost your free will, you can adopt a one-eyed cat, name him Juan, because he has one eye, and put him in a hoodie.
“Look at that, look how cute.”
View this post on Instagram
In response to the exciting news, one fan wrote, “Juan is so chill! My cat would remove my eyes if I tried to put him in a hoody.”
“Your sweet kitty made me smile and cry because my tuxedo cat died very suddenly 3 weeks ago and I miss her dreadfully,” commented another.
A third person chimed in, “That’s our girl! We love Kat and Juan the one-eyed cat.”
“Now THIS just lifted my spirits!!! I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this all at once BUT… PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS…and you sure do SPARKLE!!!” a fourth fan wrote.
The Michigan-born comedian took to Instagram on March 13 last year to share a recovery update alongside a photo of her standing outside Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“Once I recover from childbirth, my mole removal scars heal, I get a double mastectomy, get rid of my cancer, have breast reconstruction surgery & am physically capable of getting back in the gym it’s OVER FOR U,” she captioned the post.
Her recovery post followed an “unconventional birth announcement” on her Instagram page, where she revealed she was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer, known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), less than 24 hours before giving birth to her son, urging others, “Don’t freak out. It’s just, like, a little bit of cancer.”
Timpf said she welcomed her first child just a week earlier and received her cancer diagnosis roughly 15 hours before she went into labor.
She wrote on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram, “Now, before you worry, my doctor says it’s Stage 0 and is confident that it almost certainly hasn’t spread. Or, as I’ve explained to the few people I’ve managed to tell about it so far: Don’t freak out. It’s just, like, a LITTLE bit of cancer.
“Still, it was not a chill day. I mean, to say the least! I woke up more-than-a-week-past-due pregnant, completely consumed by doing everything I could to get the baby out. By the middle of the afternoon, I was waddling around from appointment to appointment, talking about how to get my cancer out. I sat and listened as they told me that the best course of action would likely be a double mastectomy as soon as possible.”
View this post on Instagram
Understanding Kat Timpf’s Early-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Stage zero breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ are abnormal cells that line the duct in a breast. A normal breast comprises many ducts carrying milk to the nipple in a lactating woman. This type of breast cancer is not invasive, meaning it has not spread outside the milk duct and can’t invade other parts of the breast.
Some oncologists approach stage zero breast cancer with a watch-and-wait approach, meaning no invasive procedure happens immediately. Other oncologists may opt to perform surgery followed by possible radiation.
WATCH: I Have Stage Zero Breast Cancer: What Should I Do?
SurvivorNet experts say if DCIS is left untreated, it may develop into more advanced breast cancer.
However, it’s important to understand that treatment for early-stage breast cancer is one of the great debates—and recently, there was incredible progress in understanding whether women diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer either need treatment right away or can take a watch-and-wait approach.
A study recently published in JAMA Oncology, is saying that treatment for the disease is actually no better than active surveillance after a stage zero diagnosis.
The new research, shared in JAMA with the title “Active Monitoring With or Without Endocrine Therapy for Low-Risk Ductal Carcinoma In Situ – The COMET Randomized Clinical Trial,” is a large study that’s been looking into the benefit of active surveillance versus standard treatment.
As the COMET trial, which has been going on for years and is still underway, those who specialize in breast cancer say this study is incredibly important. Including, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the founder and Director of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer, who previously told SurvivorNet that DCIS is “a pre-cancer, technically.”
The standard treatment for DCIS is to remove it surgically and in some instances offer radiation as well. “But I think if a woman is seeing a physician who says you need surgery, I think it’s really important that she maybe get a little more information,” Dr. Partridge said.
This type of research has been put into place to help doctors decide whether doing less may be just as effective as doing more. In the meantime, the options are worth weighing depending on your individual diagnosis and concerns.
And we understand that these findings can be distressing to women who have already undergone surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation for early-stage breast cancer, it’s important to note that approximately 30 percent of women who initially receive an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis will end up developing metastatic breast cancer, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Additionally, Breast Cancer Research Foundation reports that women with stage zero breast cancer have a a high success rate of beating the disease, with a 98 percent survival rate after 10 years.
Dr. Partridge explained to SurvivorNet that stage zero breast cancer is, “Something that may turn into invasive breast cancer. Invasive breast cancer is the kind of breast cancer that has the potential to not only grow in your breast but to spread to other places in the body and ultimately hurt someone more than just needing a breast surgery.”
The current standard of care is treatment with either lumpectomy or mastectomy, radiation, and hormonal therapy.
Additionally, Dr. Chirag Shah, Director of Breast Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, says recent studies show that the risk of dying from stage zero breast cancer is very low, prompting some doctors to opt for less aggressive treatment and, even in some cases, active surveillance.
“Protocols, such as the comet trial, are studying the use of surveillance regimens, but this is not standard of care and is experimental at this time, and active surveillance is not something that we would recommend for patients outside of a clinical study,” Dr. Shah said.
Finding a Balance Between Screening and Treating
Dr. Alana Welm, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, also told SurvivorNet that doctors need to find a balance between screening and finding cancers that actually require treatment.
Screenings lead to more people being diagnosed with cancer, and some of those cancers may have never caused an issue. Dr. Welm says treating these cancers exposes patients to unnecessary toxicities. Stage zero breast cancer, for example, can get picked up during screening but not all doctors see eye-to-eye on whether it requires treatment or just monitoring.
WATCH: Understanding a double mastectomy.
How Helpful Are Pets for Cancer Patients?
Dr. Ann Berger, a physician and researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, advocates for the therapeutic use of animals for cancer patients. She emphasizes the profound connection between mindfulness and animal interactions.
“The foundations of mindfulness include attention, intention, compassion, and awareness… All of those things are things that animals bring to the table. People kind of have to learn it. Animals do this innately,” Berger told the NIH.
Ongoing research continues to explore the deeper impact of animal therapy on patients battling illnesses, with the NIH actively participating in several studies.
“We’re trying to tap into the subjective quality of the relationship with the animal, part of the bond that people feel with animals, and how that translates into some of the health benefits,” said Dr. James Griffin, a child development expert at NIH.
WATCH: Richard Marks meets Bowie while undergoing chemotherapy.
Dogs, in particular, are commonly used as therapy animals for both children and adults. Studies show therapy dogs can help children with ADHD improve focus, while adult patients—especially those undergoing intense medical treatment—also experience significant benefits.
Cancer survivor Richard Marks, who battled bone marrow cancer, previously shared his experience with SurvivorNet, crediting his rescue dog, Bowie, for helping him cope during chemotherapy.
“When I’m doing chemotherapy, I’m waiting, and time goes by. Maybe I’m worrying about my numbers or how treatment is going. And all of a sudden, a cute little dog goes by, and then I’m not thinking about those things,” Marks told SurvivorNet.
“I’m only thinking about that dog,” he added.
RELATED: How A Pooch Helped During Chemo
Dogs Can Offer Comfort, Too
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.
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.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
