The ‘C’ Word…Are You Hearing It More Often from Your Veterinarian
It seems as though it is happening more often. A pet parent comes to me with their furry kid in tow for a well pet exam. Their pet is feeling great. Eating well, great skin and coat, no coughing, sneezing, vomiting or diarrhea. It may be on the physical exam or routine lab work that I discover that the pet has cancer. It is one of the hardest conversations I can have. They know I must be wrong…how could their healthy pet have a potentially life-threatening disease? I have the impression that I am having this dialog much more often than when I started practice. Is cancer really occurring more often in pets? If it is more common, what may be the cause and is there anything we can do to decrease the chances that your pet will be affected?
My guest is a Dr. Brennan McKenzie, a veterinarian and practitioner of ‘Evidence Based Medicine.’ We will tackle all of these questions and more.
BIO:
Prior to becoming a veterinarian, I worked teaching English composition, in numerous clerical jobs, on a fishing boat in Alaska, running a pet food store, in a baseball card factory, and as a waiter. I’m not one of the folks who read James Herriott and decided to be a vet as a child. I loved science and literature, but I chose science as the more satisfying lifestyle. First, I tried to be Jane Goodall and did a Master’s Degree in primate behavior at CSU San Francisco, doing my thesis research with the chimpanzees at the San Francisco Zoo. After several years trying to make a living in primate behavior, including running a breeding colony of rhesus monkeys on an island in South Carolina and doing behavior therapy and enrichment work for captive primates in a research facility in Texas, I stumbled into veterinary medicine after about ten years later than most of my classmates. It has proven to be the ideal choice because it provides work that is interesting and has, I think, some real moral or social value, and yet it is an established profession in which I can make a living.
In continuing to learn and grow as a vet, I have had the good fortune to join, and eventually serve as president of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association and to speak on the subject of evidence-based medicine at numerous continuing education meetings. I have also been able to publish a number of articles on this and other veterinary topics. In 2015, I completed my Master’s Degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Outside of the veterinary world, I’m a voracious reader with particular fondness for science fiction and philosophy. I love to travel, and have had the opportunity to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, run with the bulls in Pamplona, and travel in Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, and parts of Europe. I love hiking and playing my mandolin and Irish Pennywhistle, and continuing my training in Shaolin Kempo Karate. Being the father of a teenager is, of course, my favorite and most time consuming non-work activity. My wife has put up with me for 20 years now, for which I am grateful every day.