People most often relate human suffering to the loss of family or friends or the suffering inflicted by sickness or disease.  However, humans also suffer with the loss of their pets because pets become a part of our emotional and psychological bonds the same as our family and friends.  In most instances, pets become an actual part of our family.

Cancer is now the number one disease in the world and the W.H.O. describe it as a global epidemic.  The latest research has indicated that 53% of men and 47% of women will be afflicted by cancer in their lifetime.  Most people don’t realise that cancer is also now the greatest threat to the lives and the quality of life of our pets.

Cancer Screen Technologies Ltd (CST) is a world leader in the development of new cancer diagnostic devices. The antibody developed by CST has been shown to detect up to 24 different cancers from a single blood sample. The antibody has FDA approval in the USA.

Test such as this are known as tumor markers and can be used to screen for cancers and also to monitor the effectiveness of treatment for previously diagnosed cancers. This is particularly important for our pets.

According to The Veterinary Cancer Society, cancer is the leading cause of death in almost 50% of dogs (especially in dogs over the age of ten) and 32% of cats. As with human cancer, early detection is the key to successful treatment of cancers in pets.

The CST cancer test is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, also called an ELISA test. It is a test that detects and measures cancer antibodies in blood and can be performed in most pathology laboratories. A pilot trial successfully proved that the CST antibody detects cancer in cats. The test now requires further trials to determine the reliability when used to detect cancer in all animals. Our initial trials will be focused specifically on cats and dogs.

The research is to be conducted in Australia by CST’s R&D team. This project involves ground breaking research. Because it is ground breaking, the Australian Government will contribute 45 cents for every dollar spent on this project under the Australian R&D Tax Incentive program.

What we need now is funding to complete the research and make this important test for cancer available to pets.

What we need to do:

•         Complete a planned 71 sample feline trial
•         Design and complete a canine trial
•         Publish trial results
•         Identification of expanded trial sites in selected veterinary clinics
•         Design expanded trial protocols

CST would love to make the test available to everyone who supports the project, however, this is just not logistically possible. What we promise to do is keep everyone directly informed of our progress, list every donor on our benefactor webpage and allow you to nominate your local veterinary practice to be part of the expanded trial when we get to that stage.

We believe we have a revolutionary new test for the detection of cancer in animals. These animals aren’t just our pets, they are much loved members of our families. We believe they are entitled to the same level of advanced medical technology and care that we are. With your help, we can save their lives too.