Juliet & Romeo by David & Kelly Gerstenhaber

Although the emotions we felt upon our golden retriever’s diagnosis of lymphoma are practically beyond verbal description, the experience can best be described as devastating, characterized by emotions including sorrow, anger, and grief. It seemed unbelievable that the light of our life and our home was faced with a life-threatening illness that most likely would take her from us, particularly as we are two educated people who were confronted with the very concept of animal cancer for the very first time. However, our initial profound sense of helplessness was quickly converted to a limitless determination. Being two highly resourceful people with a vast contact network, as well as academic and medical backgrounds, we embarked on an exhaustive national search for the best treatment this country had to offer (or the world for that matter, for there were no boundaries when it came to saving the dog we loved so dearly).

The culmination of this comprehensive and what felt like a desperately intensive search was The Animal Cancer Foundation, which almost immediately far surpassed our very high expectations. To our great relief, there existed an organization that believed these beloved members of our families deserved an optimal chance for survival. In addition, we readily understood that cutting-edge and progressive treatment of animal cancer would certainly foster cancer treatment advances in humans, as well. As a primary focus of our philanthropic interests had already involved the advancement of medical treatments and technology, ACF seemed almost too good to be true, as it uniquely addressed our desperate desire to help our golden retriever, but it also furthered areas in human medicine that we were already committed to.

Juliet thus began what in our understanding was the best treatment protocol the world had to offer. As a result, her survival time was approximately double what conventional treatment for lymphoma in golden retrievers would have estimated. Additionally, not only was Juliet’s quality of life during those years unaffected, as difficult as it is to believe, but also the quality of our interactions with Juliet and how we perceived her personality, actually surpassed what it had been. For all of this, our
gratitude to the ACF is immense and our commitment immeasurable.

Although the ultimate loss of Juliet was devastating and probably the worst loss either of us has ever experienced in our adult lives, it only strengthened our resolve concerning the importance of the work of the ACF and the great need for its further support. The personal and emotional gain that the ACF has provided us, is matched by the vision and strength of our conviction of its ultimate contribution to the domain of human medicine and cancer treatment.

Just one month after the loss of Juliet, during what was already a very difficult time for us, Romeo—Juliet’s brother, our remaining golden retriever, and the other light of our household -- was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor. Both of our goldens having some form of cancer seemed impossible to believe; however, ACF made us aware that approximately 63% of golden retrievers will have some type of cancer. As one of us is a research scientist, we are profoundly aware of how epidemiology and prevalence research greatly informs treatment (understanding a disease is the first crucial step towards combating it). In addition, the ACF immediately made us aware of an experimental medication that bettered the prognosis for Romeo by decreasing the likelihood of a recurrence once the tumor was removed.

Once again, we were suddenly acutely aware of the contributions of the ACF and our gratitude was overwhelming. Of particular importance, our personal experience once again further highlighted the unique potential impact the ACF could have both on animal and human cancer. The progressive vision and preliminary contributions of the ACF are consistent with our interest in forwarding medical treatments in the care of animals as well as humans and has certainly invaluably contributed to the wonderful care and prognosis of both of our beloved animals. Thus, as loving owners of two goldens, and people quite dedicated to the advancement of science and medical care, we are well-aware of why support for the visionary approach of the ACF is so greatly warranted.