The Roles Animals Can Play in Treating Ovarian Cancer

North-Western Native Americans consider blue jays to be helpful to mankind. And help — by way of emotional support — is just what Floridian Dina Theissen received from Gracie, a blue jay that’s been part of her family for around two and a half years.

The family connection with Gracie began in the spring of 2015, when Dina found a small ball of fluff near their mailbox and soon realized it was a baby bird. A few days later, when Gracie’s parents still hadn’t returned to claim the foundling, Dina brought the tiny creature to their home and turned the family’s enclosed patio into a nursery.

Dina’s daughter, Alyssa, named the little one “Gracie.” Together with her mother and her father, Ken, the three fed the bird dry cat food moistened with water every 30 minutes to maintain Gracie’s nutrition and support normal growth.

Gracie nested in a blanket-lined basket Alyssa fixed up for the baby.

During the five weeks Gracie stayed with the family, they found out Gracie was actually a boy, but hung onto the name anyway.

Gracie and Dina bonded especially well. Whenever Dina talked to the bird, Gracie focused his eyes on Dina, who always referred to herself as “Momma.”

Every day since Gracie was “returned to the wild” in 2015, he has stopped by the Theissen household for a family visit, sneaking through a hole in the screen to enter their porch. His wild squaws are the doorbell.

In this fashion, Gracie has also brought along each of his four broods to introduce to his adopted family.

Author Dawn has shared some positive thoughts on animals that are known to have special healing powers. For example, she discussed the power of man’s best friend in the core of one of her works called The Power of Wagging Tails: A Guide to Dog Therapy and Healing. This book contains extensive research that shows the healing, therapeutic power of dogs on individuals of different age groups who suffer from various health issues.

Dr. Marcus is a consultant for the Power of Paws program, which encourages the improvement of human health through the companionship of dogs. This program is a nationwide initiative that brings together a variety of pet partners to educate consumers on the bond between humans and animals as well as encourages the pets and their parents to become active to try to reduce stress and to live a happy life together.

Dr. Marcus has demonstrated multiple positive impacts on patients after they participated in dog therapy visits. Patients who have gone through this form of therapy have stated it increased their energy levels as well as reduced their pain. Their breathing rates also slowed down, simulating a sense of relaxation. There was also less anxiety, depression, and dejection reported.

An emotional-support animal bonds with the individual through their supportive presence and positive interactions, thus improving the person’s quality of life. These animal helpers need not always be dogs; they can be any domesticated pet, such as cats, birds, rodents, or even hedgehogs. 

There is an emotional book called Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myselfwhich details the powerful impact animals can have on people’s lives. This is the work of Julie Barton, who writes about being a college graduate and getting a job in a publishing house in New York City. Suddenly, though, life took a turn for the worse, leading Julie into a depression. She mentions the intricate details of it in the book, including reaching a low point and entertaining thoughts of suicide. However, she decided to call her mother to take her back to her hometown instead.

During these days of struggle, she ended up adopting a golden retriever who turned out to be a miracle source of healing for her. This book is all about her journey through life and will take readers on an emotional ride.

Dina, who is a noted researcher and an established dog trainer herself, has played a major role in the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Due to her excellent training techniques, she has been able to fund studies that involve using dogs to detect cancer early on in humans. She has since trained over 24 dogs to detect cancer in humans. She was also part of the screening of over 2000 breast cancer samples. Researchers say Dina has been successful in identifying the scent of ovarian cancer in tissue samples, thereby creating a new window of opportunity for combatting this disease.