Veterinary oncologist overcomes cancer herself

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On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Renée Alsarraf, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), sit down to discuss her journey in veterinary oncology, including her own diagnosis and book, Sit, Stay, Heal: What Dogs Can Teach Us About Living Well.

Then, Christman and Alsarraf describe the differences between veterinary and human oncology when it comes to the power of the waiting room.

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

Renée Alsarraf, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology): I don't know that anything was done for me, to appease my fears, or the concerns in the waiting room. I think one of the things that's so important is in the veterinary waiting room, a lot of times families will talk to each other, or one dog will go to the end of his leash and meet the other dog and then I noticed, especially with the oncology clients, they often want to come in on the same day, around the same time, it becomes a support group for them. At the human cancer center, it didn't matter if you came alone or with a friend or a bunch of family members. Nobody talked to anyone and I thought, well, that's crazy. So of course, I reached out and I talked to people, and I learned so many things that helped me in my recovery. Of course, before doing anything, I always checked with my physicians, and they said, 'Oh, that's a great idea. Oh, yeah, that can really help' and I'm thinking, why didn't you tell me?