The Riedel and Cody Fund Helps Pets with Cancer
NORWALK, Conn., May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, one in four pets will be diagnosed with cancer - the same rate of cancer diagnosis in people. The month of May is Pet Cancer Awareness month and The Riedel and Cody Fund, a national charity founded in 2010, wants families to know there are options for those who are struggling to find information and treatments for their companion animal diagnosed with cancer.
It is estimated that one in four dogs, greater than 2 years of age, will die of cancer and certain very popular breeds are over-represented in terms of cancer incidence and mortality. The prevalence of cancer in dogs has increased in recent years: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2174910/).
Mark Tillinger, and his charity co-founder, David Duchemin, started The Riedel and Cody Fund to help pets in need of lifesaving treatments and their owners find much needed information and available resources to answer the many questions surrounding their pet's cancer diagnosis.
"When my dog Riedel was diagnosed with cancer I was devastated," explained Mark Tillinger, "and I was fortunate to be able to afford the cost of the cancer treatments Riedel needed to live a longer, healthier life. After Riedel passed I wanted to help other pet owners who could not afford to pay for life saving cancer treatments as I had for Riedel. David had lost his cherished dog Cody to cancer and we both felt the urgent need to help others in our situation. Ultimately we collaborated on the mission for The Riedel and Cody Fund."
Finding ways to beat cancer for our companion animals helps not only our pets, but also ourselves as so many similarities exist between cancers which affect dogs and those same cancers diagnosed in people. The field of comparative oncology studies those similarities and there are many encouraging developments in cancer treatments for people from sharing information between veterinary and medical oncologists.
"The opportunity to provide hope for so many who face this frightening diagnosis in a family pet – and so many of those owners are elderly, veterans, disabled and their companion animal is their only family – providing hope to these compassionate pet owners is something we strive to do every day," said Tillinger.
The Riedel and Cody Fund is sponsored by the Petco and Blue Buffalo Foundations as well as individual donors and businesses. RCF was founded in 2010 by Mark Tillinger and David Duchemin with a mission for funding cancer treatments, providing information and resources to companion animal caregivers and sustaining hope for a cure. For more information please contact: Lorin Liesenfelt, Executive Director, 8605750557, [email protected] or visit www.riedelcody.org
SOURCE The Riedel and Cody Fund
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