The answer to cancer might be walking right next to you
Stephanie Foster and her beloved chocolate Labrador retriever, Maple. Maple is the inspiration behind Stephanie’s involvement with the nonprofit One Cure, which supports the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University.
Just to our north at Colorado State University’s Flint Animal Cancer Center (FACC), researchers are on a mission to conquer cancer in all species and believe cures for pets could work for humans as well. The nonprofit One Cure was founded in 2011 to spread the word about FACC and support important clinical trials and comparative oncology research.
“One Cure is founded on the principle that cancer is cancer. Pets and people get the same kind of cancer. One cancer. One cure,” shared Kate Shelton, communications and outreach contact for FACC.
Stephanie Foster, who lives in The Canyons, serves on One Cure’s planning committee and is an ambassador for the program. She shares her story to promote the incredible work that is being done at FACC in hopes of finding a cure. The story of how she got there is both heartbreaking and full of hope.
Cancer first arrived in Stephanie’s life as a teenager when she lost her non-smoking father after a nine-month battle with lung cancer. Ten years later, she lost her father-in-law to the same form of the disease. In 2011, she received her own breast cancer diagnosis.
During Stephanie’s treatment, her beautiful chocolate Labrador retriever Maple was always by her side. A year later, Maple was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma and lost her battle within six months. After Maple passed away, Stephanie and her husband were devastated and wanted to honor her memory. A Google search connected them to One Cure.
“Rob and I are both CSU alumns, so the tie in with CSU made it a no-brainer for us,” offered Stephanie.
Research is key. Stephanie is committed to paving the path to a cure by supporting clinical trials in hopes others will not have to go through the pain and suffering of cancer treatments, both physically and mentally. During her own treatment, she elected to enroll in a clinical study. “In short, my trial was a step in the right direction. I am now at almost 13 years from my diagnosis and happy to say, I am still cancer free,” shared Stephanie.
Two of Stephanie’s Labradors have participated in studies at FACC. Fraser was enrolled in a vaccine against cancer clinical trial. Mala is taking part as a healthy dog participant.
“We’ve made great strides in the fight, but we still have so far to go. Clinical trial studies give us valuable information to improve diagnostics, treatment options and ultimately outcomes. This knowledge is then used to inform human care,” added Kate.
Stephanie is determined to take her and her family’s adversity and turn it into hope for others. “One Cure is an opportunity right here in front of us to be a part of something really big – a cure for cancer,” she concluded.
To learn more, donate or get involved with FACC and One Cure, visit www.csuanimalcancercenter.org and select the “One Cure” tab.
Prior to passing from cancer, Maple loved pool time.
By Elean Gersack; photos courtesy of Stephanie Foster
