The "pet effect" in cancer patients: Risks and benefits of human-pet interaction.

"Can I keep my dog while receiving chemotherapy?" "Can my cat sleep on my bed while I'm on treatment?" "What precautions should I take with my pets in order to avoid infections?"" I read that my dog could give me breast cancer, is that true?" "Do you have assistance therapy dogs at your chemotherapy day unit?" These are not uncommon questions from cancer patients in oncology/haematology consultation rooms. The answers to these questions however, are widely unknown among physicians. Pet ownership is thought to provide patients with both emotional and physical health benefits. However, owning pets may also pose health risks to immunocompromised patients through zoonotic transmission of disease. Some studies have also suggested that the ownership of domestic pets may increase the risk of developing some cancers. But what is the evidence behind these claims? This paper presents the results of a literature review of a variety of scientific literature about pet ownership as a potential risk factor for suffering cancer, zoonotic diseases and the immunocompromised, and animal-assisted-therapy in cancer patients.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Critical reviews in oncology/hematology

• Publication date

  2019-11-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2019.08.004PMID 31479836
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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