The Boilermakers’ Sweet 16 contest tonight in the NCAA tournament provides a great opportunity to reflect on a basketball season that included a special focus on the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Comparative Oncology Program. During the football and basketball season, a BIG Impact Research video spotlighting Purdue canine cancer research and treatment aired during Purdue games on the Big Ten Network.
The Big Impact Research vignette was produced by the Big Ten Network as part of a series of research profiles highlighting signature research programs. This past season, one of the vignettes shared key facts about the comparative research conducted by Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s veterinary oncology team.
The vignette provided a perfect opportunity to showcase a beloved patient and owner couple. Prominent in the video clip is a Scottie dog named Louie, who belongs to Laurie and Bob Hoffman of Schererville, Indiana. The Hoffmans are long-time clients who have had multiple dogs treated by the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program, which now is part of the Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center.
The first Scottie they brought to Purdue, named Frankie, came for treatment after being diagnosed with bladder cancer. Their second Scottie, Dexter, then was put in a screening program, to be monitored for cancer, and during one of the routine cancer screenings, his bladder cancer was detected. Both Frankie and Dexter were treated successfully at Purdue, but eventually passed on.
Now, Louie is in the bladder cancer screening program. He is cancer free, but continues to be scanned every six months. So far, so good. The Hoffman’s were excited to have Louie videotaped as part of the Big Impact Research vignette.
There also are two other dogs in the video – Great Danes that belong to Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty member Marejka Shaevitz, clinical assistant professor of oncology. They were included in the BIG Impact Research vignette to represent large to giant breed dogs that have a higher risk for another form of cancer – osteosarcoma – which also is being studied at Purdue.
The video closes with a group shot of the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program team. Dr. Knapp says teamwork involving her and her fellow clinicians and staff members, including veterinary nurses and veterinary assistants, is essential to their success.
“Teamwork is foundational to everything we do in the Werling Comparative Oncology Research Center,” Dr. Knapp says. “As shown in the BIG Impact Research vignette, everyone has a vital part to play in partnering with our patients and their owners to fight cancer in animals though a comparative scientific approach, which holds promise for helping both animals and people.”
Dr. Knapp said the whole team was excited to participate in the BIG Impact Research vignette. “We love to share our story about the benefits of a comparative approach to medical research, which recognizes the importance of cancer in animals as models of human forms of the disease. This vignette was a wonderful way of sharing this hopeful message with Purdue fans everywhere – Purdue fans who reflect the indomitable spirit of the late Purdue Super Fan Tyler Trent.”