Kathy Paris
I remember when they were building the Animal Cancer Center here at Colorado State University. It was during my 25th year of employment at CSU, while I was the switchboard operator at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, a position I held for more than 8 years. One day I went upstairs to get the mail from the Clinical Sciences mailroom. It was after they blasted the wall from the Clinical Sciences hallway to where the Animal Cancer Center stands now – the connection point. I found a round piece of concrete. I wrote the date on it, 6/1/02 and wrote, “Making us Whole.” I still have it today. As time moved on, I was able to join the Animal Cancer Center. I’ve always been interested in any kind of medicine for animals or for humans, and it was a huge opportunity for me to join the staff of the ACC. And I just love everybody in the center. They’re all so dedicated to what they are doing. I love my job as the Consult Coordinator. I was pretty nervous coming into a new job, with so many things going on. At first, it seemed that taking consult calls was just a part of my job description. But as I grew in the job, I realized that everything else would just have to sit there and pile up. The people I talk to on the consult line just had to come first. When clients and veterinarians call the consult line, they’re surprised that they get a live person. They call because their pet has cancer or they need information to help a patient under their care. Sometimes when clients call, they’ve just learned the diagnosis. I’ve talked to people who have literally just heard the diagnosis and are in their vet’s lobby, waiting for their animal to be released. They can be pretty distraught and not know what to do. Some people don’t even really know why they’re calling. So many say things like, “I know this might sound crazy to you, but this is my little girl.” It doesn’t sound crazy to me at all. If your cat sleeps with you and you put pajamas on her, that’s fine with me. I completely understand. That little girl may be a pet, but it’s part of your family. When we talk, I get the sense that people feel they’re being understood. Like they’re being heard. My hope is that I can give them some hope, courage and confidence and then connect them with an oncologist who can give them medical information they need to help their pet. I help field those calls. I take the person’s and pet’s information, and take it to an oncologist. I tell people that they will receive a call back within 48 hours. I also coordinate the receipt of x-ray films, DVDs of images, test results that can be part of the consult. And the client pays zero dollars for this. It is a donation-based service. It’s part of the outreach program we have here at the Animal Cancer Center. We want to help people. We want to help answer their questions and tell them about options for diagnosis and treatment. Then we help them sift through all of it and decide what fits, for their family. I’m in the middle of a lot of fantastic and amazing things that happen every day. The research we do here at the Animal Cancer Center is turning into human health successes. I lost my father to cancer way too early. I lost an aunt to breast cancer, and my mom is uterine cancer survivor. So there’s a very personal connection for me. But it doesn’t matter if it’s your father or your fish; nobody wants to hear the word cancer. The Animal Cancer Center was built and the whole building is full. We’ve gone from a mom-and-pop cancer group to a place where we have people wanting to come here to work and study, from all over the world. It’s because of what we do. It’s because of the people who do it, and believe in it. It’s because of the progress we’re making. I’m not a medical person. I am blessed to have this job where I can share my feeling of hope and compassion, from one human being to another. No matter what the problem is, as long as we have hope, together we can keep going and doing the best we can while we’re here on this earth. My little part is to connect those who need information about cancer to those who can give that information, one client and one vet at a time. |
Today, May, 25th, 2011 we are celebrating Kathy Paris’ retirement from the ACC Consult
Coordinator Position at the Animal Cancer Center, a role in which she
has helped thousands of veterinarians and pet owners over the past 4.5
years. Kathy has been a long time CSU employee – 32 years to be exact!!
Thank you Kathy for being a wonderful member of our team and for always
being a kind and compassionate voice on the other end of the line when
people call the ACC for help for their pet cancer patients. Thank you
for your MANY years of service! We will miss you and we wish you all the
best in your retirement!