David Foster was diagnosed with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma in April 2005. Translation: stage four kidney cancer and the sixth deadliest form of cancer. Not a great disease to acquire. Also not the end of the world. Just ask David who is busy working as a National Strategic Advisor in Augusta, Georgia, headlining within the independent magazine community, hanging out with dog Gracie, and documenting his journey in a blog he calls David Foster's Kicking Kidney Cancer's Arse.

He's no wimp, this guy. Just read his June 23 post, titled May kill me, but it ain't gonna beat me. He didn't let that hard-nosed kid Jerry whip him when he was eight -- he smacked him so hard in the lunchroom, Jerry was left stumbling and bleeding -- and he won't let cancer bully him either. Still, David admits: he is sick. He explains it all in a post he calls Mr. Foster, are you really sick?

David got an e-mail one day. It read, Mr. Foster, are you really sick? I read your blog and you don't sound sick.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine oncology unit at the University of Saskatchewan offers radiation treatment for dogs and cats suffering from cancer. Pets from British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have been treated for cancer at the hospital clinic. When a pet comes in for treatment, they are often not sick enough to warrant staying overnight during cancer treatment. Nor is it very comfortable for a pet to stay overnight at the hospital clinic, as the disturbance of lights and noise can result in an animal becoming sleep-deprived.

Foster families have been taking in pets from other provinces while they undergo cancer treatment. As the pet clinic is getting more and more referrals from out of province, more foster families are needed. Full-course radiation treatment usually lasts a month for each pet at the unit, while treatment for palliation, which aims to improve the quality of life of pets with incurable cancer, runs three to four treatments.

"I think it's scary for them to be in an environment where it is not their normal bed and not their normal family," states Monique Mayer, veterinary radiation oncologist. "They know it's a hospital so I don't think they are as relaxed." Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for cats and dogs.