Woman's cat saved her life by detecting breast cancer

Animal lover, 35, reveals her rescue cat saved her life by detecting her stage three breast cancer after becoming ‘obsessed with lying on the left side of her chest’ where tumour was later discovered

  • Kate King-Scribbins, 35, from St Paul, Minnesota lives with her rescue cat Oggy
  • Oggy became obsessed with lying on the left side of Kate’s chest  and after waking up with a shooting pain in her breast Kate decided to visit her doctor
  • A lump was discovered in her breast and she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer – but is now in remission 

An animal lover has hailed her rescue cat a hero after he saved her life by detecting her breast cancer.

Kate King-Scribbins, 35, from St Paul, Minnesota, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after her rescue cat, Oggy, became ‘obsessed’ with lying on the left side of her chest.

Woken up by a shooting pain, Kate, who works as a health care fraud investigator, checked her breasts where she found a lump, and was later diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

An animal lover has hailed her rescue cat a hero after he saved her life by detecting her breast cancer

Kate King-Scribbins was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after finding a lump – thanks to her cat, Oggy, became ‘obsessed’ with lying on the left side of her chest. This subconsciously prompted the 35-year-old from St Paul, Minnesota, to check her breasts and after discovering a lump, she was later diagnosed

After gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, and radiation, Kate – who also had her entire stomach removed in 2019, after a rare genetic mutation diagnosis, is now considered to have no evidence of the disease.

Kate said: ‘I look back on the changes in his behaviour towards me before my breast cancer diagnosis and I truly believe he was trying to alert me to the dangers growing in my body.

‘Oggy has always loved to snuggle up in my arms but he began to snuggle more aggressively than usual, which was odd.

‘He was focusing on my chest area and specifically on my left side for months before I knew myself what was going on.

After gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, Kate – who also had part of her stomach removed in 2019 in a bid to stop her cancer returning – she is now in remission.

Kate said: ‘I look back on the changes in his behaviour towards me before my breast cancer diagnosis and I truly believe he was trying to alert me to the dangers growing in my body’. Oggy is pictured lying on Kate

‘I would try and direct him someplace else, but he just wouldn’t have it. He seemed more determined than ever to make sure he was lying near my left breast.

‘It wasn’t until I felt the lump and got the dreaded diagnosis that I realised what he had been trying to tell me all along.’

Kate, who rescued Oggy when she was 20, accepts that some people will be sceptical but thinks people with a close bond to their pets will understand.

She said: ‘I don’t blame people who don’t believe me but I’m not above looking like a crazy cat lady if it means someone else is alerted to a health problem sooner than I was.

The day after Kate was diagnosed with cancer. She was sore and bruised from painful biopsies, but Oggy would not settle until he was lay here, pictured

Kate made sure to watch Oggy’s behaviour closely during her treatment.

‘I noted that he continued to act like this throughout chemotherapy, and it wasn’t until I had surgery, and the cancer was finally removed, that he stopped focusing on my chest.

‘I know that if he ever starts focusing on a different part of my body, I will run to the doctor immediately.’

She added: ‘If only I would have realised what he was trying to tell me. I feel if he could talk he would call me stupid and say ‘I’ve been trying to tell you about this cancer growing in your breast for months now, please go get checked out’.

Kate, who rescued Oggy when she was 20, accepts that some people will be sceptical but thinks people with a close bond to their pets will understand 

‘If only pets could talk. I can’t help but wonder if I could have caught my cancer sooner had I noticed his behaviour and listened to him.

Kate who has recently returned back to work as a health care fraud investigator, lives with her husband Andy, 37, and their four pets.

The married couple have two cats and two dogs and Kate thanks her pets for their therapeutic help since the start of her cancer battle.

She said: ‘The dogs have been an amazing source of motivation to get me out of the house and keep me moving.

Kate who has recently returned back to work as a health care fraud investigator, lives with her husband Andy, 37, and their four pets. The married couple have two cats and two dogs and Kate thanks her pets for their therapeutic help since the start of her cancer battle

 

Kate (pictured) said: ‘It’s been a crazy three years, when I heard the words “you have cancer” my life changed forever, but my husband has been great and I have befriended a lot of cancer survivors. They are like family.

‘They also provide peace of mind when I am sleeping or feeling extra vulnerable. They are both very protective of me and the cats make sure I feel loved. They help release happy chemicals in my body when they purr, show me affection, and snuggle.’

Kate has since had a double mastectomy, reconstruction – and also had her stomach removed in 2019, after doctors found out she had a very rare genetic mutation (CDH1) which causes both lobular breast cancer and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.

She said: ‘It’s been a crazy three years, when I heard the words “you have cancer” my life changed forever, but my husband has been great and I have befriended a lot of cancer survivors. They are like family.

Kate has since had a double mastectomy, reconstruction – and also had her stomach removed in 2019, after doctors found out she had a very rare genetic mutation (CDH1) which causes both lobular breast cancer and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.

Kate, pictured with Oggy, added: ”Cancer is forever a part of my life, and I am ok with that. It has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful to my amazing family, friends and of course my animals for their emotional support.”

‘Today I feel pretty good, the stomach removal surgery was pretty huge but I’m starting to feel more like myself again.

‘I can’t say I’m on the ‘other side’ of cancer, because as all cancer patients know, the effects of ongoing treatments and check-ups, are never ending. I will continue breast cancer treatments and involvement in a clinical study for many years to come.

‘Cancer is forever a part of my life, and I am ok with that. It has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful to my amazing family, friends and of course my animals for their emotional support.’

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