To all supporters of VAS Awareness:
In December of 2009, our board of directors
made the difficult decision to dissolve
VAS Awareness as a 501(c)(3) organization
effective January 1, 2010. As a result of
this decision, our mailing address and
email links have been removed from this
web site and we are no longer accepting
donations.
If you have a cat that has been diagnosed
with VAS, we encourage you to join the
If you are interested in financially
supporting a VAS-related organization,
we encourage you to support
"Kobi's fund" (click here). Kobi's fund
was created
to ease the financial burden for families
who face a battle with VAS. We also
Following
the dissolution of VAS Awareness, this website eventually will re-direct
to
Catshots, the most comprehensive website on the
internet for information on
all aspects of VAS - from the dilemmas of
families to the findings of
veterinary research.
The board of directors of VAS Awareness
would like to thank all who
have supported our efforts over the past 6
years and we, as individuals,
will continue to educate and inform the
public regarding the prevention
of VAS through the wise and prudent use of
vaccines.
We wish everyone a long, healthy and happy
relationship with your furry little fuzz balls!
________________________________________________________________________
What is VAS Awareness?
“VAS” stands
for Feline “Vaccine Associated Sarcoma.” Some also call this disease “Injection
Site Sarcoma” or "Vaccine Site Sarcoma". VAS is any of
a number of cancers, most commonly Fibrosarcoma, which are believed to be
triggered by vaccinations and occasionally other kinds of injections. VAS
is primarily an issue for domestic cats, though it has been identified in
ferrets and tigers, and recent research indicates that it may also occur in
dogs.
VAS Awareness was created with the main purpose of educating the public
about this type of cancer in cats.
Our Four-fold Mission
1) To prevent and
decrease the incidence of feline vaccine related cancers (also known as "Vaccine Associated Sarcoma" or VAS)
2) To support ongoing research involving feline vaccine related cancers, vaccine
safety, effectiveness and/or duration of protection studies.
3)
To raise the
public's awareness of Feline Vaccine Associated Sarcoma
while educating cat owners about current professional veterinary guidelines for
vaccines and about the availability of safer, adjuvant-free vaccines.
4) To
encourage and support profession-wide education of Veterinary professionals
regarding VAS prevention through the use of current professional veterinary
vaccination guidelines, and through the use of currently available, safer,
adjuvant-free vaccines.
Who are we?
The people who make up VAS
Awareness come from a group of people who currently have a cat being
treated for this cancer or have had a cat that has died as a result of this
cancer. We include professionals from the world of business and veterinary
medicine. We are not anti-vaccination, but pro-education. We believe that
prevention is the best cure for this deadly cancer and that through public
education, the incidence of this cancer can be reduced dramatically.
We are pleased to be supporting
members of the
Cornell Feline Health Center. Are you
interested in supporting the continuing education and research of the Cornell
Feline Health Center?
Click here
for more information!
What we do...
We provide free
information to cat lovers through educational tables at Cat Shows, flea markets
and other events. All of our members are volunteers who donate their time,
computers, printers, materials and finances to create our handouts and
brochures. We also provide VAS educational lectures and presentations to
small groups. Much of the information that we provide has been created by our
members. As Supporting Members of the Cornell Feline Health Center, we are
pleased to have collaborated with veterinary professionals who are experts on
the subject of feline vaccine associated sarcoma.
Through
"Nina's Fund", VAS Awareness has
created a way to provide annual support for veterinary research concerning
vaccines and vaccine/injection related cancers.
The information contained
on this website is intended for general reference purposes only and is not a
substitute for professional veterinary advice. Veterinary medical information
and treatment standards change rapidly and while we make efforts to obtain the
most reliable, up-to-date information, some information may be out of date or
even unreliable. This information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure
or prevent any disease without the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
Always seek the advice of your veterinarian or other qualified professional.(12/2003)
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