Causation

When I spoke to the oncologist last week, I asked her something I’ve had on my mind but been terrified to say aloud: 

“What caused Julie’s cancer?”


This question has subtexts, which I’m sure the doctor recognizes. 


Is this my fault? 


Is there something I could have done?


Could I have stopped this? 


The short answer, thank God: No. 


“We don’t know what causes this carcinoma in felines,” she says. “The research shows some correlation between this and cats that spend most of their lives outdoors. And there is a correlation between this cancer and a certain brand of dry cat food. We do not know if there is any causation, just correlation.” 


“She’s barely been outside, and she’s never eaten that cat food,” I say. 


“It’s a very common cancer,” she says. “Most likely, it’s just random, or genetic. We really do not know.”


The genes of Julie, a spectacular purebred from the snows of New Hampshire, may be her undoing. 

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