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Oncology FAQ

Can my pet be cured of cancer?

This will depend entirely on what kind of cancer your pet has. In most cases, we work toward achieving “remission” for your pet rather than a cure. Remission is reached when the patient has no symptoms whatsoever from the original cancer. It is not considered a cure because the majority of cancers will recur at some point in time. So Oncologists tend to talk in terms of chance of remission, and survival times. These will, as mentioned above, vary widely depending on the kind of cancer your pet has, as well as other factors such as where on the body the cancer is located.

What sort of treatment is best for my pet’s cancer?

Depending upon the type of cancer, your veterinarian and our Oncology staff will advise you as to which of the three major modalities (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation) are best for your pet. It is not common for all three modalities to be used together, but often combining two modalities can be far more effective than one alone.

• Surgery is used to remove, or partially remove (called “debulking”) discrete masses, either from inside a body cavity, or from the pet’s body wall or extremity.
• Chemotherapy is used for widely disseminated, or multifocal cancers. Chemotherapeutic drugs are carried by the bloodstream to all parts of the body, so it is ideally suited to treating cancer on a body-wide basis.
• Radiation therapy is used to treat focal tumors that are either not surgically removable, or when the family has elected not to pursue surgery, but still wants to treat the cancer, or the pain the cancer is causing. You can read more about Radiation Therapy here.

Chemotherapy in animals? Isn’t that cruel?

In a word, no.

While practically all anticancer drugs have side effects, they would not be used if their potential effect against the cancer did not outweigh the possible side effects. When side effects do occur, they usually are not nearly as severe as those that occur in humans. Because of this, and because our Oncologists are prescribing protocols based as much on their potential side effects as on their efficacy against tumors, we feel that chemotherapy can be perfectly humane. We simply would not recommend it otherwise.

What side effects will chemo or radiation therapy cause?

Potential side effects of chemotherapy drugs may be:

1. Loss of hair. This is unpredictable and can vary from no hair loss to complete baldness. This is NOT as common in animals as it is in people because their hair does not grow continuously throughout their lives. In any breed, areas in which the hair is shaved will be slow to re-grow.

2. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite. It usually occurs 2 to 7 days after chemotherapy treatment.

3. Low blood counts. This is not a problem unless infection occurs. The time at which the white blood cell count is lowest is usually 5 to 7 days after treatment. Your pet may need oral or intravenous antibiotics.

Radiation therapy usually has minimal side effects, and is generally limited to local changes in skin: hair loss, discoloration, swelling (often times appearing much like a sunburn in a fair-skinned person).

All potential side effects will be discussed with you prior to treatment.

How much does cancer treatment cost?

Again, this will vary depending upon the type of cancer, and therefore the type of treatment recommended. In some cases, simple oral medication can cost less than $20/month. A full course of chemotherapy or radiation therapy can cost between $1000-2500. Our oncology staff will go over a specific estimate of costs based upon your pet’s individual treatment plans and needs.