Departments

Oncology

Cancer is becoming more widely diagnosed in pets. This is largely due to the fact that we are helping our pets to live longer, and as more and more pets reach the “geriatric” stage of life, the incidence of cancer increases.

We are also becoming more adept at diagnosing cancers. With this being the case, more and more pet owners are searching for options in how to treat cancer when it occurs in their pet. In many cases, this involves referral to an Oncologist.

An Oncologist can help to diagnose and treat cancer in all its forms. Your vet may refer you to our Oncology department in order to diagnose cancer, or may be referring you here because cancer has been diagnosed, but requires special facilities or expertise to treat.

Our Oncologists have access to advanced diagnostic equipment such as Ultrasound, endoscopy/rhinoscopy/ bronchoscopy, fluoroscopy, CT scan, and MRI to better make a definitive diagnosis. We also have facilities to treat cancer with any of the three major modalities: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Cancer in pets is a broad term that describes an extremely diverse number of diseases. So discussing the best form of treatment for cancer is very much a conversation that can only be had about an individual pet with an individual diagnosis. Some patients are best served by surgery followed by radiation, some by only chemotherapy, some by all three modalities. And even some patients with the same form of cancer would be best treated with different approaches. Tailoring the appropriate treatment to the individual is where the Oncologist’s expertise comes in.