A cancer diagnosis is always scary, especially when your four-legged best friend is involved. Your first instinct might be to gather information from every source, and friends and family will likely add their thoughts. Unfortunately, misconceptions abound, and many people apply what they know about human cancer treatment to pets. But this is no time for misinformation. We are setting the facts straight, so you can refer to accurate information when making important decisions about your pet’s cancer treatment journey.

Myth #1: My Pet Is Too Old for Cancer Treatment

We base our treatment recommendations on what’s important - your pet’s overall health status - rather than something arbitrary like age. Our oncology team will perform a panel of tests, including blood work, X-rays, and ultrasound, to assess the health of your pet’s various body systems and formulate a treatment plan that best fits her health status. If surgery is part of your pet’s treatment plan, our board-certified anesthesiologist will tailor an anesthetic plan to ensure your pet’s comfort and safety throughout the procedure. Regardless of age, if your pet has health concerns that make one cancer treatment unsuitable, our board-certified veterinary oncologists are well-versed in a wide variety of medications and may be able to prescribe alternatives.

Myth #2: Chemotherapy Causes Intolerable Side Effects

Chemotherapy attacks both cancer and healthy cells. Cancer cells rapidly divide, and chemotherapy is designed to interrupt that division process. Unfortunately, some normal, healthy cells also rapidly divide, such as immune and intestinal lining cells. That is why common chemotherapy side effects include low white (immune) cell count and gastrointestinal upset like vomiting and diarrhea. Aggressive chemotherapy in humans can result in severe manifestations of these side effects.

However, in veterinary medicine, our goal is not just to prolong life, but to prolong good quality of life. That is why pet chemotherapy doses are significantly lower than human doses. Veterinary doses are designed to cause little to no side effects, and pets uncommonly experience nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that affect people taking chemotherapy medications. If pets do develop side effects, they can typically be managed with medications at home, chemotherapy dose reduction, or another drug altogether. Pets do not lose their fur during cancer treatment, as most breeds do not have constantly growing hair, like humans.

Myth #3: Chemotherapy Is the Only Cancer Treatment Available for Pets

While chemotherapy is an important component of many cancer treatment protocols, other treatments are also available. For example, some cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, can be cured with surgery alone. Our board-certified surgeons are skilled and experienced in performing advanced surgeries that remove tumors from major organs or areas of the body where wound closure might be challenging and require expertise. In some instances, surgery is performed first and then followed with chemotherapy. If complete tumor removal is not possible, chemotherapy or radiation can be administered after surgery to shrink or eliminate the cancerous tissue that is left behind.

Advancements in veterinary medicine are typically right on the heels of human medicine, and oncology is no exception. Many cutting-edge cancer treatments used in human hospitals are also now available to pets. Some treatments involve harvesting a pet’s own immune cells, replicating and programming them to attack cancer cells, and infusing them back into the pet to amplify her immune response to cancer. Other treatments involve sequencing tumor cells’ DNA and identifying mutations that can be targeted by specific chemotherapy medications. This allows for more targeted treatment, as opposed to administering chemotherapy medications that indiscriminately attack all rapidly growing cells in a pet’s body.

Myth #4: My Pet Will Need Hospitalization for Lengthy Cancer Treatments

We want our veterinary patients to live life as normally and happily as possible. Although oncology patients visit the hospital for regular assessments and medication injections, they are not typically hospitalized for treatments. If complications do arise that require hospitalization, which is rare, we aim to keep hospital stays as short as possible.

Different chemotherapy medications have different administration requirements. Many chemotherapy types can be administered orally by you at home, with only occasional hospital visits to assess your pet’s treatment response. Medications that must be injected by our oncology team members are typically administered over a short period of time—approximately 10 to 15 minutes—and we schedule chemotherapy appointments to include any lab tests and health assessments your pet needs to minimize visit frequency.

Myth #5: There Is No Point in Treating My Pet’s Cancer Because the Prognosis is Poor

Many owners assume that a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence, but that is often not the case. Many cancer types can be cured, or put into remission, so your pet can resume her normal life. If a cure is not possible, treatments can often slow cancer’s progression and allow you more precious time with your best friend. Treatments can also help manage cancer’s side effects, such as pain, fatigue, and nausea, so your pet can remain as comfortable as possible. If you have a pet with a cancer diagnosis and want to learn more about treatment options, contact us so we can assess your pet’s cancer and set the facts straight.