Cancer refers to a disease in which abnormal cells grow without control, invade surrounding tissues and ultimately spread to other organs throughout the body.
Caring for dogs (pets) diagnosed with cancer require's a well trained and dedicated veterinary who understands both the medical and emotional aspect of cancer but also a informed pet owner who actively participates in the treatment process.
There are many types of cancer.
Besides treating the cancer, an important aspect of managing cancer includes pain control and nutrition.
It is important that pets with cancer are provided with pain medication to relieve discomfort caused by both the disease as well as by the treatments, and are fed diets specifically designed to support a cancer patient(pet).
I had a yellow Labrador retriever who was diagnosed with mass tumor cell cancer.
She originally had a growth on her hind leg pawl that grew from 0 to 100 in two weeks flat.
Our vet removed it, sent it off to a lab for testing and it came back positive for cancer cells.
The vet wanted us to take a wait and see attitude to see what would come of it.
Two months later I noticed bumps all around her neck.
We went back to the Vet so he could take a sample, it came back the same cancer cells.
Treatment options were Chemo or a small dose of prednisone.
At this time she was 12 years old.
My wife and I made the painful decision not to go with the chemo therapy and keep her on prednisone because of her age.
Three months latter, a week shy of her 13th birthday, she lost her battle to cancer.
People with older pets need to be vigilant about anything unusual about there pets.
Such as new bumps on their bodies.
Even if your pet is diagnosed with cancer for which there is no effective treatment, enrolling your pet in a veterinary clinical trail may provide you with an option to try new therapies.
Cancer can be either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Benign tumors normally remain localized to one area and do not invade surrounding tissues or organs.
They are not usually dangerous but can cause serious problems once their size begins to push on surrounding tissues.
In contrast, malignant tumors contain cells that have the ability to invade neighboring tissues and to spread to distant organs through the blood stream, a process known as metastasis.
The treatment is often available at decreased or no cost to you and even if your pet does not respond to the new therapy, its participation will help scientists develop better and more successful cancer treatments in the future.
To find more information about veterinary oncology and cancer in pets, please visit the Pet cancer center.
Also visit the link pet cancer for treatment options.