Oncology

Yes, your pet must be referred to us by your primary veterinarian. If your primary veterinarian determines that a referral is necessary based on a physical exam and initial testing, they will contact us so that an appointment can be made.

Please bring any records, including radiographs, lab results, and copies of your pet’s chart, to your appointment, as this will help us determine what diagnostics your pet needs. We ask that you withhold food from your pet for 12 hrs prior to the appointment time — this can make many diagnostics more accurate and lower the risk of complications if any sedation is necessary.

Animals with cancer pose no risk to humans. Cats can transmit the fairly common feline leukemia virus (FeLV), which can lead to lymphoma, to other cats via saliva. The only known contagious, virally induced cancer in dogs is the papillomavirus, which causes multiple small, cauliflower-like growths in the mouth or on the skin four to eight months after exposure.

Our first objective is to identify all of your pet’s possible health problems so that we know if there are any other issues that could affect the cancer treatment and outcome. Our second objective is to determine exactly what type of cancer your pet has. Third, we want to know the extent of the disease, a process called staging. In order to accomplish all of this, our diagnostics could include bloodwork, urinalysis, radiographs, ultrasound, aspirates of the mass/lymph nodes, and/or surgery to obtain a biopsy.

We typically depend on statistics to help determine prognosis, but they can’t be used to predict exactly what will happen with your pet, because no two patients — or cancers — are alike. Furthermore, different treatment options may be associated with different prognoses. Each pet owner must decide what option is best for his or her pet. When a cure is not possible, our goal is to preserve good quality of life for as long as we can.

The Oncology Service has received a PetCo Foundation grant to support the work we do for animals with cancer. Please ask your oncologist for more information.