Receiving a diagnosis of cancer in your beloved pet can be both devastating and frightening. The goal of an oncology assessment is to provide you with information and support regarding treatment options for your pet. Vancouver Animal Emergency & Referral Centre offers oncology services to assist you and your pet during this difficult time. We know that quality of life is paramount, and we are here to help guide and support you through the diagnostic steps and treatment options available.
A veterinary oncologist manages the care of a pet with cancer, whether this is by performing diagnostic tests needed to make an accurate diagnosis and determine the extent of disease, formulating a plan for therapy or coordinating specialized procedures indicated for treating specific cancers. Treatment of pets with cancer typically requires a multi-specialty approach, and oncologists collaborate with surgeons, pathologists, radiologists and other specialists to provide the best quality care.
Each case is evaluated based on its unique aspects, such as cancer type, how aggressive and how extensive the disease is, the pet’s overall health and concurrent diseases and family goals for treatment. Treatment care is personalized to each individual patient, and the goal is to increase the life span of your pet, while at the same time maintaining the quality of life during treatment.
Will chemotherapy make my pet sick?
Your veterinary oncologist will give you specific instructions regarding your pet's chemotherapy, but in general chemotherapy administration in animals is less aggressive than it is in humans. Therefore, animals typically do not become as sick from chemotherapy side effects as people.
Veterinary oncologists have many options at their disposal to help keep your pet comfortable during treatment, including medications that can help lessen nausea, pain management options, probiotics and anti-diarrheal medications. Many people imagine their pet's treatment will be more difficult than it really is which can be a hurdle to providing care to pets with cancer.
What training does a veterinary oncologist have?
Board certified veterinary oncologists have completed additional and extensive training to become a specialist and earn this prestigious credentialing. Specialty status is granted by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Oncologists become a ‘Diplomate’ or board certified when they have achieved the following:
Please contact us to learn more about our Oncology services.
Your veterinary behaviorist will advise your veterinarian of any recommended treatment and your veterinarian will continue to be involved as part of your pet's total veterinary health care team. Your general practitioner veterinarian will still oversee all aspects of your pet's care, but with the added, specialized input of a veterinary behaviorist. For example, if a veterinary behaviorist discovers that your pet has thyroid disease, this clinical diagnosis is relayed immediately to your general practitioner veterinarian, who will treat your pet's thyroid disease. The veterinary behaviorist will also give you a treatment plan to follow that will help to resolve the behavioral problems your pet exhibited that were associated with the discovered medical condition.
Just as in people, there is no proven way to keep your pet from getting cancer. You can, however, take steps to minimize the risks. Avoid any known predisposing causes, such as not spaying or neutering pets, or leaving pets exposed to sunlight. Also make sure your pet has regularly scheduled checkups and follow your veterinarian's advice regarding any necessary screening tests.
Any veterinarian who wants to specialize in oncology must first be certified as an internal medicine specialist. Veterinarians who want to become board certified in internal medicine must seek additional, intensive training to become a specialist and earn this prestigious credentialing. Specialty status is granted by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). A veterinarian who has received this specialty status will list the initials, 'DACVIM,' after his or her DVM degree. Or, the veterinarian may indicate that he or she is a 'Diplomate' of the ACVIM. The word 'Diplomate' typically means the specialist has achieved the following:
Once a veterinarian is board certified in internal medicine, he or she may seek additional specialty status in veterinary oncology. Internal medicine specialists must obtain additional training in this area and sit for a second, even more intensive examination. These doctors will list their credentials after their boarded status, for example, as 'DAVCIM (Oncology).'
When your pet needs the care of a veterinary internal medicine specialist/veterinary oncologist, years of intensive training and additional education will be focused on helping him or her to recover from the disease and/or enjoy the highest quality of life possible.
The goal of cancer therapy is to destroy abnormal cancer cells while sparing normal cells. An important difference in human vs. animal oncology is that the goal with humans, due to our extended life spans, is to cure the disease. In animals, the goal is more to extend the length of life while still maintaining its
quality. In many cases, a veterinary oncologist will combine some or all of the treatment options outlined below in order to provide the very best outcome for your pet.
Your veterinary oncologist will give you specific instructions regarding your pet's chemotherapy, but in general, you should be aware that pets typically handle chemotherapy regimens far better than people do. First, as cancer treatment for both humans and small animals has become more sophisticated, the side effects created by chemotherapy regimens have become less severe. Second, chemotherapy administration in animals is less aggressive than it is in humans, so animals typically do not become as sick from the side effects as do people.
Finally, veterinary oncologists have many options at their disposal to help keep your pet comfortable during treatment for his or her disease. From pain management options to special nutritional recommendations to medications that can help lessen the nausea associated with chemotherapy, be assured that veterinary oncologists can keep most pets surprisingly comfortable during treatment. In fact, one of the biggest hurdles to treating pets with cancer is that many owners imagine their pet's treatment will be more difficult than it really is.
