Tuesday, May 6, 2014

May is Pet Cancer Awareness Month


Cancer Awareness
By David Gagnon, DVM   





David Gagnon, DVM





We all know people get cancer, but did you know our pets do too?  Cancer, or neoplasia (from the greek neo = new, and plasma = formation/growth) is uncontrolled cell growth and can show up in a variety of ways, including in the skin, fat, bone, blood, and many other places.  Some cancers in animals can be malignant, while others may be benign.



Since cancer can show up in different fashions, and a “mass” can be seemingly anything, we have several ways to determine whether your animal has cancer, and whether it is malignant or benign.  We always prefer to look at its cells, and the simplest way is as easy as doing a fine needle aspirate (collecting cells with a needle).  Biopsy with evaluation by a pathologist is the best way to give us a true diagnosis.
  
Microscopic evaluation of fine needle aspirate














Not all masses are apparent on your pet’s skin.  Sometimes we can try to visualize them on x-rays, ultrasound, CT or MRI.  Occasionally advanced blood tests are the preferred method of diagnosing cancer, as not all cancers are in the form of tumors.


Abdominal mass






In addition to the many techniques we use to diagnose cancer, there are multiple ways to treat it.  Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are available, depending on the cancer.  Most of the tumors we see in general practice are cured by surgery alone, whether it’s removing a lump from the skin, amputating a limb, or removing the spleen. When most people think of “chemo,” they think of nausea, hair loss, and poor quality of life.  While this may be the case in people, this is not typical of our animal patients.  In humans, our goal is usually to cure the disease.  In pets, our goal is a good quality of life, so we can try to put the disease into remission while keeping our pets in otherwise good health.  Radiation is another way to treat cancer.  The University of Wisconsin – Madison Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital recently became the first veterinary school to become equipped with Tomotherapy.  This uses CT scans to target the radiation, so that only the cancer is treated, instead of surrounding tissues.

There are many unknowns when it comes to cancer, and there is constant research to learn more.  Morris Animal Foundation is conducting a large study of Golden Retrievers over the course of their lifetime to learn about risk factors, prevention, and cures for cancer.  This involves dedication from the dogs’ owners and veterinarians to collect various samples every year so researchers can identify genetic, environmental, and nutritional risk factors for cancer and other major health problems in dogs.  Check out the Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Golden Retriever Lifetime Study.  If you’re interested in participating in this study, please let us know.  The more animals that participate, the more information will be available to help future cancer patients.  Click the link below to learn more.
 








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