News
Pet Cancer Awareness Month Important to Pet Guardians
November 15, 2008, 10:56PM MT
By Sandi Cain
Treatment not painful to pets and can extend full lives
Treatment not painful to pets and can extend full lives
By Sandi Cain, Best Friends Network Volunteer
November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month, a program started in 2005 by Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea, California to raise national awareness about the disease and treatments available. The move was probably more important than many people think. VPI’s Dr. Carol McConnell said in a press release that “Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in pets.” Roughly one in four pets will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives,” she said.
Cancer discovered too late can be a devastating diagnosis—and it’s often hard to discern in cats who are masters at hiding their illness, as this writer knows only too well. When my first cat became less active, ate less and lost some weight, I attributed these signs to age. Sadly, they weren’t. It was a hard way to learn about animal cancer and it’s even harder when their time left is already short. We chose chemo for our cat and she initially responded well. But the cancer was too far advanced for a second treatment to work. I was on my way to pick her up from the hospital to bring her home for her last days when I got a call saying she might not make it home. Fortunately, my husband was working nearby and we both were able to get to the hospital, spend time with her and be with her at the end. If we’d known more about pet cancer from the time she was young, we might have been able to extend her life.
Most Common Pet Cancers Treatable
Mona P. Rosenberg, DVM, dip.ACVIM and chief of staff at Veterinary Cancer Group in Tustin and Los Angeles, says cats are more difficult to diagnose than dogs, but both are subject to lymphoma—a cancer of lymph nodes. Rosenberg said lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in pets. “It’s also one of the most treatable,” she said. For cats, about 40% that get treatment live longer than a year, she said. Ninety percent of dogs with lymphoma will go into remission with treatment, she said.
“It’s not curable, but there’s a difference in the time they have left,” she said. With no treatment, dogs may die within four to eight weeks. With treatment, they can live more than a year and 25% live more than two years, she said.
Humans react badly to the word ‘cancer’ with visions of surgery, chemo and debilitating side effects that sometimes eliminate all quality of life for those with non-operable types of cancer. Rosenberg said it’s important for people to realize that animals don’t get sick either from the disease or chemo in the same way people do and that the most common cancers in animals generally are not painful. That can be a factor in whether people choose treatment for their pets or not.
A Positive Response
A couple of years after we’d lost our first cat, a routine blood test for the tabby we sometimes called ‘brat cat’ for her cute but insistent personality revealed a problem. X-rays and then an ultrasound confirmed cancer. This time, we were referred to Veterinary Cancer Group, where we had a lengthy consultation and chose to start chemo. Our spunky little girl responded beautifully at first and became a favorite of staff, walking on her leash from the car to the waiting room before each appointment.
We’d gotten a prognosis of six months, and our little tabby was a fighter. She perked up well after treatments and we did get just about six more months of quality time that we shared to the max, foregoing any vacation and making sure we were home when it was time to inject her with fluids. “Cats can be advocates for how pets respond (to treatment),” Rosenberg said.
Through it all, the staff at Veterinary Cancer Group supported us every step of the way. My question each time we needed to try something different was “is it fair to the cat?” When the end was near, our regular vet came to the house so our little valiant 15-year-old could leave this world from her favorite spot. We were devastated, of course, but believed we’d followed a course of action that affirmed our love for her and respect for her life.
Why My Cats?
I often wondered if more pets were getting cancer or if we were just unlucky. Rosenberg says it’s a combination of factors. Pets are living longer, people are more attuned to pet diseases and want to know their treatment options, and medicine is getting better. “One developing area is the genetics of cancer,” she said, with many studies trying to find whether there is a gene or genes that are responsible for a higher risk of cancer in certain breeds. That’s a bit easier with dogs, she said, because it’s easier to track their lineage. Golden retrievers seem to be one of the highest risk breeds, she said.
After our experience with cancer the first time, I obtained basic pet insurance for our other animals at a reasonable cost and with little hassle. Having it was a financial lifesaver the second time around. But Rosenberg said those who come to Veterinary Cancer Group do not appear to make decisions based on whether or not they have insurance, though those who have it have “found it helpful.”
Whether or not you choose to insure your pets, there are things you can do to catch it early or reduce risks.
What You Can Do:
Rosenberg said there are several things you can do to try to catch any cancer early.
• “Be aware of what’s normal for your pet,” she said. For instance, if your cat vomits hairballs or food once a week all its life, it may not be a concern, but if that suddenly increases to daily vomiting, there’s likely a problem.
• If you find any lump or bump that persists longer than a week, even without other symptoms, have it tested.
• If your pet is losing weight, drinking far more water than normal or has a non-healing wound, get it checked.
These signs are not necessarily cancer, Rosenberg said, but they can be. “Don’t put your head in the sand,” she said. “Visiting your general practitioner vet is the best line of defense to have those things checked.”
If you choose not to seek treatment, Rosenberg recommends at least having a consultation with an oncologist to get proper information about your pet’s care and what to expect. “There may be clinical trials, diet change, pain medication or supplements that may help,” she said. And seeing a board-certified oncologist eliminates misinformation that may be circulating on the Internet (such as the myth that spaying cats and dogs can cause cancer—a myth that 40 years of medical studies clearly debunk).
As a reminder to learn about pet cancer, VPI offers those who visit petinsurance through Nov. 30 the chance to purchase Pet Cancer Awareness dog collars to help fund the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer in pets and people. All profits from the collars will be donated to the Animal Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to cancer research.
For More Information:
These Web sites may help you learn more about pet cancer:
• Veterinary Cancer Group
• Pet Cancer Awareness
• American Veterinary Association
• Animal Cancer Foundation
Photo of Veterinary Cancer Group facilities in Tustin (Orange County) courtesy of Veterinary Cancer Group
Photo of Scooter, who succumbed to cancer at age 15, by Sandi Cain