Category Archives: Oncology

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month and, for the rest of the month, my blogposts will focus on cancer and cancer treatment in pets. Last week, I provided a cancer care roadmap for pet owners following the diagnosis of cancer in their favorite fur person. Today, I am taking a bit of a different approach to cancer and pets. I am looking at some recent studies of how important pets are to people with cancer.

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month and, for the rest of the month, my blogposts will focus on cancer and cancer treatment in pets. Last week, I defined the various categories of chemotherapy drugs veterinary oncologists use to treat dogs and cats with cancer. Today, I provide a roadmap for pet owners following a diagnosis of cancer in their favorite fur person.

When I see a new client in the clinic to discuss chemotherapy for their favorite fur-person, the conversation can be long and stressful. We need to cover treatment options, treatment schedule, outcomes, side effects and quality of life. I recently had this conversation with a new client, who stopped me and asked, “What exactly are chemotherapy drugs?” It’s a fair question but not one I’ve had to answer before, surprisingly. Keep reading for my answer.

The soundtrack of my college years went silent with Jimmy Buffett’s passing over Labor Day weekend. The cause of death was widely reported as a rare form of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma. Animals also suffer from this rare form of cancer, so today I’ll discuss Merkel cell tumors in animals, in honor of Jimmy Buffett.

June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month and we’re highlighting our feline friends throughout the month through a series of feline-focused posts. Last week, I wrote about caring for mature and senior cats. This week, I’ll discuss the most common type of cancer diagnosed and treated in cats: lymphoma.