24/7 Emergency
Once a pet has been diagnosed with cancer, owners and doctors enter a close relationship. Initial procedures happen at a facility such as CARE, but owners must follow up with further appointments and/or at-home treatments. Caring for a pet with cancer at home is a challenge many pet owners must face.
There are many different types of tumors, so veterinarians design individual medication or surgical protocols for each affected animal. Some are intended to cure, some to ensure maximum quality of life for the animal’s remaining time in the home.
The key to cancer is early detection – a difficult task, as dogs, and especially cats, mask changes in their conditions. If you notice unexplained lumps, or if your animal suddenly becomes ill, make an appointment with your primary care vet. You are more likely to catch a problem if your pet gets semi-annual checkups with complete blood panels. It may be wise to add screening tests such as X-rays and ultrasounds when the animal reaches middle age.
Once cancer has been detected, your vet can refer you to an oncologist at CARE. CARE’s doctors offer three main options for cancer treatment: chemotherapy, surgery and palliative care.
Chemotherapy for Pets
In chemotherapy, veterinarians use chemical agents to destroy cancer cells or inhibit their growth and reproduction. Animal chemotherapy differs from the human version mainly in the intensity and dosage of medication. Humans receive far larger doses with more problematic side effects, partly because they are trying to extend their lives for decades, rather than for a few years.
With cats and dogs, chemotherapy can be delivered via an intravenous (IV) drip in the clinic, orally in the clinic or orally at home. Treatments vary in frequency from daily to about once per month. Even if you give your cat oral medications at home, you will need to see an oncologist for an exam and blood work on a regular basis after that.
Low-grade forms of lymphoma, multiple myeloma and plasma-related disorders can frequently be treated orally at home. You cannot give an IV drip at home, because regulations require those to be administered on a closed system by someone wearing personal protective equipment in a room with special ventilation.
Home Care with Chemotherapy
You will need to wear gloves when administering chemotherapy medications at home. But you will not have to make changes to the animal’s diet, activity level, environment or interaction with other pets, unless you are giving a medication that can be secreted in urine or feces. You are not likely to notice a negative change in your pet’s attitude. If anything, their demeanor sometimes improves during chemotherapy.
Your pet may need anti-nausea medication, anti-diarrhea medication or appetite stimulants. However, chemotherapy does not cause pain or tenderness (although, if they have a bulky tumor on or in their body, the cancer itself could cause pain.). If side effects worsen, take your pet to your vet or, in a critical case, to the emergency room. The dosage or drug protocol may need to be adjusted.
Cancer Surgery for Pets
If chemotherapy cannot address the problem, surgery to remove tumor cells may be the answer. Low-grade tumors of the skin, low-grade mast cell tumors and low-grade soft-tissue sarcoma are treated this way.
Surgery is most likely to be successful when the cancer is in one clearly defined place and has not spread to other areas of the body. After surgery, your pet may need to stay at CARE for a few hours to a few days. Veterinarians may need to monitor the animal’s condition and use an IV drip. An involved internal procedure might require IV pain medication.
An oncologist sends a biopsy sample of the cancer to a laboratory, where a pathologist reports on the cancer type, the cancer subtype, the grade (or seriousness) of the cancer and whether the margin shows a clean removal of all the tumor cells. That usually takes one to two weeks.
Owners must follow up with the surgery department 10 to 14 days after the operation for a re-check and a consultation about the biopsy results. While the animal heals from surgery, the owner should keep it calm and at rest, avoiding strenuous exercise.
Caring for your pet with cancer post-surgery may require you to administer pain medication at home. Owners may need to keep an eye out for the small risk of infection or delayed healing at the surgery site. Antibiotic follow-up is not generally needed.
Certain cancers require surgery first and chemotherapy afterward. Typical examples include osteosarcoma (mainly in large-breed dogs), hemangiosarcoma and high-grade mast cell tumors.
Palliative Care for Pets
Sometimes, neither chemotherapy nor surgery can suppress or remove a cancer. In those cases, caring for your pet with cancer at home means maximizing the quality of the rest of your pet’s life. Supportive care medications such as pain relievers and appetite stimulants may help.
At that point, owners know they are managing symptoms, not curing a disease. They should think in terms of weeks or months with their pet, rather than years, and make that time as peaceful as possible.
Charlotte Animal Referral and Emergency is the animal equivalent of a human medical center. It’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. CARE offers all types of treatment, from emergency attention to board-certified specialty work after you get a referral from your primary care veterinarian. Please take a visual tour of the practice at carecharlotte.com/tour.
