We at AMARC feel that the best thing you can do for your pet is to arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can toward the goal of making informed decisions. In addition to the information presented here, visit our Your Healthy Pet and New Customers pages to read more on cancer, nutrition and general health and well-being for your pet.

 

 

 

 

 

My Pet Has Cancer - What Now?

When you're standing in an exam room, holding your dog or cat and waiting for a diagnosis, the last thing you want to hear your veterinarian say is "cancer." It brings to mind a rush of complex, confusing emotions. Maybe you are reminded of your own experiences, or a friend or a relative who dealt with cancer.

You feel powerless to help your pet, almost like you're under attack. You have a whole list of new decisions to make about treatment, finances, and caretaking. A minute ago, you were thinking of your pet as healthy and happy; now you are afraid that he will suffer, or lose mobility, or even that you could lose him. In an instant, one word has changed your whole world.

All of these feelings, confusing and conflicting as they might be, are completely normal. Cancer can be a complex, frightening disease that brings on a lot of very emotional reactions. But once your initial fear starts to fade, you'll learn that there are a lot of reasons to take heart.

Though all cancers are different, cancer is, in general, a very treatable disease. In fact, it is the most curable of all the chronic diseases pets can get.

When cancer is caught early enough, there are a lot of options. Veterinarians have all kinds of advanced treatments to treat your furry family member, with new therapies and approaches being developed all the time, and animals often respond very well to treatment. There is plenty of reason to hope that you and your pet will have a lot of happy years together.

As scary as it seems at first, you can make it through your pet's bought with cancer. If you get informed, work together with your pet's healthcare team, and take good care of yourself and your pet, dealing with cancer doesn't have to be a frightening process.

First things first - educate yourself!

One reason cancer can be so scary for us is that it seems so mysterious. Nothing is as frightening as the unknown. You can work through your fear by informing yourself about the disease, the dangers it poses and the hope it offers. Knowing something about cancer will not only help you to make better decisions about your pet's treatment, but will also help you to feel more in control of your situation.

You first need to understand the disease as a whole. What is cancer? What causes it? What kind of cancer does my pet have and how can I treat it? Each type of cancer is its own disease, causing unique problems and responding to different treatments. You can take a powerful first step by learning what kind of cancer your cat or dog has, how it spreads, what its survival rates are, and how it's treated. There are three good ways to do this:

• Go to your veterinarian. Very often, your veterinarian is your most accessible and dependable resource of facts and advice. Don't be afraid to ask your veterinarian to explain anything that you don't understand. He or she is there to help you, and wants you to understand the situation as clearly as possible. Keep a notebook to jot down questions that occur when you're away from the office. Ask your veterinarian for handouts and pamphlets, and underline anything you don't understand to ask about later.
• Go to the library. It's an old-fashioned solution, but a good one. Find books on cancer in general, and on cancer in animals. Ask a librarian to help you look up newspaper or magazine articles in a database. Look in the reference section for information about organizations that deal with disease with animals.
• Go online. This can be a fabulous resource for finding support groups and getting first-hand information from people who've cared for pets with cancer. Be cautious, though, about accepting medical advice you find on the Internet, where you can never be sure of your source's qualifications.

Always check your facts with your veterinarian before making decisions about your pet's treatment. Armed with i nformation, you have the power to move on to planning your pet's care and treatment.

Second to that is - teamwork!

One of the most important things to know is that you and your pet aren't fighting the cancer alone. A lot of people will contribute to the process of treating your pet, from your veterinarian and your veterinary technicians to your own friends and family.

You may also work with specialists, like pathologists-- who test and diagnose cancer cells--veterinary surgeons, veterinary internists, and veterinary cancer specialists. Get to know the people who take care of your pet. Ask them questions and let them know how you're feeling and how you think your pet's doing.

It's important that all the different team members communicate with and trust one another, so they can be an effective, unified group working together to keep your pet healthy and comfortable.

Above all, remember that you are the heart of this group!! Think of yourself as the captain of your pet's cancer-fighting team. You are vital to your pet: you're his caretaker and comforter, his protector, bather, feeder, and guardian. He depends on you and needs you to be healthy.

The day-to-day work and worry of caring for a sick pet can be overwhelming, though, particularly on top of all your other responsibilities. If you ever start to feel like you're too stressed out or too sad to take care of your friend, let the rest of the team know. Tell your veterinarian, family, or veterinary technician. And take care of yourself, eat right, take your supplements, get plenty of rest, maintain a positive mental attitude, and spend time with members of your family or your friends.

Your veterinarian can help direct you to resources to help you deal with the ways this will all affect you. Maybe a friend can take care of your dog for a night while you go out; maybe your veterinary technician can teach you how to take care of your cat without putting so much stress on yourself. There are resources out there for you, as long as you ask for help when you need it.

Last, but certainly not least - spend time with your special pet!

No matter what, the best way you can help your pet is by being with him. Enjoy the time you have with your pet. If your dog or cat can't run around and play like he used to, you can sit with him while you read, pay the bills, or watch television. (Be sure you're doing all you can to support your pet's nutritional needs in order to provide him with the most energy and disease fighting capacity as possible. See the section on this page concerning Quality of Life.)

Touching your pet is important, too: set aside time to slowly brush and pet him, or give him a gentle massage. Feeling safe, comfortable, and loved is the best thing to keep your pet feeling good emotionally and physically.

No treatment in the world will help him as much as being with the human family that loves him. Best of all, spending quality time with your furry friend is good for you, too, lowering your stress level and making it easier for you to cope with his illness.

Treasure the time you have with your pet; think of it as a gift. No matter what happens in the future, the lazy afternoons you spend lying with your kitty in the sunshine or rolling a tennis ball to your dog across the living room floor are memories you will have forever.

So, let's get started...

What is cancer?

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of an animal's life, normal cells divide more rapidly until the he/she becomes an adult. After that, cells in most parts of the body divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells and to repair injuries. Because cancer cells continue to grow and divide, they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying, they outlive normal cells and continue to form new abnormal cells.

Cancer cells develop because of damage to DNA. This substance is in every cell and directs all activities. Most of the time when DNA becomes damaged the body is able to repair it. In cancer cells, the damaged DNA is not repaired. Pets can inherit damaged DNA, which accounts for inherited cancers. More often, though, an animal's DNA becomes damaged by exposure to something in the environment.

Cancer usually forms as a tumor. Some cancers, like leukemia, do not form tumors. Instead, these cancer cells involve the blood and blood-forming organs and circulate through other tissues where they grow.

Often, cancer cells travel to other parts of the body where they begin to grow and replace normal tissue. This process is called metastasis. Regardless of where a cancer may spread, however, it is always named for the place it began. For instance, breast cancer that spreads to the liver is still called breast cancer, not liver cancer.

Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign (noncancerous) tumors do not spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body and, with very rare exceptions, are not life threatening.

Different types of cancer can behave very differently. For example, skin cancer and breast cancer are very different diseases. They grow at different rates and often respond to different treatments. That is why a pet with a specific cancer needs treatment that is aimed at their particular kind of cancer.

The risk of your pet developing most types of cancer can be reduced by changes in their lifestyle; for example, a nutritious diet, exercise, good mental health, and specific supplements. The sooner a cancer is found and treatment begins, the better your pet's chances are for living for many years.

What are some prevalent causes?

Veterinarians often cannot explain why one pet develops cancer and another does not. But research shows that certain risk factors can increase the chance that a pet will develop cancer. These are the most common risk factors for cancer, in no particular order:

• Growing older
• Certain chemicals and other substances
• Some viruses and bacteria
• Certain hormones
• Genetic history of cancer
• Poor nutrition
• Lack of physical activity

Many of these risk factors can be avoided. Others, such as family history, cannot. You can best help protect your pet by affecting these risk factors whenever possible. If you think your pet may be at risk for cancer, you should discuss this concern with your veterinarian.

Over time, several factors may act together to cause normal cells to become cancerous. When thinking about your risk of getting cancer, here's one thing to keep in mind: Having one or more risk factors does not mean that your pet will definitely get cancer. Most who have risk factors never develop cancer. Some are more sensitive than others to the known risk factors. Do what you can to contribute to your pet's health, physically and mentally, and try to minimize their risk factors when you can.

What are the most common pet cancers?

• Skin - Skin tumors are very common in older dogs, but much less common in cats. Most skin tumors in cats are malignant, but in dogs they are often benign. All skin tumors should be examined by your veterinarian.
• Breast - Fifty percent of all breast tumors in dogs and 85% of all breast tumors in cats are malignant. Spaying your pet between 6 and 12 months of age will greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer. Surgery is the treatment of choice for this type of cancer.
• Head & Neck - Cancer of the mouth is common in dogs and less common in cats. A mass on the gums, bleeding, odor, or difficult eating are signs to watch for. Many swellings are malignant, so early aggressive treatment is essential. Cancer may develop inside the nose of both cats and dogs. Bleeding from the nose, difficulty breathing, or facial swelling may occur.
• Lymphoma - Lymphoma is a common form of cancer in dogs and cats. It is characterized by enlargement of one or many lymph nodes in the body. A virus causes most of these cancers in cats. Chemotherapy is frequently effective in controlling this type of cancer.
• Feline Leukemia Complex - The feline leukemia virus is contagious among cats and will occasionally cause true cancer. There is no proof that it is contagious to humans. While a great deal of research is ongoing, no consistently effective treatment is presently available for virus-positive cats.
• Testicles - Testicular tumors are rare in cats and common in dogs, especially those with retained testes. Most of these cancers are curable with surgery.
• Abdominal Tumors - Tumors inside the abdomen are common. It is difficult to make an early diagnosis. Weight loss and abdominal enlargement are common signs of these tumors.
• Bone - Bone tumors are most commonly seen in large breed dogs and rarely in cats. The leg bones, near joints, are the most common sites. Persistent lameness and swelling of the leg is an early sign of disease.

What are some symptoms of cancer?

Here are some of the most common signs of cancer in pets:

• Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
• Sores that do not heal
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
• Offensive odor
• Difficulty eating or swallowing
• Hesitance to exercise or loss of stamina
• Persistent lameness or stiffness
• Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

Many of the above signs are also seen with noncancerous conditions but still warrant prompt attention by your veterinarian to determine the cause. Cancer is frequently treatable, and early diagnosis will aid your veterinarian in delivering the best care possible.

What are my options for treatment?

How will you treat your pet's cancer? There is no single right answer to this question. Every dog and cat and other animal is unique, and every kind of cancer is different.

The entire network of people caring for your pet will need to work together to decide what kind of treatment will help your pet live the longest, and most comfortable, life he can.

The kind of treatment chosen will depend on your animal's age, general health, type of cancer, and other factors. The main kinds of treatment that are used most commonly are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and nutritional approaches. These treatments may be used alone or integratively to find the best options for your pet.

Surgery. Veterinarians will perform surgery on a tumor when it can be removed from a pet's body without damaging other tissue. It is not typically a viable option if the cancer is large enough to endanger the animal if removed, if the cancer has spread, or if the animal is too weak to survive anesthesia.

Chemotherapy. This is a process in which an animal is given toxic chemicals, usually intravenously, that are intended to kill the out-of-control, rapidly reproducing cancer cells, without damaging the slower-dividing healthy cells. The good news is, animals often respond to chemotherapy better than humans. They usually don't have the severe side effects like nausea and hair loss that people can experience. To offset the chance that they might, giving your pet specific nutritional supplements, such as Poly-MVA for Pets, will help support their immune system and energy levels to better enable them to handle treatment.

Radiation therapy. In this treatment, high doses of radiation are aimed directly at the tumor to shrink it or arrest its growth. This can be done either with a narrow beam of radiation, or with radioactive implants placed next to the tumor.

Nutritional approaches. In addition to these, many different nutritional approaches may be used, either standalone or complementary to other treatments. This includes informed dietary choices as well as specific supplements aimed at supporting your pet's immune system and energy levels to better help them fight the disease as well as deal with the common side effects of treatment.

There are several other, less common, ways to treat cancer. Some of them are new medical treatments, like gene therapy (fixing the flawed DNA in the cancer cells) and cryosurgery (the freezing of tumors using liquid nitrogen). Also, there are other complementary therapies such as massage and acupuncture that are available. Often two or more of these techniques will be used in combination to treat an animal.

Discuss with your veterinarian which therapy or combination of therapies, is right for your animal friend. When you're educated and informed about your pet's cancer and its treatment, you can contribute more to this discussion and get more out of it. You'll be an active, knowledgeable member of the decision-making team.

How can I contribute to my pet's quality of life?

What is meant by quality of life? And how can you gain the knowledge you need to regain and/or maintain this for your pet, especially during his time of extreme anxiety and/or physical discomfort? Quality of life concerns are important to veterinarians who want their patients to feel good, they are important to pet owners because pets are often considered family members, and quality of life is certainly important to our pets.

Once a diagnosis of cancer is made, the decision to pursue treatment (as well as what kind of treatment) hinges on the determination of the quality of life that can be expected for the animal from that point onward. Your veterinarian can help you feel comfortable talking about the many issues involved, and your treatment team must work together toward a common goal. It is something that should also be discussed between family members and friends because the matter is both personal and emotionally charged.

The main goal in cancer treatment is to secure a high quality of life for as long as possible! Please keep in mind that quality of life issues are more easily overlooked and more difficult to assess than quantity of life issues. There must be a balance between both. Your veterinarian can help by remaining objective and providing information about the cancer and the effects of treatments on the animal. However, the veterinarian depends on the owner to report how their pet is feeling and behaving.

Quality of life means something different to each pet owner. Under normal circumstances, most of us would probably define quality of life for our pets as companionship with family, as well as the ability to physically and mentally enjoy play, exercise, and perhaps the joy of learning something new. Pet owners are often asked to come up with and write down their personal minimum level of acceptable quality of life for their pet before it receives treatment. This is done to help them anticipate, and thereby prepare for some of the important decisions they may need to make.

After receiving a cancer diagnosis and undergoing treatment, sources of satisfaction and self-esteem for your pet can be severely compromised. Quality of life can diminish very quickly when one is fearful, fatigued, in pain, or enduring therapeutic side effects. Consider all these things as you go into this time with your pet. Ensure that they have the nutritional support that will enable them to deal with all of those things more effectively. Pay attention to your pet over time and discuss with your treatment team what you're observing and how to best deal with those.

Over time, the type of support your pet will need to maintain quality of life could change, depending in part on the outcome of therapies being used. What does not change at any stage of cancer treatment is the singular goal of enabling your pet to have the highest possible quality of life by assessing and addressing their needs in the best ways you know how.

Can cancer be prevented and what is the role of nutrition?

While there is no guarantee that any cancer can be prevented, you can do what you can to minimize the risk. Many people are surprised to learn that their or their pet's chronic condition or disease can so often be traced to a nutritional deficiency, poor eating habits and lack of exercise. But the linkage is clear enough. Nutrition affects the immune system, organ function, hormonal balance and cellular metabolism. The nutritional deficiency comes first, followed some years later by symptoms, which lead in time to disease. To make things worse, the whole downward spiral is accompanied by accelerated aging and cellular breakdown.

For detailed information on the role of nutrition in the fight against degenerative diseases such as cancer, click here. Also, our Your Healthy Pet page contains many links to additional sources of information on the topic.

 

 

 

 

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