When a pet has cancer, the owners often have a lot of questions. As a devoted pet owner, you may be very concerned about your pets’ well-being and be searching for answers. You should always make it a priority to take your pet to the vet immediately if you suspect that he or she might have cancer, and ask the veterinarian as many of your questions in person as possible. One of the most common questions that pet owners ask about a pet that has been diagnosed with this disease is what caused the illness. The sad fact is that normally a veterinarian cannot trace cancer to its cause because there are many reasons that a pet can come down with the illness.
In most situations, cancer is either genetic or is the result of an environmental factor. Some breeds are more susceptible to developing tumors than others, and some animals obtain cancer because of a mutation that has been in their system since conception. There are many genetic alterations that lead to cancer because of spontaneous mutations. A pet that is constantly exposed to dangerous cancer-causing substances may also fall ill of the sickness. For example, many pets will come in close proximity with chemicals in house cleaning sprays, or will be out in the sun too often.
Both of these exposures can eventually lead to cancer in some dogs and cats. Thankfully, regardless of the reason for your pet’s cancer, the illness may be curable. With advanced technologies and developing cures in the works, more and more pets are being cured of cancer today than ever before. Another question that many pet owners ask regarding cancer has to do with performing aspirates and biopsies. Many pet owners want to know whether or not performing one of these procedures will cause the cancer to spread at all or to become more aggressive. According to Pet MD, the tumor cells can disseminate into the blood stream, but performing an aspirate or a biopsy will not typically cause the cancerous cells to turn into new tumors.
Pretreatment biopsies can help to obtain a diagnosis before a more definitive treatment. The only time that a pet owner may want to be wary of a biopsy is if it is in an area with a high degree of morbidity, such as on the spinal cord. We well, if the tumor type would not change the choice of therapy that has been chosen, there is no point in performing a biopsy on the tumor. Another question that cancer pet owners often ask has to do with chemotherapy. Many pet owners want to know if their pet is going to be sick after undergoing the treatments.
Typically 25 percent of animals that receive chemotherapy treatments experience some sort of side effect such as gastrointestinal upset or lethargy after treatment. If your pet has serious side effects, you may want to talk to the veterinarian about the issues at hand. About five percent of all pets that undergo chemotherapy will need to be hospitalized due to severe side effects. Despite the fact that there are risks, the majority of pet owners say that they are impressed by how their animal handled chemotherapy and would let their pet undergo the treatment again if necessary.
Another common question among pet owners with diagnosed animals is how a pet’s age factors in regarding treatments for illness. Cancer is a disease that is typically prevalent in older animals and most of the information available for how pets will respond to treatment is based on studies where the pets are at least 10 years of age or older. The patients will need to be healthy before the can undergo any therapy, and vets will be sure to run tests to make sure that the animal can withstand the treatments before they are issued. Because so many tests will be run, veterinarians will have a good idea about how your pet will respond to the treatments and whether or not you should be concerned with his or her condition. The last common question that pet owners often want to know regarding a pet with cancer is whether or not it is safety to allow that pet to be around family members and other animals while undergoing treatment.
Your veterinarian can give you more information about this, but in general when a pet is receiving chemotherapy it is sage for that animal to interact with all family members. There may be times that due to the drugs your pet is or he or she may be very susceptible to illness so during these times you may want to isolate your pet. There are times that your pet may be able to take chemotherapy at home in the form of oral capsules.
In this situation, you should not place the chemotherapy drugs in a place where any other pets could get into them or where any children could handle them as this could be very dangerous. If you need more information, then contact a local vet today. With a caring and compassionate animal doctor on your side, you can assess the effects that chemotherapy will have on your pet and make an informed decision about whether or not to undergo the treatments. As well, a caring doctor can be there to answer your questions about the chemotherapy process every step of the way.