You looked up the telltale signs and symptoms online. You took your pet in to their veterinarian. Now you’ve gotten the diagnosis… and it seems like your pet has cancer.

It’s something no pet owner wants to hear, but unfortunately, our dogs and cats are just as susceptible to this disease as we are. Pets are such a large part of their owners’ lives, that our reactions to hearing the news can be similar to when we hear about a human friend with cancer… people experience grief, panic, confusion. We here at VRC understand this unfortunate part of pet guardianship, and we also understand that you’ll have questions—up to and including the biggest, scariest question of all: “what should I do next?”

Get A Consult with a Veterinary Oncologist

The best thing to do when you hear your pet has cancer is to get a consult with a veterinary oncologist. Sometimes, this can take the form of a biopsy, but not all cancers are able to be biopsied. There are other ways to determine the nature of your pet’s cancer other than biopsies, such as x-rays, MRIs, and so on. Not all veterinarians have access to such things, and it may be that you need to find one with access to advanced cancer assessment technologies. Pet oncology is crucial, when it seems like your pet might have cancer, and take it from us—a multidisciplinary approach will help you treat your pet’s cancer comprehensively.

Develop A Cancer Treatment Plan For Your Pet

Once you and your vet understand the extent of the cancer, then it’s time to determine a treatment plan. There are often multiple ways of approaching treating pet cancer, including surgical removal, chemotherapy, or radiation. Sometimes we use a combination of these treatments.  Rest assured, at VRC we strive to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to ease your pet’s discomfort and promote their healing.

With pet cancer, the goal is of course to cure it, if possible, but sometimes slowing the progression of the illness is all we can do, prolonging your pet’s life while making sure quality of life is not compromised. That’s why it’s so essential to develop a treatment plan tailored to your pet and your pet’s disease.

We here at VRC Specialty Hospital are committed to developing treatment plans for pets to help treat cancer in pets. We’re specialists who utilize a host of technologies and approaches to cancer in pets, such as diagnostic imaging, medical and radiation oncology, and surgical oncology. Additionally VRC can provide holistic medical approaches such as acupuncture and herbal remedies. Just because your pet has been diagnosed with cancer doesn’t mean it’s a death sentence—cancer in pets can be successfully treated, and that’s what we specialize in at our center in Malvern, PA.

If you’re looking for help regarding your pet’s cancer diagnosis, call VRC in Malvern, PA today at 610.647.2950 for a comprehensive, specialty approach to your questions.