Oncology

The oncology team sees patients diagnosed with cancers of all kinds for staging and further management.

Each patient is different, and a lot of care is taken to listen to the owner and involve them closely in all the decisions regarding your pet’s care. The priority is always our patient’s wellbeing and quality of life. Oncology patients have the best chance of a good outcome when a planned approach is taken from the beginning, where full staging and assessment is taken place prior to surgical removal of the mass.

What can our medical oncology team help your pet with?

• Cancer staging: This is the process of determining how much cancer is within the body and if it has spread. We provide and facilitate a variety of specialty level diagnostics, such as CT scan, ultrasound performed by radiologist, incisional biopsies, bone marrow aspirates, flow cytometry, ultrasound guided aspirates of lymph node and internal organs, and sentinel lymph node mapping.
• Formulate cancer treatment plan: A tailor-made approach is used to provide each individual patient and their family with various treatment options, and we will discuss the pros-and-cons of each approach and their associated prognosis and cost. We believe that our clients know their pets the best, and there is no right or wrong decision in cancer treatment.

• Administration of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, target therapy and other medical treatments. Chemotherapy in pets is very different to chemotherapy in people. The treatment we give is less intensive, in order to keep quality of life as normal as possible. The medical oncology team at Pride Veterinary Referrals is very experienced at managing chemotherapy patients, and has excellent facilities, including a dedicated kennel room, a chemotherapy suite, a fume hood for preparing chemotherapy drugs, and dedicated oncology staff. We are trained to detect side effects early and adjust therapy to alleviate them. We are also up-to-date on the latest promising and experimental treatments, when mainstay treatments are not available or no longer working.
• Active monitor: During and after treatment, we monitor cancer response and remission status, check if it’s back. It’s important to detect cancer progression early, so that new treatment can be implemented in a timely fashion and to make every dose count.
• Palliative care: We understand that cancer treatment is not for everyone. But every pet deserves palliative care to ease their symptoms, such as pain, nausea, bleeding, secondary infection, etc. We can directly manage them or work closely with your own vet over phone and email, depending on your preference.
• Coordinate care with other specialists: Oncology patients often require multimodality treatment. After the treatment plan has been decided, we may arrange your pet’s treatment with our surgical oncology team at Pride for surgery and interventional radiology procedures. We also have in-house cardiologists, ophthalmologists, and neurologists, whom we work very closely with when a multidisciplinary approach is needed. If your pet requires radiotherapy or electrochemotherapy, we would be happy to arrange external referrals to a facility of your choice.
• Additional client support: Caring for your pet with cancer can be stressful and scary. We want you and your family to feel comfortable and supported. This includes discussing what to expect with your pet’s condition, teaching you how to monitor your pet at home, and any specific nursing care needs your pet may have. We also provide owner support and counselling regarding patient management and decisions surrounding euthanasia, if appropriate. Our team is 24/7 if you need any extra help.