Today, we have a guest post from Dr. Rex Riggs, owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance. Dr. Riggs writes about what cancer and its causes.
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Cancer is one of the scariest words a person can hear, whether it is about you, your family, friends, or your pet. We all have been touched by cancer, someway in our lives.
Cancer by definition is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancerous cells are sometimes called malignant cells. Cancer sometimes stays in one place and just grows locally or in other cases will spread, or metastases, to distant areas of the body.
What causes cancer? That is the million dollar question. It is a multifactorial answer - meaning there are many components that contribute.
We know that hereditary can play a big factor. Certain breeds of dogs and cats are predisposed to certain cancers. Golden and Labrador Retrievers are prone to hemangiosarcomas, a tumor of the spleen and heart. Large breed dogs such as Great Danes and Irish Wolf often get tumors of their long bones, a cancer called osteosarcoma. The list goes on.
We also know that environmental factors play a role in cancers in our pets, just as they do in us. Animals in households where people smoke have more respiratory tumors, just like people. Studies have show that Scottish Terriers have an increased incidence of bladder tumors when exposed to lawn chemicals. Viruses such as Feline Leukemia Virus, and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, are known to be associated with a variety of cancers in cats. So you can see it is not a simple answer, which makes preventing some types of cancers so difficult.
Cancers can present in a number of ways depending on the type and location of the mass. Some cancers will show in obvious ways such as coughing, limping or swellings in the affected area of the body. Others will show no signs until it is late in the course of the disease. That is why at least, an annual physical exam by your veterinarian is so important. Animals by nature (cats more so then dogs) will hide illnesses. The thought is if they show signs of weakness they will become preyed upon in the wild. The veterinarian is trained to detect abnormalities the owner would not find. Sometimes bloodwork and x-rays will be use to detect cancer. We even will use CAT scans and MRIs in certain cases. Human and veterinary medicine has become very advanced in our ability to image our bodies. We now have the technology to do things that we could never dream of before. If there is a will there is a way. This is true not only of our ability to detect cancers, but also for the many treatments we have available.
Luckily, a lot of the tumors we deal with can be cured with surgery. Some are treated with radiation therapy, others we need to use chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is another word that stakes fear in people. Chemotherapy just means a drug against a disease. So by definition, antibiotics are “chemo” against an infection. So try not to let the word scare you. We all know of stories of people that have undergone chemo and have had some pretty bad side effects. Typically in our pets we do not see the bad side effects because we tend to use lower doses of the drugs. In people we can justify make a person sick, if our end goal of cure is attained. Dr Guillermo Couto, my oncology professor at
This brings up a good point. We have more ways to diagnose and treat cancer in our pets then ever before. This brings ethical issues. Just because we have these great tools and drugs, it does not mean we need to use them just for the sake of using them. We need to evaluate each patient and decide if we are treating the animal in his best interest or are we treating the animal because we don’t want to lose our beloved pet. These are tough questions. We need to always be sure we are giving the animal the best quality of life, and making the decision with him/her in mind.
Related Posts: other posts by Dr Riggs
Related Articles:
April is Cancer Month at Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest post: veterinary thoughts on dog and cat cancer
Cancer claim example: Grade III Mast Cell Tumor
Cancer Claim Example: Anal Sac Apocrine Gland Adenocarcinoma
Rates of Cancer by Dog Breed
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Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center with his wife Nancy, their two dogs Boo and Maggie, and two cats Franklin and Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.
