Animal Cancer Care Clinic


What is Cancer?
Cancer is the unrestrained and unregulated growth of cells that occurs despite the body's anticancer defense mechanisms or immune system. Cancer begins with a single cell that fails to respond to growth signals from the rest of the body. This cell can begin to grow for weeks, months or even years before being detected.

What Causes Cancer?
There are several potential causes for cancer, including tobacco smoke, certain nutrients, radiation, drugs, toxins, viruses, inflammation, pollution, chemicals or any other substance that can damage DNA. In the majority of animal cancers, it is often difficult to pinpoint a specific cause for the development of cancer.   Some cancers are more common than others. Lymphoma (click to download description of Lymphoma) in both dogs and cats is the most commonly treated cancer. In dogs, cutaneous Mast Cell (click to download description of Mast Cell Tumors) cancer is the most common skin tumor that we see.

What is Chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy drugs are compounds that are toxic to cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be given intravenously, by injection or orally. Cancer cells generally multiply very rapidly. Most chemotherapy drugs work by damaging the ability of these rapidly growing cells to divide, eventually killing them.

What is Radiation Therapy?

What is a Clinical Trial?
As a pet owner, participating in a clinical trial provides you with an opportunity to help your pet when conventional treatment options are either not effective or not accessible. Most clinical research trials investigating new methods of cancer diagnosis or treatment are conducted at either universities or specialized cancer treatment facilities. Although considered “experimental”, effectiveness of the treatment has been proven in lab research, safety has been demonstrated in closely monitored studies, and the therapy is considered to be of potential benefit to the patient.  Ask your Animal Cancer Care Clinic oncologist if your pet is a candidate for any of the ongoing clinical trials.