Cancer Treatment at Wingham Valley Vets

At Wingham and Valley Vets, we offer a comprehensive chemotherapy service for pets with cancer. This service allows our patients to have their cancer managed and treated locally, whilst still accessing the most up-to-date specialist chemotherapy protocols.

The diagnosis and management of cancer in pets has improved significantly in recent years and pets diagnosed with cancer can now live longer and have much better outcomes with fewer (if any) side effects. Even pets living with advanced cancer can have happy and pain-free lives with the help of chemotherapy.

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Ensuring Your Pets Comfort

Each case is different and the primary focus should always be on quality of life, not necessarily complete cure.

Management of cancer in pets can involve a variety of different treatments including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and sometimes these treatments are used in combination to maximise the chance of a cure.

Should you wish for your pet to have chemotherapy, we would provide you with a detailed protocol outlining what would need to happen each week and also provide an estimate for the costs of completing the protocol.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is the administration of specialised drugs that are effective against cancer cells – either killing the cancer cell or slowing its growth. Many of the drugs we use for chemotherapy are the same as those used in human medicine. Chemotherapy agents enter the blood stream either via an oral tablet or an intravenous injection and they target rapidly dividing cancer cells.

The primary goal of chemotherapy is to either control or completely cure your pet’s cancer, without adversely affecting their quality of life. In general, pets with cancer are treated less aggressively than humans because often we are focusing on prolonging life and improving quality of life – and are not necessarily aiming for a complete cure in all cases. As a result, pets usually receive lower doses of chemotherapy than people and so do not suffer the same degree of side effects. Many pets undergoing a chemotherapy protocol will experience no major side effects at all.

What Type Of Cancer Can Chemotherapy Treat?

Chemotherapy can be therapeutic in many different types of cancer in animals. The most common cancers that we treat with chemotherapy include lymphoma, bladder cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and mast cell tumours.

What Is Involved In A Chemotherapy Protocol?

This depends on the type of cancer and the extent of spread to other sites in the body at the time of diagnosis.

A protocol will be designed specifically for your pet and the types of drugs used, interval between doses and duration of the chemotherapy course will all vary with each individual case. Some drugs can be given orally at home, but most are administered intravenously at the vet hospital.

The process involves a thorough physical exam and any necessary blood tests, then placement of an intravenous catheter so that the chemotherapy can be administered safely. Staff will be wearing special protective equipment to minimise any exposure to the chemotherapy drugs.

What Side Effects Can I Expect?

Most pets (approximately 75%) will have minimal or no side effects. When we do encounter side effects in pets, they are often quite mild and will generally resolve without major intervention.

If your pet experiences side effects to their chemotherapy, we may opt to reduce their drug dose, change the type of drug or skip a dose in the protocol to allow their body to recover. Because chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells, it will also affect any normal body cells that are also rapidly dividing (blood cells, bone marrow, digestive tract, hair and skin and the reproductive system).

Therefore, potential side effects include inappetance, vomiting, diarrhoea or infection. Hair loss secondary to chemotherapy is quite uncommon in dogs and cats, unlike in people.