Cancer in Cats and Dogs

Gregory Ogilvie works with both animal and human cancers. Not too long ago, when a dog or cat owner learned that a pet had cancer, it meant a death sentence for the animal. But things have changed. There is a "very sophisticated population of animal owners," notes Donald Thrall, professor of radiology and radiation oncology at North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. These people are "very informed and sometimes almost demand state-of-the-art cancer treatment" for

Myrna Watanabe

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Gregory Ogilvie works with both animal and human cancers.

Not too long ago, when a dog or cat owner learned that a pet had cancer, it meant a death sentence for the animal. But things have changed. There is a "very sophisticated population of animal owners," notes Donald Thrall, professor of radiology and radiation oncology at North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. These people are "very informed and sometimes almost demand state-of-the-art cancer treatment" for their animal companions.

An ill dog or cat can now benefit from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and sophisticated radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Coming down the pike are tumor-specific therapies that will have limited side effects. It sounds very much like the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures used in humans.

In looking at the past 25 years, says Rodney L. Page, director of the new comparative cancer program at Cornell University ...

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