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healthier happier pet
how to
have a
(^) Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
A
diagnosis of cancer in
a b e l o v e d a n i m a l i s
devastating for owners.
although it is relatively
c o m m o n i n p e t s , i t’ s
important to note that many forms
of cancer can be successfully treated
o r m a n a g e d t o p r o v i d e y o u r
four-legged friend with an excellent
quality of life.
and although many owners worry about
putting them through cancer treatment,
pets tend to handle it well. it’s common to
feel helpless, but there are ways you can
provide support.
Watch your pet closely for signs of improve-
ment or decline and keep your vet informed.
Ensure they have a quiet, comfortable place
to rest — as well as plenty of nutritional food
and fresh water. Cherish the cuddles, the
laughs and enjoy your time with them.
Here, three owners describe how they — and
their pets — have coped with the big C...
he looks a bit silly, but i
made the right choice
Vicci RobeRts, 35, runs a doggy day care
centre near the home in bwlchgwyn, Wales,
that she shares with her Labrador sam, 12.
i’v E had sam since he was eight weeks old
and he’s my world, a very special part of my
life. so when i found a growth on his gums a
few years ago, i was relieved when the vet
told me it was benign and removed it.
she explained it was likely it would grow
back, so when a second growth appeared in
his mouth in october last year, i assumed it
would be the same thing.
i took him back to vets4Pets, but a biopsy
revealed there were cancerous cells within
the growth that could spread throughout
the rest of sam’s jaw.
To prevent this, they would need to remove
the area around the growth — a large part of
sam’s jaw — and his canine teeth.
i was gutted. i really hadn’t expected the
growth to be anything but benign. But we
decided to go ahead with the operation
because sam was otherwise healthy and
we wanted to give him the best possible
chance of life.
But while he was in surgery, the vet called
me to say she was going to have to remove
even more of his jaw as the cancer was
deeper than we thought. My heart sank but
i trusted her to make the right decision,
even though it was brutal surgery. it took
three and a half hours in the end — a long
time for an old dog to be under anaesthetic.
But within a few days sam was back to his
old self, albeit looking a bit silly. Because so
much jaw was removed, his
tongue constantly
Sam’s op
took 3½
hours —
but now
he’s as
happy
WhiLe many animals go on to as Larry
live, happy lives after cancer
treatment, says PDsA veterinary
nurse JOANNE WRIGHT, sometimes
you may have to help them to a
peaceful end. she explains:
IT’S All about your pet’s quality
of life and keeping an eye for
changes that might indicate this
is not what it was.
You need to look at various
factors: Can they get up easily?
Are they in pain? Is the vet saying
they’ve done all they can?
Remember euthanasia relieves
suffering; we are lucky to have
that option. That’s not to say it
isn’t distressing for owners.
With a cancer diagnosis, we
often know how long an animals
has left. My advice is to use that
time to do some planning. Ask
advice from a veterinary nurse —
they are brilliant and often have
more time than a vet. There are
also now mobile companies that
deal with end-of-life treatments,
so there are options to have your
pet put down at home.
Thankfully, pet bereavement is
more widely recognised today.
Vets have specific training to
deliver assistance. There are also
pet bereavement services with
helplines and other support.
hangs out of his
mouth like a piece
of bacon!
n o w a l l h i s
feed has to be
liquidised into
s o u p s o h e
c a n l i c k i t
up — h e
f l i c k s i t
everywhere
and i mop
the floor what
f e e l s l i k e 1 5
times a day.
sam still has a
few back teeth
and loves to use
them to munch
gr e e n v e g e t-
ables and car-
rots — it’s cute
to watch. He’s
so happy now
an d f u l l o f
energy, i know i
made the right
decision.
We cherish
eVery Walk
DAViD bRoWn, 62,
is a retired engineer
who lives in swindon
with his wife chris,
also 62. they have
two grown-up
children and
cheddar, an 18-month-old
cocker spaniel.
iT all kicked off at the end of
last year.
We’d had Cheddar since he was a
puppy and he’s a proper little
character who loves chasing a ball
— he’ll run you off your feet.He
was always perfectly healthy until
we noticed he had a bit of
diarrhoea last november.
We took him to our local vet,
who at first thought he had a
touch of gastroenteritis and then,
when it didn’t clear up, colitis
(inflammation of the bowel). after
a few days on antibiotics, Cheddar
noticeably improved and we
thought we’d turned the corner.
But in early december we took
him for his inoculation boosters
and the vet felt his tummy to make
sure he was healthy. But they
found a lump.
a CT scan and X-ray didn’t
show what it was, so the vet
wanted to operate.
We went home and after an hour
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Taking it day by
day: Cheddar
has lymphoma
of the bowel
of the
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beds
5
WheN is the
right time
to let go?
respond well to chemo because the
drugs can’t penetrate the lump,
while diffuse cancers like lymphoma
often respond really well to chemo.
The more complex or challenging
cancers will usually be tackled by a
specialist centre.
What treatmeNts
are aVailable?
THE other thing to remember is
that we treat animals slightly
differently from a dosing point of
view. We all know the harrowing
side-effects of human chemother-
apy — hair loss, vomiting, weight
loss and so on — but in general we
use lower doses in animals because
it may be considered unfair to put
an animal through things that it
can’t understand.
With this in mind, some treatments
aim to slow the cancer, not cure it
at all costs. Your vet or specialist
should talk you through this, so
make sure to ask questions so you
understand the likely prognosis and
side-effects of treatment.
When it comes to cancer and its
treatment, people have different
views about what is fair and
what they are willing to put their
animal through.
i’ve seen and heard of cases that i
definitely would not have replicated
with my own dogs, but this comes
down to the owner’s choice and
making the decision based on as
much information as possible.
it will also depend on the character
of your pet. some are stoic and
happy wherever, while others are
simply terrified to be hospitalised.
a hundred different factors will dic-
tate the path you follow, so try not
t o w o r r y a b o u t i t u n l e s s i t
happens.
That said, it’s always better to act
sooner rather than later so please, if
ever you’re at all worried, never feel
like you’re wasting your vet’s time.
it’s better to be safe than sorry —
after all, that’s why we are here.