Chemotherapy For Dogs

You might be wondering whether dog chemotherapy is worth it what are the side effects the efficacy and the cost.

Chemotherapy for dogs.

Because of the systemic nature of canine lymphoma with cancer cells generally spread throughout the patient s. Chemotherapy is the general name for conventional drug treatments that seek to poison the rapidly growing malignant cancer cells while at the same time causing the least amount of harm to the other healthy cells in the patient s body. In 2010 nhl was diagnosed in approximately 65 000 people in the united states and claimed approximately 20 000 lives making it the 7th most common cancer overall and the 6th most common cause. Cancer is a common canine concern affecting an estimated 25 of all dogs and 30 over the age of 7 years.

As cancer is defined by an uncontrollable cell growth chemotherapy is designed to attack and eliminate tumor cells. The drugs used for canine chemotherapy treatment are going to mainly act on the cells which are undergoing division. At tufts a standard chemotherapy protocol for lymphoma is likely to cost 3 500 to 4 500. Chemotherapy treatment for humans is known for its unpleasant side effects such as loss of appetite nausea fatigue hair loss and more many dog parents worry that chemotherapy for dogs will put.

Perhaps 3 to 5 days later an owner might report that their pet does not feel 100. As with any medical treatment chemotherapy cost can vary widely depending on the frequency and duration of the treatment the drug s used the medical facility and geographic location. Part of the complication of chemotherapy treatment for dogs is that this attack is not selective. Chemotherapy for the specific treatment of cancer involves infusing the dog s system or a specific place in the dog s body with cytotoxic chemicals in an attempt to destroy the cancer cells while hopefully doing as little damage as possible to normal healthy cells.

Cancer affects each dog differently so canine chemo plans are often individualized. Canine lymphomas and nhl are nearly indistinguishable when examined microscopically and both tumor types exhibit similar responses to chemotherapy. This article answers those questions so you can face the situation armed with some facts. The topic of chemotherapy for dogs is tinged with sadness no dog owners wants to hear that their pet has cancer.