Has your dog been diagnosed with cancer? This is one of the most shocking and heartbreaking news that someone could hear about their pets. According to animal experts, in all cancer treatments, the focus should be on supportive care, so you have to take care of your pet properly.  

Unfortunately, when your beloved furry friend has been diagnosed with this disease, you will feel helpless and sad, but you should know that there are some steps that you can take to educate yourself on how to care for a dog with cancer. So, you are not alone and remember that your vet will help you with the right treatment for your pet and you will learn how to comfort and take care of your companion animal. 

Moreover, you should be aware that you will be directly and personally involved in the day-to-day care of your pets and you should provide them with care, comfort, and meds recommended by your vet. So, you have to cooperate with your vet and his or her team and give your consent for tests and treatment.

According to Dr. Diane Brown, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer for the AKC Canine Health Foundation, “there are types of cancer in dogs that are very treatable. I think about it as a spectrum, from those that are less aggressive and curable to those that are highly aggressive and don’t have a cure or even have a good treatment option. Our foundation and profession put a lot of resources towards cancer research because the need really is great, especially for those that we have not yet found a way to prevent or successfully treat.”

Here are some tips on how to take care of animals with cancer. Read on for more info!

Consult the opinion of both the veterinarian and the specialist

When you find out that your beloved furry friend has cancer, you have to keep in touch with your veterinarian as often as possible. But according to a veterinary oncologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, MacKenzie Pellin, there should be good communication between a referring vet and a specialist, so, try to consult the opinion of both experts. 

Sometimes, doctors get too busy because they have to consult with a lot of patients (or animals in this case), respond to emails, test and prescribe treatments, so it’s your responsibility to make sure that you understand all the procedures and treatments.

“Usually records are shared behind the scenes, but if people are going back and forth, you can ask for the doctor to call the specialist or vice versa,” said Dr. Pellin. “If anything is unclear, I encourage people to have their vet call so everyone is on the same page.”

Nevertheless, veterinarians won’t take any action regarding the treatment of your dog without your consent, and will usually act according to your requirements. Therefore, you should try to understand the seriousness of the problem and accept their suggestions.

Discover their signs of pain

In general, animals, but especially dogs, tend to hide their pain and it is quite difficult to tell when your dog is actually in pain. In this case, you should pay attention to their behavior and notice if there is something strange, such as limping, pacing, excessive panting or refusing to lie down. These may be the signs that your beloved dog is in pain.

“When they’re in decline, they’ve lost [mental activity], [their] appetite is gone,” says Alice Villalobos, DVM, DPNAP, founder and medical director of Pawspice and Animal Oncology, a consultation service in Hermosa Beach and Woodland Hills, California. “We’re looking at a slowdown of everything.”

“Pain can be so subtle in dogs,” said Dr. Pellin. “As part of their personalities, they just want to make people happy, so sometimes they hide things and push through the pain. Anything that doesn’t seem quite like the normal dog is potentially a sign of pain.”

Spend time and safely play with your dog

The level of energy, rest, or enthusiasm of your dog depends on the type of cancer. For instance, if your dog has bone cancer, then it won’t want to play at all. So, you should ask your vet if you can walk your dog daily and avoid games that make them too excited.

“With some cancers, you can still do a lot with your dog, but you want to avoid intense activities if there is a risk of internal bleeding or breaking bones,” Dr. Pellin says. “If they’re really tired all the time, you want to let them set their own pace. Because cancer mostly affects middle-aged and older dogs, sometimes just a nice snuggle on the couch can be a good way to spend time together.”

When to opt for “pawspice” care

According to Dr. Villalobos, “pawspice” is the animal variant for “hospice” and she encourages pet owners to make the right decisions when their pets are suffering unnecessarily because of terminal cancer. 

“Pawspice often isn’t a point, it’s a transition toward the very end of life when the decline is really obvious,” she says. “Life is no longer worth living for these patients, and we try to help people see that so they’re not trying to hang on when the pet is in futility, and there’s relentless and unnecessary suffering.”

In fact, the decision to continue to support sick creatures that suffer from severe pain and live the last days of their lives is not good for them… maybe we are happy to have them among us, but those animals are tormented every day because of the severe pain that grinds their remaining days. Dr. Pellin suggests euthanasia in this case (as she also did with her dogs that suffered from cancer), and you can opt for either the clinic or the home option. So, you should opt for euthanasia only if your dog has severe pain and terminal cancer.

Know the type of cancer you’re dealing with

First of all, it is very important to know exactly what type of cancer your dog has because in some cases it can be cured. For instance, in some cases, tumors can be removed, but the cancer cells could be transmitted to the body over a larger area, and treatment must be changed as soon as possible.

“Making that correct diagnosis from the start will lead you to a more accurate prognosis and help you to choose which treatment path to go down. All of this new research is also informative and important in getting the correct diagnosis of the type of cancer you’re dealing with,” said Dr. Brown.

Understand your pet’s treatment options

When your dog is diagnosed with cancer, you have to be prepared for anything and understand your pet’s treatment options. You should ask your vet what’s the right treatment for your dog and don’t be afraid to ask more questions if needed.

“Options may include surgical treatment, combination therapy of surgery and chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy alone, and immunotherapy,” says Dr. Brown. “Immunotherapy includes cancer vaccines – there’s a cancer vaccine for melanoma available for dogs now. There is also work on a number of other immunotherapy modalities where you’re basically taking the dog’s own immune cells to kill its own cancer cells.”

Pay attention to your dog’s diet

Animals suffering from cancer have a sensitive metabolism and must follow a certain diet that keeps them well-nourished. A balanced diet has a positive impact on their health, and in some cases, minimizes the severity of cancer.

Organic foods should be part of anticancer diets. “Giving a dog as clean a diet as possible can only help,” Dr. Anne Reed, a holistic veterinarian in Oakland, California, says. “I feel like the last thing the canine cancer patient’s body needs is to deal with the pesticides, antibiotics, and extra bacteria that tend to be in non-organic meat. You don’t want their bodies to have to focus on clearing out toxins as well as fighting the cancer.”