Diagnosing cancer In Our Pets
| Published: 2nd January 2008 09:13 |
Diagnosing cancer is something that we do at the Fairfield Veterinary Centre on a daily basis.
A very common condition with a huge range of variations. If you consider the large number of different cell types within the body then you will appreciate that each one of those cell lines, blood, kidney, skin, bone, liver, to name but a few has the potential to become cancerous. The disease itself is terrifyingly simple. Each one of the billions of cells that make up our body 
and that of our pets is designed to reproduce and then die. This process replenishes cells that have reached the end of their normal working life. Cancer cells continue to reproduce without any control. Large numbers of cancer cells are then produced in a relatively short space of time.
The ability of the cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body (metastasise) is a measure of it's severity (highly malignant). It should then become clear, for example, that cells designed to produce bone, present within the lungs, isn't conducive to good health! It is interesting to note that with the high prevalence of cancer in humans that a new "Cancer Reform Strategy" has been unveiled by the government with the focus on prevention! Unfortunately, trying to reduce smoking and alcohol consumption in our pets is unlikely to be of any great value!
Specific breeds of dog are susceptible to certain types of cancer no matter how ideal their lifestyle.
The mainstay of sussessful cancer management is to diagnose the condition early and receive the most appropriate treatment. Regular examination and biopsy of our pets currently remain our most useful tools in our battle against this disease.
Terry Dunne BVMS, Cert SAO, MRCVS http://www.fairfieldvets.co.uk/
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