Your Pet, Your Pocket Book, and Cancer

As cancer rates rise at all time highs in the human world , so also can the same be said for the world of our four footed friends. We know that moles on our bodies, that change color, size or shape, could be a harbinger of dreaded cancer. When we notice a significant change we call and make a doctors appointment. There may follow extensive blood work, a biopsy, lab testing etc...Hopefully the results will come back termed as non malignant. What happens though when we are faced with just such a situation with our beloved companion pets?

My Boxer Shugah Ray is a gentle giant and a source of joy in my life. He is now almost 6 years old, and for three years had a very tiny mole on his back. The vet and I had never really worried about it during previous office visits. It was very small, round with a uniform border. This year though the mole suddenly changed . It had doubled in size when we went in for the first visit. With summer in full swing Our vet said give it a little more time, It was possible he was having a reaction to being bitten by an insect of some kind.

By his next appointment the treacherous mole had not only tripled in size, but had now been joined by two companions, one on each rear leg. It was quickly decided they should be removed . At the rate they were growing, left unchecked, There was a risk later as the areas grew larger and deeper that there would not be enough good skin left to pull the edges together. The vet was concerned this could cause a stretching and limitation in his hip motion. We set the date and the surgery was completed without complications.

We have kept the site clean, kept him separate from our female K.O. , and the sutures will be removed on Wednesday. For a human as I have said I am sure there would have followed further testing, possibly chemotherapy, for My Shug, and many other pets we can only hope and pray quick preventative and aggressive intervention will have been enough. Like many other Americans faced with the same situation, extensive life saving measures such as those mentioned above to battle cancer would be entirely beyond our financial capabilities. There still remains the risk this could be a malignant form of cancer, and Sites like Shug's will always need to be monitored in the future.

If it is within your budget, pet insurance is no longer the joke it used to be treated as. My Care One Card, a line of credit for medical and dental Human procedures recently sent me notification that they have now made this payment option available for veterinarian services also. I would recommend checking with your Vet though before planning on using it, as it does require a different set up to process payments. My vet was unable to accept this card, but one other Lagrange Ga. veterinarian office does. Shop around is still good advice. I preferred to stay with my veterinarian as we have had an excellent working relationship for many years now.
Be vigilant. Check your pets regularly. Early Intervention is best.