Pet Cancer Awareness Month Is Here Again

A Lifesaving Reminder from Our Scarsdale Veterinarian

May is Pet Cancer Awareness Month, which is why our Scarsdale veterinarian wants to help owners focus on ways they can protect pets against this deadly disease. A variety of cancers can plague the special animals in our lives — but vigilance, early detection, and prompt treatment can mean the difference between life and death.

Any animal can develop cancer, an uncontrolled growth of cells that eventually destroys healthy tissue and impedes normal physical processes. We see many different types of cancer when evaluating and treating our patients at Central Animal Hospital. Scarsdale pets may develop either external cancers that can be seen or felt, or internal cancers that may lurk invisibly until they finally present symptoms. For instance, if you feel a lump under your pet’s skin, that lump might be a benign or malignant tumor. Unexplained lumps inside a pet’s mouth may indicate oral cancer, a fast-spreading cancer that requires immediate care. Internal cancers include bone cancer, lymphoma, prostate and other reproductive cancers, stomach cancer and mammary cancer. By the time your pet displays signs of serious illness, these internal cancers may have advanced to the point that treatment is difficult or impossible.

Diagnosis and Treatment at Our Scarsdale Veterinary Hospital

Fortunately, routine wellness care at our Scarsdale veterinary hospital can go a long way toward keeping your pet cancer free. Spaying or neutering can completely eliminate your pet’s risk for reproductive cancers; spaying also lowers the risk of mammary cancer significantly. Routine examinations and dental checkups can reveal suspicious lesions to our Scarsdale veterinarian. Blood tests enable us to catch internal cancers as early as possible, while exploratory surgery allows us to biopsy potential cancer cells for closer examination. If your pet has cancer, we will advise you on treatment options and provide skilled, compassionate care at our animal hospital. Scarsdale pets deserve no less this May — and all year round!

Have you owned a pet who had cancer? Tell us his story!