We try for it not to be. Our rules are, we don't want anybody in pain. We don't want anybody sick, and we don't want anybody starving. We want them to eat. We want them to feel good.

In response to treatment, they'll go into a remissive state. A lot of those chemo protocols are done at that point or a little past that. Then we monitor the dog very closely for them to come out of remission. Then a new protocol is started at that point.

It depends. Surgery is often curative, and so that’s the day of surgery and healing, and it's done. With chemotherapy agents for lymphoma, the treatments can vary. Some of them can last many months until the pet goes into remission. Then when they come back out of remission, they start over. It depends on the tumor.

Yeah. There are many different medications, as chemotherapeutics are medications. Certain tumors like bladder tumors respond to medicine to some degree, or it slows their spread and increase in size. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories like Rimadyl can also help with those tumors. Studies show a good quality balanced nutrition and leaner body weight put an animal at lower risk of cancer.

That's very individual. Surgery is pretty much the mainstay for many tumors. That would be the one you would choose. Chemotherapy, for instance, often depends on the owner’s budget and schedule. I always encourage owners, if they are very interested, to seek a consultation with an oncologist, and they can give you options. There are often options for every budget and every schedule available—not always, but many times there are. You can at least get that consultation to know what your options are.

Pet insurance and twice-yearly exams can help. Then we notate any lumps and bumps that we find. We notate their size. We've done fine needle aspirates, and we have those results logged on records. It's easier for us to detect if things are changing. There are certain benign lumps and bumps where it’s OK to monitor and not do anything about. If they're changing, then we start talking about options to investigate further.