Home / Pet Health Columns

Pet Columns

Cancer in Cats: More Research Needed

Jul 19, 2020 / Cancer Care / Cats

Cancer Treatment Has Come a Long Way Animals and humans have a lot in common. Not only do they share the same living environments, but they also share many similar segments of genes. This makes animals great disease models in research. Dr. Alycen Lundberg, a veterinary oncologist at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary...

[sad dog]

Lumps and Bumps on My Pet

Jun 24, 2019 / Cancer Care / Cats / Dogs

Accurate Veterinary Advice Is Empowering Imagine petting your dog or cat and finding a lump, something you hadn’t noticed there before. Feeling alarmed, you turn to an online search engine, which yields lots of scary diagnoses: cancer, tumor, cyst, fatty mass. What does this all mean? And which condition does your pet actually have? According...

[photo of great dane]

Oncologists Study Immunotherapy to Combat Osteosarcoma

Apr 1, 2019 / Advances in Medicine / Cancer Care / Dogs

Study Uses High-Precision Radiation Technology Every year, 10,000 dogs in the United States are diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an extremely aggressive malignant bone tumor that typically occurs in a weight-bearing limb. Recently, Morris Animal Foundation funded a three-part study at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine to examine whether the body’s own immune system...

[Dr. Alycen Lundberg]

New Chemo Agent May Help Cats with Lung Cancer

Nov 26, 2018 / Advances in Medicine / Cancer Care / Cats

Trial seeks nine cats with lung cancer Yes, cats can get lung cancer. Through a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures, a cancerous growth can arise just about anywhere in any body. For cats, the lungs are a particularly bad place to get cancer. Dr. Alycen Lundberg, a veterinary oncologist at the University of...

[cat at veterinary visit]

Carboplatin Beads to Treat Feline Cancer

Aug 20, 2018 / Advances in Medicine / Cancer Care / Cats

Less Invasive, Less Expensive Option Explored Feline injection site sarcoma (FISS) is an aggressive form of cancer in cats associated with the administration of vaccines and injectable medications. It affects as many as 1 in 1,000 vaccinated cats. This cancer was once thought to be a rare side-effect of rabies vaccines, but now experts believe...

[Dr. Kimbery Selting with Spike]

Chemotherapy for Pets Focuses on Quality of Life

Jan 15, 2018 / Advances in Medicine / Cancer Care / Cats / Dogs

Pet’s cancer may be managed vs. cured The word “chemotherapy” conjures up images of nauseous, balding, and debilitated patients. While supportive therapies are available to soften these side effects in human cancer patients, it’s true that medical doctors often treat cancer very aggressively, hoping to achieve complete remission of disease. For patients undergoing chemotherapy at...

Top Five Pet Health Columns from 2017

Jan 2, 2018 / Advances in Medicine / Behavior / Cancer Care / General Care / Cats / Dogs

Enjoy the Most-Read Columns from 2017 What topics did pet owners find most fascinating last year? We checked our website analytics, and discovered that fungal disease, behavioral issues, and cutting-edge treatments offered only at our college topped the list. Here’s a recap of our most-read columns. Blasted Blasto Blastomyces dermatitidis—the agent responsible for the systemic...

[surgery using the fluorescent technology to detect cancer cells]

Technology Advances Diagnosis of Head and Neck Cancers in Dogs

Aug 21, 2017 / Advances in Medicine / Cancer Care / Small Animal Surgery / Dogs

This technology monitors for spread of tumors A pet’s cancer diagnosis triggers owners’ emotional strain, confusion, and uncertainty about treatment and financial decisions. Thankfully, with the help of engineers and veterinarians at the University of Illinois, cancer detection and treatment in pets—and people—is advancing at rapid speed. One of the many studies currently taking place...