Pet Chemotherapy

Hearing the diagnosis of “cancer” can feel like the ground is slipping from beneath your feet, as if it’s a death sentence. Indeed, it is one of the most insidious and difficult diseases in both human and veterinary medicine, especially if diagnosed too late in an advanced stage. In oncology, early diagnosis is vital; if detected early, depending on the type of cancer, we can apply surgical, medicinal, chemotherapeutic, or combined treatments. Therefore, a cancer diagnosis is not always the end of the road. Today, we want to share more about one of these treatment options.

Chemotherapy is the treatment of an oncological patient using specialized medications that suppress the core characteristic of cancer cells: their rapid, uncontrolled division. Once they lose the ability to reproduce, the cancer cells die, and the tumor stops growing.

Pet chemotherapy is performed at the veterinary clinic, during which specialized drugs are administered via an intravenous (IV) drip. The procedure typically lasts between 30 to 60 minutes. Afterward, the pet remains in our day hospital under the supervision of veterinary doctors to monitor their condition. During chemotherapy treatment, we periodically perform blood gas tests and monitor the biochemical parameters of internal organs. The number of sessions required will be determined by the veterinarian after evaluating the results of cytology or histopathology. Only by knowing the stage of the disease can we select the most effective treatment protocol (including the frequency and number of procedures).

Chemotherapy is most often used in combination with surgical treatment to destroy microscopic cancer cells that cannot be seen and to prevent metastasis. It can also be used to slow down the multiplication of remaining cancerous tissue when complete surgical removal is not possible (e.g., when the tumor has unclear margins).

We are proud to be among the first in Lithuania to implement chemotherapy treatments. We have accumulated years of experience that helps us effectively fight oncological diseases. At “Siaurio Šnauceris” veterinary clinics, pet chemotherapy has been saving lives for many years.