November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. At our house, we have always been aware of cancer but it doesn’t mean tragedy can’t strike as we learned six weeks ago. Cancer is the number one disease related cause of death in pets. I, Bailie, first am dealing with cancer in a pet with the loss of Madison. It is a terrible disease, and pet cancer is also very sneaky and secretive.
Mom’s first dog, Trine, passed away less than a week after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. Like Madison, she one day stopped eating and was gone less than a week later. She showed no signs of feeling ill prior to not eating. When she passed away, she was just over ten years old. Mom adopted her from a shelter and only knew roughly what month she was born. Her photo was from eight months prior to her passing.
Madison was doing her sports just ten days before she passed away and had so much fun seeing all the people she knew. For the month prior, she was also competing in sports almost every weekend without any issues. When pets don’t show signs of being ill, it makes it hard to know something is going on. Mom took this photo of Madison three days before she passed away. She was still happy and acting fairly normal except for not eating. After that day she declined rapidly.
Cancer Prevention In Pets
- Feed your pet high quality, healthy food
- Keep your pet fit and at a good weight
- Visit your veterinarian at least once if not twice a year for a physical
- Get any lumps or bumps checked out by a veterinarian
- Reduce stress in your pet
Pet Cancer Warning Signs
- Sudden weight loss
- Lameness,
- Chronic vomiting or loose stool/diarrhea
- Lumps or bumps growing rapidly
- Bleeding
- Coughing
- Sores that will not heal
- Change in appetite
Pet cancer is tough because many pets don’t show a lot of signs that something is wrong until it is too late. Pet cancer rates are similar to humans, so let’s hope that some day, sooner rather than later, cancer rates for people and pets will start to decline. Some lines of purebreds have very high cancer rates because of selective breeding, so if you have one of those breeds pay extra attention to your pet.
Mom never wants to go through this cancer thing with a pet again. It is very hard and being so fast and deadly it is super hard to process. Always remember life is short, so make the most of the time we have together. The life of any living creature can change in an instant. Be grateful, and cherish the time you have. Let’s try to kick the “C” to the curb!
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