Help Your Dog Fight Cancer

People open their homes and their hearts to a pet and they plan to take care of the pet for its whole life. But when cancer strikes, the treatment fees can be astronomical!

It is humiliating and emotionally debilitating for owners who cannot afford life-saving treatment for their beloved pet, on top of the shock and terror that is experienced by any owner whose pet is diagnosed with cancer.

Depending on what type of treatment your dog needs, read about the 4 ways to minimize treatment costs below.

Veterinary Treatment Fees

4 Ways to Minimize Treatment CostsVeterinary treatment fees are high, especially for cancer treatment.  You can call local clinics to compare fees. You can ask your clinic if you qualify for any discounts. Ask your clinic if they work with CareCredit or ScratchPay. Many pet owners can afford veterinary treatment fees for their pets with cancer by using one CareCredit or ScratchPay.

Without assistance, a diagnosis of cancer for some people can mean a death sentence for their pet.

There are ways to get a dog through cancer treatment with limited funds. There are ways to cut the costs of chemo, surgery or radiation. 

4 Ways to Minimize Treatment Costs

Chemo protocols are not carved in stone! For some dogs in any study, the “most effective” plan was scheduled too often or at too high a dose. They got sick or it didn’t work.

If a dog reacts badly to a drug, the protocol will be adjusted. It can also be adjusted for financial reasons. Treatment fees will be lower if you schedule treatments less often (i.e., every 10 days or 2 weeks rather than every week). Or ask the vet to give your dog 75% of the recommended dosages. Some dogs cannot tolerate the full dose every week. So, if your dog happens to be in that group, then reducing the dosage will actually improve his chances of treatment success and survival.

Ask your vet to suggest several of the most effective protocols  for your dog’s cancer. Not just the protocol he/she uses routinely. You can cut costs of chemo by choosing the least expensive protocol that still has a good survival rate.

For dogs with lymphoma, the very expensive flow cytometry test is usually not needed. 90% of lymphomas in dogs are B-cell. If there is nothing indicating that he has T-cell, skip this test!

If your dog is having a CHOP protocol, ask them to begin with a Vincristine treatment, not an L-Spar (Asparaginase) treatment. L-Spar should be saved and given later if your dog comes out of remission.

You can download info about the most common chemo protocols here.

After your dog’s surgery, it is likely that you will receive the news “Your dog needs a 2nd surgery,” or “Now we have to give him chemotherapy,” or “He must have radiation therapy.” If the vet did not get clean margins, and the biopsy report finds it is an aggressive, malignant cancer, it is your choice whether to leave it be and hope that the cancer will not progress any time soon, or put him through additional treatment.

Very often, even if the surgery did remove the tumor with clean margins, the biopsy report says “Microscopic disease may remain.” In cancer, there is always a possibility that microscopic cancer cells remain.

The report really should say:
“Microscopic disease may or may not remain.”

If a diagnosis cannot be made on a mass without surgery, try to avoid needing two surgeries. Instead of a surgical biopsy and then a surgery to remove the tumor, just have the tumor removed with as clean margins as possible.

Ask your vet to make every effort to remove the cancer with clean margins in one surgical procedure. It is better for your dog and for your finances if after this surgery, he will not need another surgery, chemo, or radiation. Ask the vet to take wide margins, even if they aren’t sure whether the tumor is malignant or benign.

Radiation therapy is often the most expensive type of treatment. Usually, a vet will tell you that he/she can provide “Curative Radiation Therapy” or “Palliative Radiation Therapy.” 

Curative vs. palliative is a judgement call! Often, a “palliative” protocol turns out to be curative (the cancer does not return). And often, a “curative” protocol turns out not be effective at all.

Curative: Curative radiation usually require 5 treatments a week (every day, Monday through Friday). Sometimes the dog stays at the clinic during the week and goes home on weekends. This is hard on the dogs and the owners. A dog may have radiation burns and open wounds for months. Sometimes, a dog dies during the aggressive protocol or soon thereafter.

Palliative: The palliative plan is easier on the dog, you don’t have to be without him for whole weeks, and of course it is less expensive. There are several protocols for palliative radiation. Some require treatment once a week, and others call for treatment three times a week for X weeks. Your vet should agree to your choice of curative or palliative.

It is your vet’s job to tell you all treatments that can help your dog fight cancer—everything from most aggressive treatments, to the least aggressive treatments. Your vet would be remiss if they did not fully inform you of all of the options.

And then it is your job to choose what should be done for your dog. You should not feel pressured to agree to a particular test or a treatment plan. It is always up to you!

Your dog—your money—your decisions.

To manage treatment costs, avoid any unnecessary diagnostic testing and choose treatments wisely. You will keep the fees to a minimum, and avoid putting your dog through unnecessary trauma.

Ask for Assistance

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Don’t be shy! Anyone who loves your dog might loan or give you funds for your dog’s treatments.

Ask nicely, and don't ever be angry or argumentative if they say they cannot help you.

ASK YOUR CLINIC

Is there a clinic fund to help clients struggling to pay for treatments?

Can you pay over time?

Can you use CareCredit or ScratchPay?

APPLY TO NONPROFITS

Apply to nonprofits for help toward treatment fees. Try Live Like Roo and Miranda’s People and Mosby Foundation.
There is a full list of nonprofits here.