A Unique Approach to Cancer Treatment for Pets
in the Mid-Atlantic Area at VOSRC

Our multimodality approach to cancer therapy is carefully developed based on tumor type. Multimodality means that we attack the cancer from several different fronts using the various available treatments.

Historically, surgery has been the first line treatment of solid tumors, which are those that develop as masses in tissues or organs. In large tumors, the surgical procedure may have been difficult, and in some cases, resulted in pain and discomfort without a favorable outcome. Today, a newer, alternative approach is to use neoadjuvant or primary chemotherapy to debulk or shrink the disease to make the subsequent surgery more minimal to the animal and more successful in the outcome. This approach also allows us to evaluate the efficacy of the chemotherapy drugs in visible disease prior to surgical removal. It will allow us to predict the ability of the specific drugs to destroy residual or micrometastatic disease, or the microscopic spread of the cancer, after surgery. By evaluating this response, we can help to ensure completeness of our treatment, improving disease-free longevity. Actions such as these can provide substantial benefits to patients suffering from many kinds of cancer.