High-End Cancer Treatment for Pets, at a Cost

(2 Dec 2015) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus043333

AFTER DOCTORS SEDATE DAKOTA, THEY HAUL THE 80-POUND BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG ONTO A FLAT BED TO MAP HIS SNOUT FOR RADIATION TREATMENT….HE HAS CANCER IN HIS NOSE.
UPSTAIRS, ANOTHER VETERINARY TEAM TESTS 14-YEAR-OLD ARNOLD FOR A SIMILAR PROBLEM….THEY RUN A CAT SCAN TO EXAMINE A NASAL TUMOR.
EACH WEEK AROUND 120 PETS COME TO THE CANCER INSTITUTE IN MANHATTAN'S ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER…WHERE THEY RECEIVE THE MOST ADVANCED CANCER CARE SIMILAR TO HUMANS
SOUNDBITE Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, Oncologist, Animal Medical Center:
"It's the only cancer center certainly in New York for veterinary cancer where we treat animals for both chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy."
9-YEAR-OLD LOLA IS GETTING CHEMOTHERAPY FOR A FORM OF PANCREATIC CANCER.
LIKE MOST, SHE'S NOT A FAN OF NEEDLES….BUT AFTER SIX MONTHS OF TREATMENT, LOLA IS CANCER FREE.
SOUNDBITE: Dominique Milbank, pet owner of Lola:
"If I hadn't gone through whatever I had gone through for her she probably only had a few more months to live."
IT'S A COSTLY INVESTMENT MORE PET OWNERS ARE MAKING. AROUND 50-PERCENT OF DOGS OVER THE AGE OF 10 DEVELOP CANCER.
HIGH-END ANIMAL CANCER TREATMENTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN VET CLINICS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
TREATMENT CAN RUN INTO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WITHOUT PET INSURANCE.
IT TOOK NEARLY FOUR YEARS, 40 DOSES OF CHEMO, AND CLOSE TO THIRTY-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO TREAT LULU, A 14-YEAR-OLD SHIATSU POODLE MIX.
SOUNDBITE Marilyn Benetatos, pet owner of Lulu:
"It's safe to say we could have bought a very nice luxury car."
AS TREATMENTS AND TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVE, ONCOLOGISTS LIKE BROOKE BRITTON ARE WEIGHING THE ETHICS OF SPENDING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR ANIMAL MEDICAL CARE
SOUNDBITE: Brooke Britton, Oncologist, BluePearl Veterinary Partners:
"You know there's a saying 'just because we can, doesn't always mean we should'. I'm a firm believer of stopping before a time when we've believed we've reached a limit of what we believe we can reasonably do to extend a pet's quality of life and life span."
BUT TO OWNERS LIKE DOMINIQUE MILBANK –WHO TOOK IN LOLA AFTER SHE WAS FOUND TIED TO A BENCH---
SOUNDBITE: DOMINIQUE MILBANK/PET OWNER OF LOLA
"I would give every penny I have, every saving that I have. I would do everything for her that I can."
THERE'S ONLY ONE OPTION.
BONNY GHOSH, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK

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