Cancer
Cancer
Understanding a diagnosis, deciding on treatment, and living well, with support at every stage.
6 stages · 35 guides from PetsLikeMine
Who can help near you
- Your vet1 kind
- Specialists2 kinds
- Comfort care2 kinds
Listed by distance from you. Nobody pays to be listed.
A lump or a worrying sign
Stage 1 · 5 guides from PetsLikeMine
Cancer and Your Pet: Start HerePeople reach this page from a few different places. Some have just found a lump that wasn't there last month. Some sat in a consulting room an hour ago and stopped…7 min read · on PetsLikeMine The Lump You've Found: When to Worry, and Why "Wait and See" Is the Wrong MoveYou've found a lump, and the question in your head is how worried to be. Most of the time, the answer is: less than you fear. Lumps are one of the commonest reasons…7 min read · on PetsLikeMine The Warning Signs of Cancer in Dogs and Cats (and the Quieter Feline Ones)Something has caught your eye. Your dog's a bit slower on walks, or your cat's gone off her food. Maybe there's a lump you weren't expecting, or a smell, or a sore that…8 min read · on PetsLikeMine
Understanding the diagnosis
Stage 2 · 12 guides from PetsLikeMine
You've Heard the Word "Cancer": What Grade, Stage and Prognosis Actually MeanA cancer diagnosis is serious. It is not, by itself, a death sentence, and plenty of pets go on to live good lives, sometimes for years, after one. What happens next…9 min read · on PetsLikeMine "How Long Has My Pet Got?" Reading a Prognosis HonestlyHow long has my pet got? It's the question almost every owner asks the moment the room goes quiet, and a lot of people are too frightened to say it out loud. You want a…7 min read · on PetsLikeMine Lymphoma in Dogs: The Most Treatable Common CancerLymphoma is one of the few cancers in dogs where treatment reliably works, and where most dogs feel genuinely well throughout. It usually announces itself as a firm…9 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 12 guides in this stage
- Lymphoma in Cats: The Commonest Feline Cancer 8 min
- Mast Cell Tumours: The Lump That's "the Great Pretender" 8 min
- Osteosarcoma in Dogs: The Amputation Decision, and Life on Three Legs 10 min
- Haemangiosarcoma: The Hard Truth About the "Silent" Splenic Cancer 11 min
- Mammary (Breast) Tumours in Dogs and Cats, and the Neutering Link 9 min
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma: The Lump That Needs More Than a Simple "Lumpectomy" 8 min
- Oral Tumours: Canine Melanoma and Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma 8 min
- Injection-Site Sarcoma in Cats: The One You've Never Heard Of 8 min
- Bladder Cancer (Transitional Cell Carcinoma): Signs and Options 8 min
Deciding on treatment
Stage 3 · 7 guides from PetsLikeMine
Should I Treat? Treating, Comfort Care, and Why There's No Wrong AnswerThere is no wrong answer here, and that is the thing most owners reach this decision without ever being told plainly. Whether you choose to treat your pet's cancer or to…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine Pet Chemotherapy Is Not Human Chemotherapy: What to Really ExpectSay the word "chemotherapy" to most owners and one picture arrives: a person they loved, exhausted and sick, hair gone, counting down hard months. It is one of the most…9 min read · on PetsLikeMine What Does Cancer Treatment Cost, and How Do People Pay for It?"And roughly what does that cost?" is one of the hardest questions for an owner to ask, and one of the most sensible. A lot of people swallow it, as though loving a pet…10 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 7 guides in this stage
- Cancer Surgery: What Removing It Involves, and "Getting Clean Margins" 10 min
- Radiation Therapy for Pets: When It's Used and What It's Like 9 min
- Getting a Referral to a Veterinary Oncologist, and When to Seek a Second Opinion 8 min
- Clinical Trials, Immunotherapy and Newer Options: Real Hope Versus Hype 9 min
Going through treatment
Stage 4 · 4 guides from PetsLikeMine
Going Through Chemo: What's Normal, and What Isn'tFewer than one in four pets on chemotherapy get side effects you'd actually notice, like being sick or having loose stools, and most have none you can see at all…9 min read · on PetsLikeMine Cancer Treatment Emergencies: When to Call the Vet Right NowThere is one situation on cancer treatment where the difference between ringing tonight and ringing in the morning genuinely matters, and this page is about that…7 min read · on PetsLikeMine Managing Your Pet's Pain and Comfort Through CancerAcross all the worries a cancer diagnosis brings, the one that keeps owners awake at night usually isn't the prognosis or the cost. It's a plainer, harder question: is…9 min read · on PetsLikeMine
All 4 guides in this stage
Living with cancer
Stage 5 · 5 guides from PetsLikeMine
Comfort-Focused Care: Choosing Quality of Life When You Don't TreatComfort-focused care is the path you take when you've decided not to treat the cancer itself. The reasons vary: sometimes the outlook didn't justify what the pet would…8 min read · on PetsLikeMine Quality of Life You Can Measure: Using the Score to See What's Really HappeningIs he still enjoying life? Is she still happy? When a pet has cancer, that question turns up in the quiet moments, last thing at night or first thing in the morning, and…8 min read · on PetsLikeMine Remission: What It Means, and Watching for the Cancer Coming BackRemission means your pet has come back to themselves. The lumps have gone, they're bright again, eating, daft, well. You'd think that word would bring nothing but…8 min read · on PetsLikeMine
When time is short
Stage 6 · 2 guides from PetsLikeMine
Signs the Cancer Is Winning: Recognising DeclineThere's a question owners often arrive at without quite saying it out loud: how do I tell when my pet is genuinely going downhill, rather than just having an off day?…7 min read · on PetsLikeMine The Quality-of-Life Decision, and Where to Go NextWhen a pet's cancer can no longer be held back, the decision an owner faces is whether, and when, to let them go gently. It's one of the hardest decisions you will ever…6 min read · on PetsLikeMine
Find care near you
Your cancer care team
These are the practitioners this condition can call for, from your everyday vet to specialists and therapists. Enter your postcode to see who's near you at each step.
- Your vet (primary care)
Veterinary oncologist ·Referral hospital
Home & hospice end-of-life vet ·Mobile vet (home visits)
Understand the condition
Clinical background on vetcanon, the ConciergeVet reference library. Vetcanon is published by Concierge Vet LTD, which also operates PetCare Atlas.
With PetsLikeMine
Read the whole journey on PetsLikeMine
Every cancer guide, in order, sits in its own space on PetsLikeMine, written by owners and vets who have been through it. We show the first few here and link to the rest.
Read every cancer guide