Veterinary surgeons only
Oncology
At Northwest Veterinary Specialists we have a dedicated veterinary oncology service for patients that have or are suspected of having a diagnosis of cancer. The veterinary referral team is led by RCVS and European Specialists in Veterinary Oncology whom are assisted by an experienced oncology specific nursing team.
Veterinary Oncology Suite
Our purpose-built Veterinary Oncology Suite is equipped with advanced facilities and equipment to provide cutting-edge cancer treatments for small animals in the UK. The suite includes chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment facilities all in one place, ensuring a stress-free experience for each patient with a separate entrance and reception area for oncology and radiotherapy patients.
A diagnosis of ‘cancer’ can be a very worrying time for owners and they can be faced with a number of choices both in terms of investigations and treatment options. We will guide owners through these decisions and treat each patient and their owner as individuals to ensure both comprehensive and compassionate care. Just as in human medicine the field of veterinary oncology continues to develop and we aim to offer a thorough range of up-to-date therapeutic options. Ensuring patients maintain a good quality of life is always our priority.
Arranging a Referral or Case Advice
If you are a veterinary professional and would like to make a referral, or require pre-referral advice about a patient, please use the online forms.
Veterinary Oncology Referral
Patients are referred to the oncology service when they have a confirmed or highly suspected diagnosis of a tumour. We will request all the previous records and results from the primary vets prior to the appointment. This will enable us to have a thorough discussion at the initial consultation regarding the most appropriate further investigations and treatment options. We want owners to be fully informed about all the options before deciding how they would like to proceed.
To treat any tumour appropriately we need to ensure that we have a definitive diagnosis. In some cases this may already have been obtained by the primary vet, but in other cases we may need to take samples often as either needle aspirates or a biopsy. We may also suggest further blood tests and imaging for so called ‘staging’ of the tumour.
This enables us to assess the extent of any primary tumour both locally and if it has spread (metastasised) to different sites, as well as to assess if there are any other concurrent problems (comorbidities). At the hospital we have a highly skilled imaging team to perform radiography, ultrasound and advanced imaging with CT and MRI.
Once we know the type of tumour and its extent we can make specific treatment recommendations and provide information on potential treatment side-effects, prognosis and cost. We try to ensure that all owners are fully informed of all the treatment options so that they can make the most informed decision as to what is most appropriate for their pet and their family. The priority when making any such decision is to ensure that we provide patients with an ongoing good quality of life.
Pet Oncology Treatments
There are a number of different ways in which we can treat tumours and very often we may use a combination of such modalities to optimise patient outcomes:
- Specialist soft tissue surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Conventional chemotherapy
- Metronomic chemotherapy
- Tyrosine kinase inhibitors
- Electrochemotherapy
- Radiation therapy (courtesy of local facilities)
- Immunotherapy with the melanoma vaccine.
We can also advise on palliative and adjunctive treatments to optimise our patients’ care:
- Pain management
- Nutritional support.
24/7 Veterinary Animal Care
The hospital is staffed 24 hours a day to ensure excellent care for our patients if they need to revisit or stay in the hospital overnight or at weekends.
Our priority alongside owners is to ensure that patients continue to have an excellent quality of life for as long as is possible. Unfortunately we cannot cure all patients and we will also offer full support when the time may come to make the difficult decision of whether or not to continue treatment. For our team we feel it is just as important to support owners during this difficult time.
We are a very approachable team and are more than happy to discuss oncology cases with referring veterinary surgeons either prior to referral or to advise on cases which they are managing themselves in practice. We will also keep in close contact with the referring veterinary surgeon to keep them updated on the management plan for cases whom they have referred to the hospital.
The veterinary team are happy to accept referrals in all aspects of canine and feline oncology. The most common tumours which we treat at the hospital are:
- Lymphoma
- Leukaemia
- Mast cell tumour
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Melanoma
- Anal sac tumour
- Mammary tumour
- Osteosarcoma
- Histiocytic sarcoma
- Haemangiosarcoma
- Urinary tumour
- Oral tumour
- Multiple myeloma / plasma cell tumour.
Testimonials
What our clients say:
Vincent Ward2024-04-02An exemplary practice in all respects. The veterinary surgeons, nurses and support staff continue to take such wonderful care of my Labrador, Albie. He could not be in safer hands. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this practice to all those seeking specialist medical treatment for their beloved pets.John Taylor2024-03-27Caring staff, saved my dog's lifeLisa Braithwaite2024-03-25Absolutely incredible team, everyone was extremely friendly and the vets were amazing. So knowledgable and communicated everything to us about our dog. The treatment our dog received was amazing and when we picked him up we had a full care plan going forward. I would 100% recommend if your pet needs specialist treatment!Vicki Lester2024-03-23Absolutely fantastic service. From the receptionist to the vets and nurses, they were all brilliant. Made a very stressful time easier for us. Very grateful for their compassion and support in making the right decisions for our little BellaPam Adshead2024-03-17Cannot praise them highly enough. They saved Harry’s life, everybody from reception through to Serena were incredibly kind and compassionate. Thank you doesn’t cover itRosie J2024-03-08Bruno was treated amazingly, like he was one of your family, thanks!Ciara2024-03-04Wow what an amazing practice! Such a welcoming environment with very friendly receptionists. We saw Francesca today whose knowledge is phenomenal, and she really took the time to talk in depth about our concerns and to get a very in depth history. She even went out of her way to get a neurologist to look at our dog to give us peace of mind. Blood tests done same day no issues. Highly recommend. Thank you Northwest!Bob Neale2024-02-18From arrival at the hospital under very traumatic circumstances we were supported and reassured that we were in the best place possible for our pet dog to recover from her injury. Everyone we met was understanding, empathetic, very reassuring and this was a great help. "Thank you" is not enough to express our level of appreciation.
Arranging a Referral or Case Advice
If you are a veterinary professional and would like to make a referral, or require pre-referral advice about a patient, please use the online forms.
