Dr. Rossi’s guest this week is Dr. Tracy LaDue. Dr. LaDue is a veterinary oncologist who graduated from North Carolina State in 1994. She became board certified in medical oncology in 1998, and in radiation oncology in 2000. She is a nationally known authority on veterinary cancer therapy. Dr. LaDue describes, in detail, how to tell if your pets may have cancer. Some of the things that she said to look for are: loss of appetite, mobility or energy. She also warns that non-healing wounds are a major sign of cancer. The more obvious signs are: swellings, growths, coughing, abdominal enlargement, or bloody urine or stool. But she encourages owners to trust their instincts above everything else. She strongly advises a yearly geriatric exam, including blood work and urinalysis once your animals exceed 10 years of age. She names the most common kinds of tumors in dogs and cats, and covers some of the treatments involved. We also learned of Dr. LaDue’s personal battle with cancer this past year, and how she is bringing this experience into her practice of veterinary cancer treatment.
Dr. Rossi also discussed the animal war in the sky, where some owners insist that their pets must ride in the cabin of the plane. While we all love our animals, we must be considerate of those other travelers who may have allergies. There is also a brief discussion of the effects of obesity on our pets, and how to help them avoid becoming obese.