There are always some cancer cells in the body, which the body can effectively kill on its own if the immune system is strong. Despite this fact pets still develop cancers that need treatment. Cancer in dogs and cats may not be a very common condition but it can be as problematic and fatal as in humans.

Pets cannot speak about the discomfort that they are facing and therefore, it is upon the pet owners and veterinarians to use their observation and knowledge to establish prevalence of, say, symptoms of liver cancer in dogs and cats among other health conditions.

Feline cancer can occur in any part of the body. If cancer has been diagnosed in certain specific areas, radiation therapy is one of the treatment options that should be considered.

Radiation therapy involves the same X-Rays that are used for a normal X-Ray for clinical investigation. The difference is that the levels of the X-Rays that are used for the therapy are thousands of times more powerful.

Small dogs often suffer from episodic bouts of colitis that is actually inflammation of the colon of the large intestine. It is, however, imperative to keep a watch and report to a specialist if:

* There are frequent recurrences.
* The symptoms are deteriorating.
* The dog shows signs of a general illness.

Monitoring is of prime importance because the symptoms of colitis are almost similar to the symptoms of colon cancer in dogs . Colitis may be acute, episodic or chronic and the signs often last for two to three weeks. The type of predominant cells present in the inflamed colon is used to describe the specific disorders.

* Bacteria, fungus, viruses or parasites.
* Intolerance to diet.(allergies)
* Inappropriate diet.
* Cancer.
* Internal or external injury.

Acute conditions normally do not present any signs of systemic illness but in chronic cases the dog may experience a significant weight loss. General symptoms of colon cancer that are similar to those of colitis include:

* A combination of bright red colored blood in stool
* Mucus in stool
* Defecation with extra effort
* Increased frequency of defecation, sometimes many time in a day
* Occasional vomiting even in healthy dogs.

The question what causes cancer has been one of the most frustrating questions for scientists involved in cancer research. Despite huge amounts of funding and resource being spent on the subject, there is still an element of doubt behind what causes cancer. At the most we know what the risk factors are because most of the causes carry an element of doubt along with them.

An important risk factor behind the development of lung cancer in humans is cigarette smoking. But cigarette smoking does not cause cancer on its own because there is strong evidence of many heavy smokers who do not develop cancer. Genetic predisposition and a change in genetic messages caused by carcinogens combine to cause cancer. For example, age may be one factor that has been identified. This is because advancing age allows for a series of changes in the body that can lead to the transformation of normal cells into cancerous ones. Risk factors are important in as much as they have the ability to affect genes responsible for normal cell functioning.

In dogs and other pets, risk factors like smoking and other items of human use are of little importance. Most of the factors that increase the risk of feline cancer and cancer in dogs can be classified under two categories:

Cancer is an uncontrolled malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal cell division. Cancer can spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream. Generally speaking, cancer is usually associated with the organ it affects and termed as such. Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in dogs and along with cancer of the mammary glands it forms nearly 58% of all cancers in dogs.

Carcinoma and sarcoma, the two out of the four major types of cancer, are the ones that normally occur in the skin of a dog that need to be differentiated for treatment purposes. Skin cancer usually affects four different types of cells and is divided into four categories as such.

* Epithelial tumors are associated with the skin, skin glands and hair follicles.
* Mesenchyme tumors are cancers resulting from cells that support fat, connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves.
* Round cell tumors include cancer of the external sex organs, mast cell tumors and plasma cell tumors.
* Melanomas are cancer of the cells responsible for pigment in the skin.

The situation with regard to pet cancer has undergone a dramatic change. With advancement in pharmaceuticals and surgical procedures, it has now become easier to diagnose, treat, manage and improve the quality of the life of you canine friend.

To understand how tumors and cancer in dogs start, it is important to first get an inside view of how your dog grows in size. Similar to the growth process of any mammal, the cells in your dog also multiply by division. This process starts right from the time when a female egg is fertilized by the male sperm. Over and above the replacement of the cells that die over time, there are new cells that are formed.

As the dog matures into full size, cell multiplication is curbed to a certain extent. Now only dead cells are replaced as per the needs of the body organs. If the immune system is weak, the factors responsible for regulating replacement of dead cells are compromised. This results into an unregulated growth of cells that can leads to a single cell giving rise to a mass of cells that the body does not need. This unregulated growth of a mass of cells results in a tumor.

There comes a life after a dog’s body has reached a certain size and maturity that the natural multiplication of cells by division stops producing new cells. Cells are then produced only to replace dead cells. The body produces new cells only in exceptional cases like a cellular injury.

Such replacement is the necessity of the body and the process of replacement or otherwise is natural. Sometimes there are instances when the controlling system that maintains a balance between the death and growth of cells is unsettled by internal or external factors. This causes the cell production to start producing in an unregulated production mode. This results in a mass of cells (tumor) that perform no specific function and are not required by the body.

Not all tumors or cancers in dogs, are harmful for the body. Sometimes the cells that grow unnecessarily resemble the normal cells of the organ from which they grow. These are benign tumors.

Cancer is a malignant, cellular growth (tumor). Benign tumors are harmless and only an abnormal increase in size of a specific tissue. Cancer can affect any organ in a cat’s body but cancer of the lymphatic tissue, skin and mammary glands are the three most common types of neoplasia (the pathological process that results in formation and growth of tumors) in cats.

Extensive research in human cancer diagnosis and treatment has changed the entire scene of cancer management. The good part is that the same protocols reflect in treating feline cancer and cancer in dogs and other pets. There has also been a concomitant awareness of the role played by nutrition and alternative therapies in developing resistance to cancer and recovery.

Treatment for tumors is basically a matter of removal, killing or curbing the process of multiplication of cancer cells. There are various treatment options that one can consider.

Medical treatment

It involves use of drugs that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Some medicines also kill cancerous cells. In many cases cancer cells resemble normal cells and therefore are also killed in the process. Cancer cells can also develop resistance to drugs over time and lie dormant, only to surface again after treatment is over. Unless newer drugs that can differentiate normal and cancer cells are developed, drugs can only play a limited role in cancer treatment.

If the reason behind cancer was known then it would have helped a great deal in finding a definite cure for the deadly disease. But apart from the fact that there are certain carcinogens that cause cancer, very little is known about what causes cancer. In the recent years there has been a significant increase in the incidence of cancer in dogs and feline cancer causing lot of concern to pet owners.

It has been proven that there is a high probability of some cancer cells present in a body. A perfectly conditioned and healthy body does not let cancer take roots. It is the immune system of the body that inhibits these cancer causing cells from multiplying.

When the body is unhealthy, the immune system triggers off certain changes in the body to fight back. When cancer takes root, the immune system causes certain symptoms to appear in the body. These symptoms are basically the body’s mechanism to fight back in order to self-heal.

As the cancer progresses, the self healing process can go awry. The body cannot handle the constant ‘war’ situation. With changing priorities of the body system, the normal growth processes are compromised. A diet that can strike a balance in priorities of attending to the cancer and the routine growth processes can be of great help in prolonging the life of a dog.

Recent studies reveal that the food that you feed to your pets has a significant role to play in the development and progress of cancer in dogs as well as feline cancer .

You should feed animal proteins to the dog and avoid proteins sourced from grain and plants. Plant based protein causes more harm than good even to healthy dogs. If your dog is suffering from cancer, plant protein can promote the growth of cancer cells rather than restrict it. Feeding raw meat is a better option as commercial foods may not be prepared properly. Raw beef, chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, goat and pork are natural foods for dogs and they supply the necessary proteins and fats that help in strengthening the immune system.

Some foods like sugar, for example, may actually promote development of cancer in dogs. Pets get energy from fats and proteins. The carbohydrates derived from grains provide no benefit to them. Grain is broken down in sugar, which in turn causes a multitude of problems including yeast infection, allergic dermatitis, stomach upsets and cancer. For a dog suffering from cancer all carbohydrates should be sourced from foods that have a minimal effect on blood sugar levels.

Outdoor cats, especially white cats or those with white non-pigmented areas carry a high risk of developing certain types of skin cancers. Typically these are the cancers that are linked with excessive exposure to sunlight.

The first few signs of such a condition are a discoloration of the skin, pinkish skin that looks as if it has scales and excessive loss of hair. On the first signs of such symptoms the cat should be protected from sunlight to restrict further development of the disease. If ignored this leads to further crusting of the skin and ultimately develops into a squamous cell cancer.

Squamous cell cancer is a malignant tumor that normally manifests on ear flaps, the visible cartilage of the external ear, nose and eyelids. Unlike other types of feline cancer squamous cell cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body. But when it does, it can affect the lymph nodes and lungs. The initial signs of this cancer appear in the form of a scab on the head or minor irritations that cause itching. If not checked the harmless looking lesions can worsen and cause more painful conditions like: