Guest zoolaine Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 http://www.oncopetdiagnostics.com/ This was talked about in the July PetPlan newsletter and I thought it was interesting. It is a blood test that can detect cancer in a dog before clinical signs are present. After going through 5 months of cancer with Sunny I am not sure if I would want to know or not. I guess you could start treatment earlier. I might do it for my older dogs - Sunny's litter mates, Briley and Luna. Interested in what you guys think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytlady94 Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Since mine are seniors I don't really want to know any earlier. Quote Greyhound angels at the bridge- Casey, Charlie, Maggie, Molly, Renie, Lucy & Teddy. Beagle angels Peanut and Charlie. And to all the 4 legged Bridge souls who have touched my heart, thank you. When a greyhound looks into you eyes it seems they touch your very soul. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself". Josh Billings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kydie Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I don't want to know either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I don't know how accurate that is....I lost one to OS and his bloodwork was normal. But that was almost 7 years ago so perhaps the testing is better. When Jam left 4 years ago, they knew it was cancer from the bloodwork but could not tell us what kind or where it was locacted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 What's the point? As far as I know, you can't treat a disease in advance, and I don't need to spend my dog's time with me waiting for terrible news. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 I googled around but didn't see that there'd been much testing / review of the product yet. I could see something like this being valuable as the technology develops. How many of us have had a dog whose health seemed to be failing, while bloodwork, x-rays, ultrasounds, various medication trials, etc. produced no diagnosis? Sometimes that doesn't matter, but sometimes it does -- having a better diagnosis, or something to point you in a narrower direction of inquiry, could produce better treatment (either curative or palliative). Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zoolaine Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 The term "cancer" is an umbrella for a huge range of issues from lymphoma to osteosarcoma and beyond. There is no single blanket test that will look for all types of cancer and many of them won't show any changes on your bloodwork typically until it's too late (like osteo). Save your money and get regular yearly blood panel done instead to monitor changes in your dog's health over time. This is from their web site: RECAF™ is not specific for any particular type of cancer; it is produced in excess by all malignancies so far studied. It is elevated in the blood of approximately 90% of dogs with cancer It basically is similar to the blood testing currently done on humans for prostate and colon cancers. It basically tests for this marker which would indicate a malignancy. They estimate the charge will be $90-$120 dollars for the test (the actual price will be dictated by the vet who does it) so it really isn't much more than the regular geriatric blood work. I think it is an interesting idea - especially for internal cancers. Sunny had cutaneous lymphoma so they could easily do a biopsy from the nodules on his skin to get a diagnoses. But I think some cancers aren't going to be that easy to diagnose and I agree with Batmom in that maybe for a dog that is showing symptoms but no diagnosis may benefit from this new test. Catching something early may add quality months to a dogs life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 I wish I would have known about it with Pearl. If we caught the fibro sooner, it wouldn't have gone to her liver. And I'd still have her. (probably) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.