How Do Pet Owners Feel About Radiation Therapy for Cancer?

Posted on January 1, 2010

Radiation therapy continues to become more widely available to pet owners and an option to consider for many veterinary oncology patients. Improvements in technology continue to increase the potential applications of veterinary radiation oncology and decrease the side effects associated with treatment. An issue that has received less consideration but may be equally or more important is what perception pet owners have about radiation therapy.

A study was recently published in the journal, Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, which assessed the perceptions and experiences of dog owners about radiation therapy1. Briefly, they surveyed dog owners who had pets undergo radiation therapy and a group of general practice veterinarians about their perceptions about radiation.

All owners reported that they believed that their dog appeared fairly well or very well during radiation treatment and 96% reported a positive impact or no negative impact on the dog’s quality of life during the time of therapy. Over 90% of owners felt adequately informed about the treatment prior to starting radiation therapy and that the information they were given was consistent with the outcome for their dog. All owners in the study said that the treatment was worth the time, travel, care, and any discomfort to the dog from the treatment to have been worth the gain.

Over 90% of owners reported neutral or positive reactions from acquaintances who were informed that their dog had undergone radiation therapy for cancer. When asked if they would choose to treat another dog with radiation therapy, by far the most important factor for owners was the chance for longer life without disease related discomfort. This factor was more important than the chance for cure and other treatment related variables.

Referring veterinarians were also sent a survey and were divided based on whether they had attended a continuing education program about oncology or radiation. Veterinarians who had attended such meetings reported a more positive attitude toward radiation therapy.

The attitudes reflected in this study are likely biased by asking only owners who had already agreed to have their pets undergo radiation therapy and presumably differs from the general population. However, it is interesting to consider the feelings reported by these dog owners when you have a cancer patient that may be a candidate for this sort of treatment.

Reference: 1) Acta Vet Scand. 2009 Apr 29;51:19

Article can be downloaded via Pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19402904