Who We Are

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Our purpose-built consultation rooms allow for comfortable, extended appointments and assessment of your pet. Your initial referral consultation will be 45 minutes long, and a detailed clinical history, physical exam of your pet and treatment plan will be discussed and made. This may be an initial assessment, planning diagnostic work and then progressing to surgery or chemotherapy, all of which are carried out by the team on site.

Palliative care consultations are also offered in this way. A personalised plan will be made for you and your pet and you will be coached through your pet's needs and the assessments you will need to make on your pet's behalf. An individual care pack will be tailored to your pet's care needs and our staff will be with you every step of the way to offer guidance and support.

We will aim to be provide these services in as few visits as possible, as we accept referrals from the North of England and beyond, and we appreciate these may be long journeys.

We also offer follow up consultations either with our Vet, Neil, or our advanced trained nurses, Kirsty and Jenna.

Cancer Care for Pets has excellent on-site facilities, including digital radiography, advanced ultrasound imaging and a state-of-the-art human grade CT scanner. We also have a visiting MRI scanner if needed.

Our in-house laboratory facilities allow for rapid blood testing and results, as well as examination of microscopy slides when necessary.

Where possible we will interpret these results in-house, but on occasion it may be necessary to send advanced imaging or diagnostic tests to external companies. We will keep you up-to-date with progress and inform you as soon as results arrive with us, so that we can plan the next stages of care for your pet.

Bright and modern operating theatres positioned around a large, central prep room, provide the clinical space and sterility needed to perform a range of surgeries, including highly complex procedures. This can be anything from removal of tumours to skin reconstructions and major abdominal or chest surgery. Modern equipment such as electro-cautery units, allow for safer and more efficient surgical techniques to be implemented by our team.

We have an all-new multi-parameter monitor, allowing us to monitor your pet's anaesthetic effectively and efficiently from induction to recovery. Our staff are all trained in advanced anaesthesia, which makes your pet's surgery as safe as possible.

Our on-site hospital facilities are provided by Donaldson's, with separate dog, cat, and exotic wards for maximum patient comfort. The hospital is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year. This means our patients receive uninterrupted care, which is crucial to perform advanced surgical procedures.

Our purpose-built chemotherapy suite is designed with your pet's comfort and needs in mind. We have separate dog and cat wards, a spacious treatment area and a calming environment, all geared towards making your pets chemotherapy visits as pleasant as possible. You will be provided with a tailored chemotherapy care pack for your pet and supported every step of the way by our entire team.

On admission a clinical exam will be carried out and a blood sample taken to assess levels of red and white blood cells. If your pet is due for an intravenous agent, a local anaesthetic cream will be applied over two vein sites ready for catheterisation. The blood sample will be checked, and if we are able to proceed with treatment, your pet will be given an anti-emetic to minimise the risk of nausea and vomiting. Either during or after treatment, we give our patients tasty treats often including chicken, ham and sausages. This allows us to create a positive experience for your pet and have them excited to see us next time!

Please be sure to complete the food information on your pet's admission form so we are aware of any allergies or intolerances.

Some cancers by their nature are painful. A full pain assessment is carried out on each pet, and pain medications, or referrals might be advised along with their cancer management plan.

Due to the nature of cancer, many of our patients are on the older side, and may be suffering with concurrent illnesses, such as osteoarthritis and dental disease. We work to manage our patients' chronic pain as well as any cancer pain. We offer palliative pain management advice and procedures. We may refer you back to your primary care vet for follow up treatment, such as dental procedures, skin care and patient hygiene procedures, although on occasion we may also provide these services.

Donaldson's vets include the Animal Rehabilitation Centre (ARC), based at Birchencliffe. We are delighted to have access to this facility torefer our patients to Rona and the team for their additional osteoarthritis and rehabilitation needs.

We offer both veterinary and nurse consultations, and together provide a personalised palliative care plan for each patient.

Your initial consultation will follow the same format as any other, it will be 45 minutes long with a clinical exam and detailed discussion regarding your pet's history, diagnosis and your wishes and needs for your pet. Palliative care conjures up many negative emotions, but we aim to make this phase of your pet's life as positive and comfortable as possible. Implementing a detailed care plan to allow the maximum quality of life when cure is not an option for your pet.

ECT can be used in the number of different circumstances. As primary treatment of small mast cell tumours, sarcomas, or squamous cell carcinomas that are in areas where definitive surgery might be challenging - on the face or on the distal limbs for instance. ECT can be used as an intra-surgical adjuvant treatment after removing a mass to “clean” the margins of resection, or used as a treatment in cases of recurrence of disease in a more palliative setting. It has been shown to have activity in some oral melanoma, which can be a very difficult tumour to manage.

We have been using ECT for several months now and are seeing some excellent responses to a range of tumour types. For more information or to enquire regarding suitability for your case, please email us on info@cancercareforpets.co.uk