Radiotherapy

Our Institute offers radiotherapy for cancer patient pets. Full recovery is often not possible in cancer patients, even with modern therapies. In these cases, the aim is to allow the animal to spend as much time as possible with its owner/s and maintain a good quality of life.
Palliative Radiation Therapy (PRT) is one of the possible therapeutic procedures. In these cases the aim is not the full removal of the tumour (although this can be achieved sometimes), but mitigation of the undesirable effects tumour growth has on the animal. As the tumour grows, it often causes an unpleasant feeling or even pain, and can interfere with normal functioning of organs or organ systems. PRT contributes to a better quality of life by temporarily minimizing or even fully reducing these signs.
The average survival time is almost 9 months for a dog, with some patients not reacting to therapy (3 weeks) and some reacting exceptionally well (1.5 years).

The treatment

Before starting the therapy, we will perform a planning CT scan in our Institute and plan the radiotherapy treatment for your dog. Planning takes into account the tumour type and its location to determine the radiotherapy protocol and dose.
We usually apply 3 to 8 treatments. Appointments are scheduled close to each other (e.g. Monday – Wednesday – Friday), during which animals are positioned under general anaesthesia, so it remains still during treatment. Because of the relatively frequent anaesthesia, it is important to perform a detailed physical examination and blood test prior to the treatment.
We recommend a control CT/MRI to be performed 8 weeks after treatment to assess treatment success.

CT and MRI examinations

Positioning the patient before radiotherapy

Radiotherapy

Treating a brain tumour in a dog using a mask

Planning CT scan