Advanced Veterinary Treatment

Advanced Medical Treatments for our Animal Friends...what are your thoughts?

An interesting topic for discussion, this one will probably remain open for some time to come...

Taking into consideration the modern trend for the latest medical treatments and procedures for animals, the question being asked is what next? Can it be antidepressants for cats or statins for dogs? Of course, there are some people who argue over the morality of this phenomenon. They want to know if all these medical treatments are indeed serving the best interests of the animals.

Most people who have pets consider them as part of the family. They want to give them the best care, especially when they are ill or have a serious condition. There have been leaps and bounds made in pet health care in recent years and new studies and treatments are being used all the time.

In the US there are twelve clinical trials going on that are giving experimental drugs to dogs with cancer. The dogs are getting experimental drugs before being available for human consumption. The pet owners of the dogs with cancer have given permission to treat their dogs with the experimental drugs.

So far they have seen very good results, including remission in dogs that have aggressive cancers and some of the cancer have even disappeared. The reason they are treating dogs with the drugs is because cancer in dogs is similar to that in humans. The owners of the dogs help gather data for the studies by keeping track in a notebook of things such as appetite, demeanor and quality of life.

Two US medical centers, the Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Animal Medical Center, have teamed up with one of the major companies that make drugs for dogs. Their combined efforts have created a cancer vaccination for dogs that have malignant melanoma, which is a cancer that affects the mouth or skin.

Usually this type of cancer has different grades and stages. In high grade cases the prognosis is pretty bleak. This new vaccination has been shown to almost triple the survival rates of high grade melanoma in dogs. This is a major breakthrough and can help save many dogs that otherwise would not make it.

Everyday there are new advancements in treatments and drugs that will help your pet if they are ever diagnosed with a serious disease or condition. Pet owners want to be able to have treatments options if their pets become seriously ill. Through research and clinical trials more drugs and treatments are being developed to help out pets every day.

There are two ways to look at the issue of advanced medical treatments for pets. Pet owners simply want to give the best possible medical attention to their pets so their lifespan is increased, but there is a section of society which believes pet owners are indulging in emotional immaturity by doing so. They think vets choose to ignore the fact that animals are unaware of the benefits of these complex treatments, and thus are not in a positive frame of mind during such invasive procedures, which also entail lengthy recuperation periods. However, there are not many academic studies that have measured the supposed stress experienced by them.

As long as there is no solid evidence base, such medical procedures cannot be barred. If the suffering or pain that animals experienced during an operation or treatment is only to cure them, few would dispute it. Until such point, their right to live or survive for as long as possible cannot be negated. Of course, there are people who still believe that advances in medicine are not necessarily in the best interests of animals. Whatever the case, pet insurance still makes sense because it helps meet the expenses incurred for everyday medical treatment.