Your pet's cancer diagnosis just got a lot less scary

Issue #228

August 13, 2025

Quick Hits:

🥘 Viral Canine Nutritionist BK Pets is launching The Dog Food Evaluation Guide, a roadmap for figuring out the right food for your dog

🐕️ A dog photographer has a 30 day dog series where she breaks down the history of certain breeds and Instagram is loving it

🚘️ Lexus is taking small jab at marketing to pet owners

🔥 Supplement company, Vital Pet Life, is listed in the Inc. 5000 for the 5th year in a row

🤝 Digs Dog Care announced its national expansion through acquiring 17 pet resorts

🛫 New report shows that the US pet travel services market will hit $1.37B by 2033

Let's be honest – hearing "your pet has cancer" feels like running full speed into a brick wall and then landing on a bed of nails. It’s absolutely soul crushing news.

Not that long ago, your options were super limited, and the conversation with your vet was often short and devastating.

But here's the thing, that's changing fast, and Toronto is about to become the latest city to prove it.

The Reality Check We All Need

Here's a statistic that might make you want to hug your pup a little tighter tonight:

Roughly 1 in 4 dogs will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime, and nearly half of dogs over 10 will face this diagnosis.

Cats aren't immune either – while the numbers are less clear-cut (some research states 1 in 5 cats will develop cancer in their lifetime), cancers like lymphoma show up more often than we'd like.

But here's where the story gets more urgent, that 1-in-4 statistic isn't just theoretical anymore…

A survey from 2022 found that nearly 1 in 5 dog owners had actually dealt with a pet cancer diagnosis in the past decade, and what’s even more telling is that only 18% of those who went through this experience gave a perfect score to their overall dog’s cancer treatment experience.

That ratio is only going up as our pets live longer, healthier lives.

We're talking about millions of families facing something that, just 40 years ago, leading institutions barely knew how to handle.

Enter the Toronto Animal Cancer Centre (TACC) – Canada's first standalone veterinary cancer center, opening soon in downtown Toronto.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Think about human healthcare for a second.

When someone gets a cancer diagnosis, they don't just see their family doctor and hope for the best.

They get referred to oncologists, radiation specialists, surgical teams – the whole nine yards.

Veterinary medicine is finally catching up to that model, and TACC is aiming to lead the charge in Canada.

The numbers tell the story.

In the U.S. alone, as of 2024, there are now around 600 board-certified veterinary medical oncologists and another 154 radiation oncologists.

These aren't just regular vets who took a weekend course – we're talking about specialists who've done years of additional training in cutting-edge treatments.

We're talking about things like stereotactic radiation (imagine surgery-precise radiation beams that can zap tumors in just 1-3 sessions instead of the old 15-20 session routine), immunotherapy vaccines for dogs with melanoma, and even radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid tumors.

It's like science fiction, except it's happening right now in veterinary hospitals across North America.

The Trailblazers Who Paved the Way

Before we dive into what TACC brings to the table, let's acknowledge the foundation laid by some established leaders in the field.

Colorado State's Flint Animal Cancer Center has been a pioneering force in veterinary oncology since the late 1970s, helping to establish many of the clinical standards and training protocols used today.

Since 1982, they've trained more veterinary oncology specialists than any other institution worldwide, and for over 40 years have been at the forefront of cancer biology research and treatment development.

Their comparative oncology approach embodies an important principle: "The answer to cancer may be walking right beside us," reflecting how studying naturally occurring cancers in pets can accelerate discoveries that benefit both animals and ultimately humans.

Then there's PetCure Oncology, a private network that's treated over 8,000 pets since 2015 with advanced radiation therapies.

Before networks like this existed, a single university hospital might have treated 100 pets per year with radiation therapy.

Now?

A single PetCure clinic can treat 300+ cases annually.

Across the pond, Edinburgh's Riddell-Swan Veterinary Cancer Centre is doing incredible work with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) – in 2019 they were the only vet hospital in the UK with that level of tech in-house.

Now both Bristol Vet Specialists & University of Glasgow (animal hospital) offer IMRT, showcasing the rate of adoption in new oncology tech and the willingness to invest.

What TACC Actually Means for Canadian Pet Parents

If your dog in Toronto (recent estimates from city council being 600K+ dogs) needs advanced cancer treatment, your options are somewhat limited.

The Mona Campbell Centre at the University of Guelph has been a go-to comprehensive cancer hospital in Ontario since 2012, but it's about an hour away.

Some pet parents have even driven to the U.S. for treatments not available locally, which there’s a term for, “pet medical tourism”.

TACC will help the need to cross borders to get treatment.

Led by veterinary oncologist Dr. Christopher Pinard, this standalone facility is being built specifically for cancer care.

Think of it as a one-stop shop where your pet can get everything from advanced diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, and clinical trials all under one roof.

And timing matters here.

Earlier this year, a vet hospital in Mississauga suddenly closed its oncology department, leaving pet families scrambling to find care elsewhere.

Some were referred to partner facilities that were 1.5-2 hours away, which wasn’t really feasible.

TACC's opening should help prevent those kinds of heartbreaking situations for many.

What This Means for Your Vet (And Your Pet)

Here's something cool that's happening, when specialty centers like TACC open up, they don't just help the pets who walk through their doors. They elevate the entire local veterinary community.

Your family vet will now have a clear place to refer complex cases, which means they're more likely to catch problems early rather than taking a "wait and see" approach.

Plus, oncologists provide guidance on everything from pre-referral tests to managing chemo side effects back at your regular clinic. It's like having a specialist consultant on speed dial.

For pet parents, this creates what we call a "navigation" experience. Instead of you trying to coordinate between a surgeon at one place, a radiologist somewhere else, and an internist at a third location, the specialty center becomes your anchor point.

And let's face it, when emotions are running high, having someone else handle the logistics is a godsend.

The Real Talk About Money

We can't talk about advanced veterinary care without addressing the elephant in the room — cost $$$.

A full radiation treatment series (a curative protocol) can run $4,500-$6,000, with IMRT costing up to $15,000, and that's before you factor in surgery, chemo, or other treatments.

In Canada, where only about 3.5% of pets are insured (which is on par with the U.S.), many families are paying out of pocket.

The good news?

Specialty centers are getting smarter about this reality. More are offering financial counseling, payment plans, and partnerships with financing companies.

There are also charitable options.

Academic hospitals often have patient assistance funds (Colorado's Flint Center recently got a grant specifically to help subsidize care for pets in need), and OVC's Pet Trust in Canada does similar work.

What's Coming Next

TACC's opening is just the beginning of some fascinating trends we're watching:

The Training Pipeline: We need more specialists (and vets!), period. There are now nearly 600 board-certified oncologists in the US since the oncology specialty was formally established in 1988, serving a massive dog population.

From 1996-2024, the dog population has steadily increased, from 52.9 million to a new peak of 89.7 million.

That means there's roughly one veterinary oncologist for every 150,000 dogs in the United States.

That’s a staggering ratio that highlights just how underserved our canine companions are when it comes to specialized cancer care.

With 65.1 million households owning at least one dog, most pet families facing a cancer diagnosis will struggle to access expert oncological care.

This shortage becomes even more stark when you consider that about 1 in 4 dogs will develop cancer, a rate similar to people.

With an aging pet population and increasing cancer detection, the demand for veterinary oncology services will only intensify.

Expect to see more residency programs and fast-track continuing education for general practitioners to help bridge this critical gap.

AI and Personalized Medicine: Dr. Pinard's work with ANI.ML Health on AI-enhanced clinical decision and support tools reflects a broader trend in veterinary medicine.

We're starting to see AI algorithms that can help with everything from medical record processing to clinical decision-making, and yes, even early developments in cancer detection through biopsy analysis and genetic testing of tumors.

Data Sharing: The U.S. launched a national canine cancer registry (Take C.H.A.R.G.E.) in 2022. A Canadian version could help us continue understand which treatments work best for which cancers, making everyone's care more evidence-based.

Quality of Life Focus: Success isn't just about shrinking tumors anymore. Expect to see more emphasis on pain management, nutrition counseling, and even support groups for pet parents – because dealing with a pet's cancer diagnosis can be absolutely devastating.

The Bottom Line

Forty years ago, a cancer diagnosis for your pet was often a death sentence with few options.

Today, we're entering an era where that same diagnosis opens the door to real possibilities – from cutting-edge treatments that can put cancers into remission to compassionate palliative care that prioritizes comfort and quality time.

TACC represents something bigger than just another veterinary hospital.

It's proof that we're taking pet healthcare as seriously as we take our own.

It means that geography and lack of local expertise are becoming less of a barrier to getting your pets the care they deserve.

This feels like it is just the beginning.

As more centers like TACC open up, as more veterinarians specialize in oncology, and as technology continues to advance, we're moving toward a future where "your pet has cancer" doesn't feel like the end of the world – it feels like the start of a fight you actually have a chance of winning.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on TACC for development updates and ultimately its’ grand opening.

This search trend for "mast cell tumor" tells a fascinating story about pet owner awareness and behavior.

We're looking at 69K searches last month with a steady 12% year-over-year growth, which suggests this isn't just a seasonal spike but a genuine increase in people seeking information about this specific type of cancer.

Mast cell tumors are one of the most common skin cancers in dogs, so it makes sense that as pet owners become more health-conscious and proactive about lumps and bumps they find, they're turning to Google first.

The consistent upward trajectory over the past few years likely reflects both increased veterinary education about early detection and pet parents becoming more sophisticated about researching their pets' health conditions.

What's particularly interesting is how steady this growth pattern is – there aren't dramatic spikes that you might see with trending health scares or viral social media posts.

Instead, this looks like organic, sustained interest driven by real need.

The fact that searches are climbing while veterinary oncology services are expanding (like TACC opening in Toronto) suggests we're seeing both sides of the equation. More pet owners are educated enough to recognize concerning symptoms and seek information, while more treatment options are becoming available to actually do something about what they find.

It's a positive feedback loop where increased awareness drives demand for better care, which in turn makes pet owners more likely to investigate suspicious lumps rather than just hoping they'll go away.

See you Friday!