First Oncology Visit for Dogs: A Pet Parent’s Guide

It’s hard to get the news that your fur baby has any reason to go to a specialist, but a cancer diagnosis often carries a heavier emotional weight to bear. It’s overwhelming—likely for both you and your pooch—to enter a new medical space. The process of getting your dog established for treatment, meeting the doctors and techs, and getting all of your paperwork in line for what may be a long and trying journey ahead is a draining experience for any pet parent.

While it’s likely this vet visit feels like the end of something, it’s important that you look at it as the beginning of a new journey with your pet. One that—after reading through this article—you should feel prepared for, and armed with knowledge to make the transition easier on you and your pet.

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What To Prepare For Your Dog’s First Veterinary Oncology Appointment 

Feeling prepared can significantly reduce the amount of stress you feel at the first appointment. Be sure to gather physical paperwork for all information that your oncologist may need—like your pet’s medical record including any lab tests—having a physical copy on hand is easier than trying to wrack your memory in a high emotion environment. 

Things that your new veterinary oncologist will likely want to know about, or have a reference for, are your dog’s previous test results or their medical history and if they’ve had anything similar or related to the reason they’re coming in for this visit. If they’ve had any benign lumps or bumps, or any other health scares from their past. You can ask your primary vet to email you your dog’s medical history, or have them print it out when you are in the office. 

It can also be helpful if you can take the time to write down, or type up and print out, any of the symptoms your dog has been experiencing and as much of the timeline of their progression with those symptoms. You can also include changes in their behavior if you’ve noticed anything as well; sometimes behavioral changes can give insight into some additional symptoms that a trained vet may be able to recognize. 

A list of any medications or supplements that your dog takes—you may even want to write down the dog food brand and type that you give your dog just so that it’s easier to reference. Supplements can be things that you put on top of your dog’s food, vitamins, and even some treats. Anything that you regularly add to your dog’s diet. For some dogs with skin or cutaneous forms of cancer it may be helpful to bring a list of any of the soaps or skin solutions that you’ve been using, as well as spray or dog-safe lotions. 

It is also helpful if you write down any questions that you have for the oncologist as well. Anything that comes to your mind is always welcome, there are no silly questions. If this is your first or 100th time navigating canine cancer, your questions are valid and your veterinary oncologist is there to help. Bringing a friend and/or family member is another good way to get all your questions answered and have someone else there to support you and remember the details from the visit.

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What To Expect At Your Dog’s First Veterinary Oncology Appointment

The start of your first appointment in a veterinary oncology office won’t look that much different from the first appointment at any other doctor’s office, pet or people. You’ll start with checking in with the staff to let them know that you are in and who you’re in to see. They may have you fill out some paperwork to get your information filed away, or have you log on to a computer to get some documentation solidified. You’ll take some time to sit in the waiting room, or you and your dog will be moved into your own examination room to wait for the vet or for one of their techs to come in and chat with you. At this point, you may feel stressed, but it shouldn’t be coming from the vet’s office itself—just the reason that you’re in the office in the first place. 

Once your appointment is ready to start, your vet’s tech will ask some general health questions about your pooch. They’ll check in about the information that your primary care vet sent them and ask about any symptoms or changes in your dog’s behavior that you’ve noticed. They’ll also make sure that they have all the information that they need about your dog so they can provide the best care for them along this journey from the very start. 

The veterinary oncologist will join the vet tech once they’ve had a chance to get up to date on anything they need to know and will do a physical exam to check in on your dog’s wellbeing, as well as get a sense of how they like to be interacted with at the vet. Sometimes the exam is done in the back so the veterinarian can fully examine your pet with the aid of their staff and good lighting. The oncologist will discuss your pet’s history and current findings. They will then discuss your pet’s cancer and next steps. This could include additional diagnostic testing; the veterinary oncologists office will have access to more specific testing than some primary care vets, and getting the clearest picture of your dog’s diagnosis will help a lot with developing their treatment plan. These tests may be bloodwork, imaging, or biopsies, and some of them may require a separate appointment to get everything taken care of. It’s not uncommon to be brought in for an additional visit just to get more testing done, though many vets will do what they can to make it as easy as possible for your pet. 

This is a great opportunity to ask your new oncologist any questions.

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What Questions To Ask Your Veterinary Oncologist At Your Dog’s First Appointment

It’s always worth noting that there are no dumb questions, there are no wrong questions, and there are likely very few questions that you can ask your oncologist that they haven’t heard before. Keep in mind that they are there to help you, and that you are there acting as your dog’s representative, so you are an extension of their patient. Your questions are valid and deserving of responses. 

If you don’t have any questions that spring directly to mind while you are preparing for this first visit, here are some common questions that you can ask to get the conversation started. 

• What kind of cancer does my dog have? 
  
  • Follow up questions: 
    
    • How does that affect their day to day health? 
    • What can I be doing to support them? 
    • Are you going to do additional testing from what my primary vet did? What would that include?
• What treatment options are available? 
  
  • Can I get an estimate of the timeline for treatment for dogs with this type of cancer? 
  • What has to change at home to support their treatment? 
  • How much do the treatments cost?
• What are the side effects and prognosis? 
  
  • How can I lessen any side effects they go through?
• How will my dog’s quality of life be affected? 

Any questions you have may also be influenced by what kind of cancer your primary care vet has diagnosed your dog with, for example, we have a set of questions that you can ask your vet if your dog has been diagnosed with canine lymphoma; you will receive those questions after filling out this form. 

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Emotional Prep: What To Expect As A Dog Parent At Your First Appointment 

We change in high stakes situations from our normal selves: sometimes people are really calm and let it hit them later, sometimes it’s hard to gather your thoughts while you’re actively in that situation, and sometimes it is easy for stress to turn into irritation and impatience. Remember, everyone at the vet clinic is there to help your pet and you as you both travel through this journey. 

There is no invalid way to feel, or react, when your dog is diagnosed with cancer. Our fur babies are family members, they are loved ones whose health and wellbeing is just as important as our own. 

It’s absolutely okay if you go into your appointment, or even all the way through it, feeling overwhelmed, confused, or upset. You are human, and your feelings are valid. That said, try your best to remain as calm as possible, to show your pet that the new office is a safe space. 

The emotional toll is part of why we recommend bringing in physical copies of the information that you need and the questions you want to ask. Staying present and attentive is one of the best ways that you can advocate for your dog during this health journey. It may even be helpful to bring along another person to act as support if you can, that way they can look over your notes, ask any questions that they come up with that you might not have, and help if you feel stuck at any point in the journey. 

If you can’t have another person there with you, you may benefit from asking to record your appointment. An audio recording of the information they’re giving you and the answers to your questions can be very helpful in this situation as it may be difficult to take notes that will cover everything you need to know in the future. You can also ask your vet if they can send you a summary of your appointment; there are many oncologist offices that recognize the labor it takes for a pet parent to take notes and advocate for their pet, and will help to lessen the stress by sending a detailed summary of what the appointment went over.

To help you prepare, perhaps think of any other experiences that have had a similar degree of emotional weight to them and consider what resources would have helped you through those.

Download ImpriMed’s discussion guide to feel the most prepared for your first oncology visit.