In America one thing’s for certain, people love their dogs. Right now there are over 75 million dogs owned in this country, and 39% of households own at least one dog. This means that dogs make up a pretty significant demographic. Add their owners on top of that and we’re talking a vast amount of people.
If you have a dog I’m sure you consider them a member of your family. Naturally then, when they are stricken with disease its just like a member of the family suffering. You want to do anything possible to help them and keep them around as your companion as long as possible.E
That has become a whole lot easier this summer thanks to the Food and Drug Administration granting approval to the first ever drug to fight skin cancer in drugs. The drug is called Palladia and is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Its the first drug ever to have gotten the seal of approval by the FDA to fight any type of cancer in dogs.
Before Palladia, dogs were treated with the same drugs as humans for cancer treatment. Palladia being exclusively for canine use is considered a major advancement because when using the human drugs veterinarians had no idea how safe or effective they were for dogs.
Palladia is used mainly to treat mast cell tumors. This type makes up about 20% of the skin tumors in dogs. If left untreated mast cell tumors can lead to life threatening conditions for your dog. Palladia works by cutting off the blood supply to the tumors as well as killing the tumor cells themselves.
The treatment for mast cell tumors consists of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. These are quite serious and draining treatment options. The new drug provides a much easier and softer way. Its an oral medication that can be given to the dogs every day and has shown remarkably effective results.
This is great news for dog owners and lovers all around the globe. God forbid, if your dog is stricken with skin cancer, you know have a easy, effective method to treat it. Remember that your dog can not ask for treatment, so keep up with regular veterinary visits. If you notice a strange growth on your dogs skin, take them to the vet to get it checked out. Much like with humans, the earlier the problem is detected, the early we can get to fixing it.
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