PEARLAND, Texas — Pearland is now home to a first-of-its-kind clinic for four-legged cancer patients.
It offers advanced imagery, surgery, and even chemotherapy to pets.
One of the animals at the clinic is a pit bull mix named Wilbur.
We met him on a visit to the clinic on Tuesday.
“He’s here today because mom noticed more lumps and bumps on him,” said veterinary oncologist Melissa Parsons-Doherty, DVM, DACVIM.
Wilbur is already a canine cancer survivor and, hopefully, this check-up will reveal no new concerns.
“We’ll number each bump and then look at it under the microscope to determine if there are similar cancer cells as he had last year,” said Parsons-Doherty.
Pearland Animal Cancer & Referral Center opened less than two months ago and offers medical services previously unavailable to many pet owners in the area.
The clinic features a “clean-room” built to new federal standards.
They require a vent hood and proper storage of cancer-fighting drugs.
“To the side we’ve got a chemotherapy administration room where patients and the technicians go in, in a controlled area, to administer the chemo,” said Parsons-Doherty.
Treatments can cost into the thousands of dollars and could be the reason some pet owners decide to forgo them.
It’s something pet owner Tyler Loeser hopes he never needs to consider.
“I think it would be worth it to do some type of chemotherapy if the dog ever got cancer,” said Loeser. “Cost is going to be a concern with everything.”
Wilbur’s mom said his survival is worth every penny.
Meanwhile, Dr. Parsons-Doherty told us veterinary insurance is increasingly available and affordable.
Check out the new clinic here on its website.