When Amy discovered that her dog Longo had cancer, she was referred to the specialists at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Tampa. Together they created a custom treatment plan with the goal of improving Longo’s quality of life.
Longo lives in Tampa, Florida with his owner, Amy. His favorite way to communicate with Amy is by using his paws. One day, when Longo put his paws on Amy’s leg, she immediately noticed something wasn’t right.
Amy found a lump on his front leg.
She took him to their family veterinarian where they examined the mysterious lump and performed a biopsy to get answers. That’s when she received a heartbreaking diagnosis:
Longo had cancer.
Their family veterinarian referred Longo to the cancer specialists at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Tampa. Amy scheduled their consultation with Dr. Pedro Dominguez, a board certified veterinary specialist in both medical oncology and radiation oncology.
“Longo had a grade two soft tissue sarcoma,” explained Dr. Dominguez.
Fortunately, there were several treatments available to Longo. Cancer patients are usually treated using chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of the three. Dr. Dominguez discussed the options with Amy with Longo’s particular case in mind.
“We are limited by how much tissue we can remove with surgery,” said Dr. Dominguez, “We can come behind surgery and clean up residual microscopic disease with radiation therapy.”
Amy asked questions and carefully weighed her options with Dr. Dominguez. Ultimately, they decided that surgery wasn’t the right option for Longo’s specific cancer. They crafted a less invasive, customized cancer treatment protocol that felt right for his quality of life:
They chose a four-week palliative care plan.
Their plan centered around hypofractionation treatment, which means they administered larger amounts of radiation less frequently compared to traditional radiation therapy.
“In Longo’s case, we administered a large dose of radiation once weekly for four weeks,” said Dr. Dominguez.
Luis Salgado, a veterinary technician, supported Longo’s radiation therapy and enjoyed seeing him during his appointments.
“We do anything we can to extend quality of life,” said Luis. “When I saw Longo running and wagging his tail, it put a smile on my face.”
Ultimately, their palliative care plan was successful.
“I’m glad that the cancer is treated and he’s doing well,” said Amy. “He is at the same quality of life he was at before his cancer diagnosis.”
Longo is now back to his life of tail-wagging and playfully communicating with his paws.
