General practitioners (or your regular vet) are fabulous at screening for diseases like dog cancer. But when it comes to a medical problem that is life threatening and/or will be expensive to treat, oncologist David Vail strongly recommends seeing a specialist if possible.
Getting a dog cancer second opinion with a specialist allows you to confirm your dog’s diagnosis, plus get all of the most up-to-date information on treatment options. Specialists also have a ready network of other experts that they can reach out to if there are any oddities with your dog’s case.
Listen in to learn more about second opinions, including how to ask for one if the diagnosis you got just doesn’t seem to make sense.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Show:
Oncology at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Related Links:
Find a Veterinarian: How to Find, Interview, and Hire Your Next Veterinarian, Oncologist, or Other Specialist
About Today’s Guest, Dr. David Vail:
Dr. Vail received his DVM from the University of Saskatchewan in 1984 and subsequently completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Colorado State University prior to practicing in his native western Canada for two years. He followed up with a residency in Medical Oncology at the Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University, completed in 1990. He is currently Professor and Barbara A. Suran Chair in Comparative Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the UW Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Vail has published over 170 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and 50 book chapters in the field of veterinary and comparative oncology. David is co-editor of the textbook Small Animal Clinical Oncology (6th Ed). In the past he has served as President of the Veterinary Cancer Society and the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium (CCOGC), Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Boards for both the Morris Animal Foundation and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation, is a founding member of the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC) and past North American Journal Editor for Veterinary and Comparative Oncology. He has been honored as the recipient of both the Mark L. Morris Sr. Distinguished Research Award and the Pfizer Award for Veterinary Research Excellence.
Other Links:
To join the private Facebook group for readers of Dr. Dressler’s book “The Dog Cancer Survival Guide,” go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogcancersupport/ 
Dog Cancer Answers is a Maui Media production in association with Dog Podcast Network
This episode is sponsored by the best-selling animal health book The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity by Dr. Demian Dressler and Dr. Susan Ettinger. Available everywhere fine books are sold.
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