May is Pet Cancer Awareness Month and though we cannot give you advice regarding treating your pet’s cancer, we do have some information about using VetStem Cell Therapy in pets with cancer.

VetStem Cell Therapy and Cancer – What You Need to Know

First and foremost, we want to make it known that VetStem cells cannot be used to treat or cure your pet’s cancer. Generally speaking, we do not recommend that pets who have active or recent cancer receive stem cell therapy. VetStem takes a conservative approach when it comes to patients with cancer because there is still a lot that we do not know about stem cells and how they interact with cancer cells. Thus, we err on the side of safety.

As a precaution, we monitored the occurrence of cancer in patients treated with VetStem Cell Therapy and have not seen a higher incidence than what is reported in patients of the same age group that were not treated with stem cells. The literature supports that adult stem cells do not directly turn into cancer cells. There is also literature regarding stem cell therapy in women who have had mastectomies which shows no higher incidence of recurrence of cancer.

Pets with an Orthopedic Condition in Addition to Cancer

There are some patients who have an orthopedic condition in addition to active or recent cancer, that may benefit from stem cell therapy for their orthopedic condition. For these cases, it is important for your veterinarian to consult with one of our veterinarians. Then you and your veterinarian can determine the best course of action for your pet. For some pets, VetStem Cell Therapy may improve their quality of life enough to outweigh the potential risks. If the decision is reached to pursue stem cell therapy, VetStem requires a special waiver to be signed by the pet owner. Some things you and your veterinarian should consider when making this decision are age of your pet, severity of the cancer, other medical conditions, and your pet’s current quality of life.