Spoiler Alert: We Don’t
Cancer is a complex set of diseases with risk factors that sometimes intersect.
Some known causes of cancer in pets may include:
- Genetics
- Environmental exposure to known carcinogens (cancer causing agents)
- Second-hand smoke
- Obesity
Prevention May Help Mitigate Risk:
Your veterinary professional is your best source of information regarding canine diet and nutrition. Before you introduce any diet change, best to ask about benefits, risks and what to avoid since pet nutrition needs vary from those of people and from one another.
Your veterinary professional can help you decide the best time to spay or neuter your pet to reduce the risk of cancer, keep your pet healthy, and reduce the population of unwanted pets.
You can choose to wipe down your pet’s paws with a pet safe wipe after an outdoor walk to reduce exposure to environmental risks on the ground. Avoid using pesticides yourself and look for products safe for pets in all aspects of your life.
If you or someone in your household is a smoker and you cannot quit, then choose to smoke outside the home and away from your pets for their own health.
The more researchers can discover about cancer as a disease, including at the genomic level, the more treatment can be developed that specifically targets an individual’s cancer. So a donation to comparative cancer research is a preventive step, too, and every donation helps save a life.