Kidwai to soon treat dogs with cancer

Pet lovers in the south need not travel all the way to Mumbai to treat animals with cancer.

The Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology will soon offer radiation therapy for pets. To begin with, the treatment will be offered to dogs.

The state cancer institute is in the process of starting a separate section that will deal with pets with cancer, a facility that is not available in veterinary hospitals across the state. This section will be entirely dedicated to canine patients.

Experts from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, are being roped in to help initiate the process. A team of doctors from the radiation therapy department in Kidwai is working in collaboration with experts from Mumbai, who have previously worked on setting up such centres in the country, according to a senior doctor at the institute.

Dr Rajiv Sarin and Dr Pradeep Chaudhry from Mumbai, who have established the first such centres there, are guiding the doctors here. “We see dog owners travel to Mumbai from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Pune to get radiation therapy done for their dogs. Some of them also rent places around the hospital to stay as the duration of treatment is long,” said Dr Sarin, professor, Tata Memorial Hospital.

“There are many who are ready to invest as they consider pets as their children. Setting up such a facility will be a boon for pet lovers,” said Dr Sarin. The institute is contemplating handing over a 30-year-old cobalt machine for the new centre. He said the machine will be dedicated to treat pets.

Prof Yathiraj, former dean, veterinary college, Hebbal, and chief of Lakeside veterinary hospital, said that across the state, there are no facilities that offer radiation for dogs. “At present, the only option is to treat them with chemotherapy or opt for surgeries. This is a challenge,” he said.