Specialists of Tsyba Center help animals as well as people. Journalists from leading Russian media were able to see proof of it on July 20, during a press tour to Obninsk. The center is the only facility in Russia that works with such clinical cases. The Veterinary Radiology Clinic of A.F. Tsyba Medical Radiological Scientific Center treats house pets referred to them from vet clinics across the country. The pets are mostly cats and dogs, although there was even a hedgehog once.
Life processes in animals are known to develop several times faster than in humans. This is also the case with malignant tumors. Cancer in cats and dogs grows 4 and 2 times faster than in humans respectively. However, there are cancer screening programs for people, and this area is actively developing, while no such programs are available for animals. That is why pets brought to veterinarians at the clinic in Obninsk usually have advanced stages of cancer. Those are mostly adult animals.
Veterinarians practice neutron and electron radiotherapy. We had the chance to see the entire process of preparing an animal.
“Animals cannot be subjected to radiotherapy without anesthesia,” said anesthesiologist Yulia Petrova, Director of the Veterinary Radiology Clinic of A. F. Tsyba MRSC. Therefore, the animal is sedated so that the veterinarians can immobilize it without much stress for the patient.” Now, there is a grown ginger cat lying on the vet table, who has nasal cavity lymphoma. He goes to sleep slowly, and the specialists gently carry the animal to the adjoining room for radiotherapy. It usually takes 5 to 30 minutes. After the procedure, the animal is taken back to the inpatient unit, where it is monitored. The owner can collect the animal once it has woken up completely, monitored by the anesthesiologist. The employees of the inpatient vet facility monitor the condition of their patients, who are not left alone but given maximum attention and love.
This article was prepared with the support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
