The Oncology Service at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) celebrated a milestone recently by radiating its first cancer patient. Jasmine, a dog with osteosarcoma (bone cancer), received radiation on a front leg at Samaritan Regional Cancer Center (SRCC) in Corvallis. Members of the team included Drs. Shay Bracha and Stuart Helfand, faculty oncologists; Dr. Krystal Claybrook, oncology intern; and Kate Brumbaugh, oncology technician. Thanks to an arrangement with SRCC, Jasmine is being treated there. The oncology service is hoping to be able to provide radiotherapy for selected pets on a regular basis.
Jasmine’s radiation treatments are intended to help control pain; her owner has reported she is already feeling better. Radiation therapy has become an integral part of providing care for animals with cancer. This is an important step for the clinical oncology program at the VTH.
— Dr. Stuart Helfand