Dog cancer treatment is expensive... but there are things you can do to save your wallet a little! We really enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Duffy.

Dr Duffy was my dog’s (Gunnar) oncologist! She’s is so nice and caring and so knowledgeable.

Dr Duffy was my dog’s ( my sweet Gunnar) oncologist. She was so kind and caring and so knowledgeable.

@Paula-Jo

2 жыл бұрын

Good for you

❤❤❤❤❤👍🐕love your podcast and interviews you ask all the questions i want to ask and know the guests and doctors you have on your show is amazing 👏 ❤especially the Unicorn 🦄 onocologist amazing i wish i had a vet and a onocologist like that in hawaii on oahu so rare so rare so sad 😢

But at our Hospital the Drs do set the fees. They the receptionist say this? So? Even the Primary Vet Drs set the prices. I actually had a update Appt with Reg Vet in the Hospital yesterday and he said thankfully Im not going to charge you for today. They just changed me at the Receptionist signing out , for the cathetering they did on my dog before leaving and they charge was $55 . Acually cheeper then a Tech appt for catheter that is $69 $12 for Tech .

I find it hard to believe that the vets, oncologist, etc Do not set the price for these treatments! It sounds good to blame it on others such as cost of inflation etc.. the machines , the facilities are already in place and that has nothing to do with the rise of cost from today's cost or 10 or 20 yrs ago's cost. The choices people must make because of cost is pathetic. If you don't have the money we can't treat your pet, versus rich people that can afford treatments. It's unfair and it's unethical in my opinion as to why people go into this career in the first place. It's not for the love of pets anymore it's the love of the money that lines the pockets. How can they sleep at night knowing that this family has the money for care and this family doesn't... Changes in the veterinary world need to be done period. The cost needs to come down. It's not like cosmetic surgery a elective, This is a life or death situation for our beloved pets. Besides pet insurance one should still have other care plans available to families that can't afford treatments such as payment plans. And no my post isn't about the affordability. I lost one of my dogs to oral cancer And due to covid we could not get a appointment for months That could have been 3 months of him getting care and that's ridiculous! Was promised it would be cut off and then it wasn't cut off They backed out of it due to the fact that they made sure my dog was neutered before he could be seen and they botched him and he had to go in for a second surgery the next day and after that we was then told to seek care elsewhere for another veterinarian. Who does that??? Needless to say we did get other help but it's still took my dogs life.lost 2 dogs in one year's time. We lost his sister to sudden ketoacidosis/ diabetes complications and a tumor inside her belly. Careplan was being took but.. She could no longer walk without assistance and she was gone within 2 weeks. Significant 2 weeks before she was running and was just fine. All I'm trying to say is there has to be changes made to people that are not rich. More needs to be done And a little bit more sympathy and empathy towards the families that are facing these cancers. After all I've been through and what I've seen and heard from other people It is making it hard to where people do not even recommend people to get a pet because they know at the end of life stages how much it's going to cost let alone how much it cost as they are living. What's that say to all the homeless pets that are in need for adoption.!?!? I pray everything changes in the veterinary field for these animals that we love and who are just like our children.

@bonniedasilva767

2 жыл бұрын

I feel you and so sorry you went through all that! I so agree with you! There real surprisingly a big lack of empathy Ive been thing too going through cancer care for my dog too. You wouldn't believe the difficulty we've had just with management miss communication through the Hosp or Vet office! Miss understanding all put on us the patients owner! Blame in our behavior and they actually stop helping us! And one refused to treat my dog in urgent need the day of the issue I begged her to please help him and deal with issues with receptionist and Me later. She acually refused, left me hanging! How cruel and outrageous at last min and that was deciding by her the managers issues with Me not the Drs! They take Oaths to help! I couldn't even reason with her because she just kept yelling at Me talking over me would not listen to Me hanging up! As I called back she had the receptionist talk for her in background so then was when I stated yelling and resorted in name calling because I was so upset and frustrated that she wouldn't talk to me professionally and just dropped us and so then I couldn't talk to anyone as she threatened to call police if I called back. Our records were mailed to us the next day! Thank God I got to a Vet already established with temp that day. WTH would I ve done? Oh thats right the ER and that was $150 fee. Already the regular Vet charged me emergency fee that day of $180 worth it as they were close and the Hospital $45 mins away. So that was one issue. Then two more similar and its was all so crazy insane I couldn't believe they treat paying patients so unprofessionalally and uncaring . The poor patients the animals they have all written on their websites totally different they what they came they are about! Its insane and if stressed because of Pandemic what does this say about humans treating patients this way when Da you would think all would be more empathetic and caring in such difficult times EXPECIALLY business services! And all use the excuse under staffed and Pandemic! What happened to old time business care and humanity care?! Horrible! And each web site reviews even state communication issues inside. Thankfully a good caring manager stepped up for the Hospital Issue incident and got me to make appts that helped me and my dog so that I didn't give up and not go back as what then would I do?! Thank God he cared for my dog! They had actually triggered a PTA. I still want to get a hold of owners and another manager that also was good in past and make them aware of what my poor Babe and I were put through that weekend at ER as this is not what they are supposed to be about. They are supposed to be making us feel good care, not stress!

@Paula-Jo

2 жыл бұрын

@@bonniedasilva767 All I can say to you is save money,get a loan. Just like good cops bad cops, You're going to find that in the veterinary industry as well. Be prepared. Love your animal and cherish them because the end of life will come and the biggest gift we can give them is to let them go without suffering. I'll keep you in my prayers.

@DogCancer

2 жыл бұрын

I am so sad to hear everything you and your dog have gone through. And I do agree that changes are needed in the veterinary industry. However, the things that need to change are not the fault of vets and their staff, and also not within their control. Remember that as well as the costs of equipment and medications, veterinary hospitals also employ people. Those people, be they vets, techs, kennel help, or receptionists, all need to be paid enough to afford rent, mortgage payments, food, and other living expenses. I firmly believe that all people, in all professions, deserve a living wage, and I'm sure you do too. Staff costs are one of the biggest expenses for vet hospitals. I have worked for and with several veterinarians, and I have seen all of them cry over patients who couldn't be treated due to financial constraints. But the reality is that most vets are not independently wealthy, and can only treat so many patients for free. Pet health insurance is a start, but it isn't where it needs to be yet. Most policies are reimbursement-based, which means the owner still needs the money up front to pay the bill. We need to get to a system more similar to what we have for humans, though I'm sure we all have adjustments we would like to make there as well :) We have a bunch of financial resources here, though I hope you never need them again: www.dogcancerblog.com/articles/book-excerpt/financial-assistance-for-dogs-with-cancer/

@Paula-Jo

2 жыл бұрын

@@DogCancer For starters they could hold a monthly wkend program and get other area vets/ oncologist to join them to see and treat these cancer patients that cannot get loans or have the funds. There must be some way to get to pharmaceutical companies to donate to cases. I Understand everything that you're saying but at the same time I know more can be done they just won't do it. I did eventually get help but like I said my dog fought for almost a year only The last 3 months of his life being turned down was only gave tramadol that does nothing for pain, antibiotics and pepcid. And only two shots when I took him in when he was extremely uncomfortable they gave him pain shot. Because of being refused to remove it there was no sense in doing the chemo radiation I would have just been throwing my money away He was going to die anyway but it could have been extended had they not refused his treatment. It should have been cut off in the very beginning as we were told it would. Veterinarians should not be allowed to make promises then mess your dog up in surgery put him through another surgery as he's already in pain from cancer and then send you down the road Who does that??? I tell you who the ones that know they are in the wrong and were afraid of a lawsuit that's who. They need to be held accountable for medical malpractice as well as normal human doctors. These are living breathing souls that deserve everything we humans have access to whether rich or poor. I will preach till my dying day or until animals are treated with respect and dignity and are gave the same fighting chance that we get.