The spleen and cancer episode

This one's a bit personal for Bill. Trigger warnings: Talk of cancer and pet death. 

In May of 2021, a mass was found on Bill's dog Chester’s spleen. A trip to the emergency vet and a splenectomy later (plus a couple days at the hospital), Chester was back home with a shaved belly and a badass scar from the surgery. 

Luckily the mass was benign and Chester's still as ornery as ever. But what Bill realized is that he had no idea what spleens do, why they're so prone to masses and a particularly dangerous form of cancer known as a hemangiosarcoma and why the prognosis for a cancerous splenic mass is rarely good. 

On the pod with Bill is Dr. Mark Byrum, DVM, DACVIM. He’s a veterinary medical oncologist at MedVet Chicago and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine as a medical oncologist. He talks to Bill all about hemangiosarcomas and explains just what spleens do and why it's possible for dogs to easily survive without them. He also talks more generally about cancer in dogs and cats. 

Big Wags Chicago is online at www.bigwagschicago.com. You can also find Big Wags on Mastodon, Discord, TikTok and Instagram under the handle @bigwagschicago. Have a question you want answered in a future episode or just want to say hi? Email [email protected].