Cure Definition

Cure: When cancer is completely absent from the body, and is not expected to return at any time in the future, the patient has achieved a “cure.” Dr. Dressler and Dr. Ettinger, authors of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, have both seen dogs live long years past their prognosis, and they have also seen cancer disappear from bodies and never return. Unlike other areas of veterinary medicine, where we can say “this can be cured” or “this can be managed forever,” we cannot say this yet for systemic cancer cases. Until that day, we rely on conventional and outside-the-box treatments, in the hope that something – or more likely, many things together – will work for your dog. In the meantime, both doctors agree that it may be helpful to think of your dog’s cancer as a treatable, chronic condition, rather than a curable disease.