SUGAR LAND, Texas – Just two weeks after his life-saving surgery to remove the cancerous growth on his back paw, Radar was back at Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists for a follow-up. The visit moved Radar one step closer to a full recovery. Dr. Andrew Novosad said the final biopsy of the tumor they removed, revealed excellent news.
"The features of his digital tumor were not super-impressive," he said. "Like when you look at them, the mitotic rate, or how fast the cells are turning over, was fairly low."
But, based on the tumor's size and former location, Dr. Novosad opted to administer an innovative cancer vaccine.
"We're injecting a human melanoma protein and the goal is that we want (Radar's) immune system to recognize the melanoma protein as human, which is just foreign enough to cause his immune system to then start working against his own melanoma cells," Novosad said.
And with a quick shave and a click, everything was over and without even a flinch from Radar. Dr. Novosad says Radar may experience slight pain at the vaccination site and a possible low-grade fever, but otherwise, he should recover nicely from the procedure.