We offer several treatment options:
-
Surgical excision
-
Cryosurgery (freezing with liquid nitrogen)
-
Laser photo vaporization
-
Immunotherapy
-
Local injection chemotherapy
Larger tumors that have invaded
deep into local tissues are more difficult and expensive to
treat.
The chances for complete recovery
are better the sooner the problem is detected and treated.
The most common form of cancer in
the horse is skin cancer. There are generally three kinds 1)
sarcoid 2) squamous cell carcinoma 3) melanoma.
Sarcoids are more common in younger
horses. They can occur as a single nodule or multiple lesions any
place on the body. They can even occur as simple hair loss and
crusting. Common places include legs, groin, ears, eyes, lips and
behind elbows.
Squamous cell carcinomas are
malignant. They appear at mucus membrane junctions-eyelids, lip,
nose & gential region.
Melanomas are most common in white or gray horses.
They frequently occur around the tail and anal area, ears, eyes and
genital region.
Regardless of the type of
skin tumor, early detection and treatment are crucial. Observe your
horse closely on a regular basis and have a veterinarian examine
any suspicious lesions. Check them over even during the winter
months with their thick hair coat. Changes in skin that should be
examined include discoloration, roughening, crusting, scaling or
hair loss.