The Veterinary Record, January 18, 2003 77 CANCER is often diagnosed in veterinary practice (Nordstoga and others 1995). A survey in Norway has revealed that, in pre- disposed breeds of dog, up to 39 per cent may die from cancer (Bredal and others 1994), and about 30 per cent of all dogs will suffer a cancerous disease at some point in their life (Bredal and others 1994, Nordstoga and others 1995). In Denmark, Mikkelsen and Lund (1999) found that 11 per cent of dogs that are euthanased there are euthanased because of cancer. Many companion animals are now regarded as full fam- ily members, rather than being kept for practical reasons (Mikkelsen and Lund 1999). As a result of this change in their social status, these animals’ owners demand the newest and most promising treatments if their companion develops can- cer (Vail and MacEwen 1997). At present, the options for the veterinary care of animals with cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and a number of new experimental treatments which are still under investigation, including photodynamic therapy, gene therapy and anti-angiogenic therapy (Merkel and Biel 2001, Hogge and MacEwen 2001). In some cases, euthanasia must also be considered. The choice of treatment depends on the nature and distribution of the cancerous disease. Generalised tumours such as malignant lymphoma are good candidates for chemotherapy, and the animal’s survival time can be extended to a median of 300 to 356 days (Rosenthal and MacEwen 1990, Teske 1994). Although there have been many studies of the efficacy and side effects of different chemotherapeutic protocols (Calvert and others 1982, Rosenthal and MacEwen 1990, Hammer and others 1991, Teske 1994, Piek and others 1999), there have been none of the owners’ perception of the treatments. This survey was conducted to evaluate the owners’ perceptions before and during the chemotherapeutic treatment of their dog or cat, by means of a questionnaire. The survey evaluated the owners’ perceptions of the discovery of the disease, the effectiveness of the chemotherapy and the response of the animals, as well as the perceptions of the family, neighbours and acquaintances. It also evaluated the communication between the owner, the veterinarian and the oncologist. MATERIALS AND METHODS The records of the 91 dogs and cats that were undergoing chemotherapy or had been treated since January 1997 were retrieved from the archives of the Utrecht University Clinic for Companion Animals and the De Wagenrenk veterinary specialist clinic in Wageningen. Dogs with malignant lym- phoma were treated with one of the two protocols described by Piek and others (1999), and cats with malignant lym- phoma were treated according to the cyclophosphamide, vin- cristine and prednisolone protocol described by Teske and others (2002). Dogs with splenic haemangiosarcoma were treated with six intravenous doses of doxorubicin at 30 mg/m 2 at intervals of three weeks. Dogs with osteosarcoma were treated with five intravenous doses of lobaplatin at 300 mg/m 2 at intervals of three weeks (Kirpensteijn and others 2002). Dogs with transmissible venereal tumours were treated with four intravenous doses of vincristine at 0·7 mg/m 2 at intervals of one week (Calvert and others 1983). The questionnaires were either handed out to the owners during a consultation while their animal was being treated, or they were sent to the owners of dogs and cats that had under- gone treatment in 1997 or later. The owners were questioned about their experiences when the disease was discovered, their expectations of the treatment, the results they saw, the attitude towards the anticancer chemotherapy they experienced from other people, and their satisfaction with the information and care given by the referring veterinarian and the oncologist. For comparison, the animals were divided into groups according to species, whether they had malignant lymphoma or tumours other than lymphoma, and according to whether they had died as a result of cancer or during chemotherapy, or were still alive or had died from causes unrelated to the can- cer. For the calculation of the Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the dogs suffering from lymphoma were investigated separately. The parameters evaluated were age distribution, period of treatment, clarity of information from the veterinarian and the oncologist, effect of treatment, side effects, whether the animal survived and its survival time, social acceptance, whether the chemotherapy was perceived as worthwhile, level of support from the veterinarian and oncologist, satisfaction with the veterinarian and oncologist, and overall perception. Side effects were recorded as being either absent or occurring seldom or frequently, and as either serious or minor. All of the information was recorded in a spreadsheet and the data were analysed statistically by using the SPSS statistical program (SPSS). Survival time was calculated from the start of treatment to the animal’s death or, if it was still alive, to the date the questionnaire was returned. Only deaths due to tumours were counted as events, and others were censored. Survival curves were drawn by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Sixty-nine (75·8 per cent) of the 91 owners returned the ques- tionnaire, 59 owners of dogs and 10 owners of cats. The age of the animals varied from one to 14 years with a mean of eight years. Forty of the animals (58 per cent) were male and Papers & Articles Study of dog and cat owners’ perceptions of medical treatment for cancer L. B. Brønden, G. R. Rutteman, A. Flagstad, E. Teske Between April 10 and June 9, 2000, 91 owners of cats and dogs that were being or had been treated with anticancer chemotherapy were given a questionnaire designed to obtain information about their experiences as a result of the discovery and treatment of the disease, the efficacy and side effects of the treatment and their perceptions of the procedures associated with the administration of the drugs. Nearly all of the owners felt that the treatment was worthwhile. The level of observed side effects was low. Well over half of the owners believed that their animal had lived longer than it would have if it had not been treated and that its general wellbeing had improved. In general, they felt that the treatment had been rewarding and that any adverse side effects had been outweighed by the positive experiences during the treatment; they felt that they had been well informed and that their animals had benefited from the treatment. Veterinary Record (2003) 152, 77-80 L. B. Brønden, DVM, A. Flagstad, DVM, PhD, DipECIVM-CA, Department of Clinical Studies, Small Animal Medicine, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark G. R. Rutteman, DVM, PhD, DipECVIM-CA, Veterinary Specialist Clinic ‘De Wagenrenk’, Wageningen, The Netherlands E. Teske, DVM, PhD, DipECIVM-CA, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.154, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands Correspondence to Dr Teske