Exciting advances have been made in the diagno­sis and treatment of tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Without a doubt, as our knowledge base expands regarding diagnostic techniques and the biologic behavior of neoplastic disease, so do our options for methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Perhaps just as important is our general awareness that cancer medicine has a tremendous emotional impact on everyone involved, including the own­ers and the entire veterinary health care team. When approaching the dog or cat with cancer, we must be cognizant that the myths and mispercep­tions that our clients and the veterinary health care team carry with them can alter judgment and bring us to false conclusions about the manage­ment of the disease. similarly, we must realize that although the veterinary health care team is key in providing medical and surgical care for the patient, cancer is a disease that has an emotional impact for all people involved. Therefore the myths associated with cancer must first be dispelled through appro­priate education, then the veterinary health care team can proceed to meet the nonmedical needs of the client, along with the medical needs of the patient. The next step, which is predicated on the success of these first two steps, is to provide com­passionate care to enhance quality of life first and length of life second. Quality of life can be enhanced in part by meeting all the needs of the patient, including providing adequate pain and nausea control and meeting the patient's changing nutritional needs. Fully understanding the cancer we are facing can enhance both length and quality of life. This understanding is best achieved by first, obtaining a tissue sample from the disease in question (making an accurate tissue diagnosis); second, determining the extent of the disease (staging the cancer); and third, assessing the condition of the patient.

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