INFORMATION FOR OUR NEW CLIENTS:  What happens first?  

The initial consultation is one hour long, though we do ask that you check-in 15 minutes early to complete the required paperwork.
    During this hour, you can expect to be given information that will help you understand your pet's diagnosis and treatment options.   It is our goal that the knowledge you acquire during this consultation will help you make the right decisions regarding your pet's quality of life.  This is the right time to ask any questions you may have, and we do encourage you to take notes.  In many cases, we also have handouts available that we will send home with you.
    If, after the consultation has been completed, you decide to pursue treatment for your pet, we will schedule your pet's first chemotherapy or radiation appointment.  If chemotherapy is appropriate and you elect to proceed, treatment is often initiated the very same day.
    Please do not feed your pet the day of your initial consultation appointment.  In the event that additional diagnostics or procedures that require sedation or anesthesia are recommended, we need your pet's stomach to be empty. 
Once sedation or anesthesia is either completed or is deemed unnecessary, we do have a wide variety of yummies available, and your pet will not leave here hungry. 
If your pet has any known allergies, please inform us, and feel free to bring your pet's own treats.  
IMPORTANT:  If your pet has previously been diagnosed with diabetes, please inform our staff.  We will likely have you proceed with your pet's normal feeding schedule.

INFORMATION FOR REFERRING VETERINARIANS:

In the event that you are referring a client for an initial consultation, please complete and return to us a copy of our Records Request Form, along with the patient's detailed surgery reports, diagnostic imaging results and patient history pertaining to their diagnosis.  Please be sure to include a diagnosis via histopathology or cytology and all relevant laboratory results.

We appreciate your confidence and look forward to working with you to provide your patients with optimum care.

Often, we continue to rely on you, the primary care veterinarian, to perform routine blood draws and some physical examinations in between visits to our office.  Frequently, we will ask you to run a CBC a day or two before treatment.  We would ask that you request that the laboratory also fax us the results. 
If you have any questions about what bloodwork we need, please do not hesitate to call us. 
AND PLEASE NOTE:
Technology can fail all of us at one time or another; if you have asked to hear back from our office and have not, please call and speak with a staff member to ensure that your questions are answered. 

We also understand that waiting for answers to the questions that arise after a diagnosis of cancer can result in sleepless nights for your clients. We offer phone consultations for your cases.  Please complete a Phone Consult Request Form and return to us.  Again, please be sure to include a diagnosis via histopathology or cytology and all relevant laboratory results, as well as any particular questions you or your clients have about this case.  Dr. Meleo or a technician will call you with information regarding the case and answers to your questions within 3 business days of receiving the request.

If pets are part of your family, you can appreciate how far veterinary medicine has come.  More advanced treatment options mean our pets live longer lives.
Unfortunately, as is true with people, older pets have a greater chance of developing cancer.  
 
Fortunately, our pets tolerate cancer therapy quite well.  Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue following  treatment are rarely observed in pets after receiving the very same chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy utilized in human medicine.  
Although side effects can and sometimes do occur, they are most often transient and mild, and symptomatic management of most side effects is usually accomplished at home. 

Working as a team focused on your pet's quality of life, we promise to offer comprehensive state of the art therapy administered by our experienced and compassionate staff.