New equine cancer unit opens at Cambridge University

Horses with cancer have a better chance of recovery thanks to the extension of a cancer therapy unit at the University of Cambridge.

The Queen’s Veterinary Hospital at the university is the only facility in Europe offering radiotherapy for horses. Last week it opened a new building to house a radiotherapy machine designed to treat animals.

Veterinary oncologist Dr Jane Dobson told H&H: “The building has been designed to allow us to bring horses into the treatment room.”

The new machine — called a linear accelerator — is identical to those used in human cancer treatment centres.

President of the British Equine Veterinary Association, David Dugdale, said the unit was “very good news” and offered a new treatment option for horses with cancer.

For more on this, see the current issue of Horse & Hound (16 October 2008)

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