Dr. Janet Lori

We had a bazillion animals when I was growing up; from tarantulas and anything else we found along the side of the road, to dogs, cats and cows. From the time I was just a little kid, my interest was animals. I’m like every other little kid who says they want to be a veterinarian.
I just followed through with it.

One of my first clinical rotations in veterinary school was oncology.
I was really drawn to the bond that is established with clients in oncology. Oncology seemed one specialty area where I could see the same clients over and over, and really develop this relationship. People wouldn’t just come in for a diagnosis or surgery and then move on.

Oncology is a small service at Texas A&M, where I went to veterinary school. So, as a fourth year student, I decided to visit a bigger oncology center, and that’s when I spent a month at the CSU Animal Cancer Center. I was sold on the oncology program at CSU, and pursued a residency.  And here I am. The residency program here is somewhat similar to a human medical residency program, although by the time I get through my internship and residency, I’ve actually received more years of training than many human medical residents.

The medical oncology program at CSU involved both clinical and research training. I didn’t have much research experience before I came to CSU for my internship, but the more research I do the more I enjoy it.  Most of my research here is bench research; doing things with cancer cells and cell cultures. I enjoy that we are getting results that are really cool. The more research we do, the more we learn, and potentially the more options we can offer people to help their animals. Once the Clinical Trials Service was developed here, my interest in clinical research was really sparked. I think the Clinical Trials Service provides a lot of great opportunities for us to learn about a new treatment or diagnosis and gives more people the opportunity to pursue cancer treatment for their pets. The great thing is that there is usually something we can do to help.

While all of the cases I am involved in are important and meaningful, there are some that just stay with me. Gus is one of them. Gus is the little grey kitty who has multiple myeloma.  When we first saw Gus, it wasn’t confirmed that he had cancer. He originally came to the doctor because he started acting not himself. His appetite became picky, he was intermittently vomiting, and just not the normal Gus who wants to play outside under the trees.

His folks are so dedicated to his care, yet they want to make sure that everything we do is fair to Gus. Their goal is for Gus to have the best quality of life that he can, for as long as he can. He’s not in a complete remission from his cancer, but he certainly has had a good response to his chemotherapy, and he feels great. That’s our goal with him; more than anything in the books, or anything his blood tests may say. Since Gus started his treatment, his folks have their little baby Gus back. He’s like he was when he was young. He’s a happy boy now. He’s eating and feeling great. He’s outside, running around.

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