Cancer isn’t just a condition of people and pets—it can also affect large animals, like horses and livestock.
Signs depend more on the location and extent of the cancer than the size of the animal. Owners are most likely to notice external signs, like masses or other lesions. Notably, animals with areas of white skin are prone to develop tumors from sun damage, so they need to be watched closely.
Other signs—like unexplained weight loss—may be less obvious. That’s when bloodwork and imaging might provide diagnostic answers.
In large animals, treatment tends to be more localized than systemic—like application of heat or cold to remove masses. The key is attacking the problem as soon as possible—whether that means having a mass removed when it’s still small or jumping on subtler problems before they worsen.