• Question: Can small animals get cancer

    Asked by animals to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Emma Trantham

      Emma Trantham answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Yes small animals can get cancer. I don’t know if you have any pets but dogs and cats can get many of the types of cancer that humans get.

      I have pet rats and I know there is a strong chance that in the end they may get cancer and have to be put to sleep because pet rats are very prone to tumours. 🙁

    • Photo: Blanka Sengerova

      Blanka Sengerova answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Yes, they can. Like humans, they are susceptible to DNA damage due to the environmental factors, cosmic radiation, radiation from the sun and all sorts of other natural way of damaging DNA. Like us, their cells have evolved ways of repairing the DNA, but if too many damage events occur, then a cell may start dividing in an out-of-control fashion and lead to a lump/tumour to be formed.

    • Photo: Michael Cook

      Michael Cook answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      This is the most heartbreaking question so far!

      Great answers though. I assumed they would be able to, but I didn’t know much about it!

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