Animal Cancer Center

They saved my dog Mindy's life. That alone is invaluable to my family and I, and we will forever be in their debt, certainly worth more than just a five star review. These are the most intelligent, professional, and empathetic people I have ever met in my life, doing what I feel is one of the most intellectually and emotionally demanding jobs I know of (seeing animals in one of the most dire of situations).

My dog Mindy is a Sharpei mix, around 8 years old, and she was diagnosed with multicentric Lymphoma. For about a month, she grew tumors larger than the size of a tennis ball throughout her body and got to the point where our the vet was surprised that she was not experiencing more complications than she already was. We were recommended to various SAGE hospitals and this clinic by our local vet, this being the last place that was handwritten onto the page. Although smaller than the SAGE hospitals (I assume), they had the earliest availability (they give lymphoma patients priority due to the speed and nature of the illness) and the lowest cost (one of the SAGE hospitals required a deposit before even booking the appointment, this place obviously did not), and probably the best care, and I will be forever grateful that we chose them. After consultation, we opted for a 15 week CHOP (seemingly a medley of chemo chemicals) protocol (another route seemed to be a Tanovea drug 15 week protocol) which required us to drive about 3 hours each way every couple of weeks (there were no other veterinary oncologists for about a 3 hour radius from us in Fresno, CA) for around 9 visits total, averaging around 150 to 355 dollars per visit (somewhere in between $2000 to $2400 in total). Her tumors went away and she went into complete remission before the end of the treatment (though we completed the 15 week protocol and all visits regardless). Animals apparently don't tend to experience as many bad side effects to chemo treatments like humans do and this was our experience with Mindy as well. The average remission length is apparently around 6 months. If it comes back, there are follow up treatment plans available. We don't know how much time this has given to Mindy, but she started acting like her normal self, rather than the lethargic and likely pained version with tumors throughout her body. I don't regret a single thing and I would do it all over again if I had to.

I highly recommend them of course, feel free to ask any specifics of my experience, would be happy to answer.

Edit: She was in remission for roughly 3 months, then treatment again here for roughly 3 months, but sadly was put to sleep yesterday. These people gave me 9 extra months with the love of my life, Mindy and I will always be grateful to them. Please hug and kiss and tell your dog you love them so much right now for me.

Caring, compassionate and just the best staff and doctor! Your pet is #1 to them!

We had the most wonderful and caring experience at Animal Cancer Center of Monterey. Everyone was amazing. Every step was explained throughout the process. Our dog Duchess got excited every time we came.
Dr Teri took excellent care of her. The chemotherapy gave us some excellent months with our dog. We can’t thank the cancer center enough for the loving care Duchess received.

Could not have been kinder or more compassionate 🖤

Wonderful facility helping pets and their parents manage cancer.

Not sure why so many poor reviews. This specialist is likely the best from the Bay down to SLO which is like your last stop before Los Angeles to see oncologists.
First, I don’t know the outcome I will have with my dog but I will say that this should be your first stop WELL before BluePearl, your local vet, the internet, so forth. If you suspect your elderly dog to be experiencing cancer, GO HERE. They will overnight cytology/lymph node samples to be tested very SPECIFICALLY for T/B cell. You get immediate treatment and the cost is FAR BETTER than going to somewhere like BluePearl who will charge you $1,000 EASILY just for them to suggest your pet be seen by your veterinarian. I wish I could have got here sooner. If you think oncology is easy work, you’re wrong. Of course nothing gets sugar coated, it is best this way in my opinion. For crying out loud, the doctor herself has her own old dog in reception. I feel so much better having gone here after juggling between my vet, oncology in Atascadero, and BluePearl. I will write another review in the midst of my dogs treatment.

Dr. Arteaga and her staff did an amazing job taking care of our 11 year old Boston Terrier! She has been in cancer remission for 3 years. I was told she had maybe three months in September of 2021. Dr. Arteaga took her on as a patient. She lived three more full years of life. She left for the Rainbow Bridge September 19, 2024. Thank you Dr. Arteaga for the additional three years of life we are so blessed! ? God Bless you!

Nov 2022 my peanut (min pin 12 years old) got diagnosed with lymphoma. The animal cancer center staff has been nothing but amazing to us. They've some how given me another year half with my baby and I'm so grateful. I know not every story is like mine but I am so gratefu for this place and its staff!! Robert has always been caring and nice even when I had questions about how much treatment was. I drive six hours to take my dog to chemo I wouldn't do it if this place was anything short of a miracle. Dr. A is an angel helping our sweet babies. if you need their services and are lucky enough to get in I hope you're blessed like I was with more time.

At first they act like they care. I called their office continuously because I had to reschedule one of my dogs appointments and ROBERT (front desk) kept saying "sure, let me move some things around and give you a call back". Days would go by with no call. I called back a few days later and the same thing he promised to call back and the week went by with NO CALL BACK FROM ROBERT. When i called him again(because he NEVER called me back), he said Dr. Arteaga would no longer see my dog because I missed the appointment but after trying to reschedule HOW was that my fault? He never called me back for WEEKS. I told him, my dog isn't getting treatment all I needed was to monitor her lump and he was so careless not even trying to help. And I called days before to cancel her appointment because I couldn't miss my work day. I followed up to get a copy of my dogs records after they left my dog with cancer and I trying to find a different oncologist and ROBERT, again, was so RUDE. This place should really reconsider replacing this person ROBERT. as someone with a pet with cancer, I hate to call a place where they give false information of calling you back to schedule your pets appointment and ROBERT being so unprofessional not keeping up with his word or leaving me in limbo for a month to get a slap in the face with a "we can no longer see Xeena". He could've told me this the first time I called so I wouldn't wait an entire month for a call back and receiving false hope and I could've gladly looked for a BETTER place to take my pet.

Dr. Arteaga has profound knowledge and expertise coupled with a strong sense of compassion and empathy. Here is a vet who literally got down on the floor and held our precious little dog during visits. Dr. Arteaga was recommended to us by our local vet, as we don't have a cancer center in our county (San Luis Obispo). The vibe at the facility is calm, quiet and peaceful, with fresh chicken offered at every visit. Our dog loved it there. We will be forever grateful for the excellent care provided by Dr. A and her amazing staff.