The Woodlands Animal Cancer and Referral Center

"Dr. Sousa recommended waiting on amputation after seeing our pet's x-rays, saying the bone lesion didn't look like osteosarcoma and we had some time. I asked if we should do an ultrasound to see if the cancer had spread, and he said there was no point. Even though he mentioned the cytology might be inconclusive, because extra bone was being formed and it would be hard to get a sample, he recommended trying. A thousand bucks later, our poor boy was limping more than ever and we waited with dread for the result, which he said we should have on Monday. Monday came and went. Tuesday I called; I was told that the results had come in but the doctor hadn't had a chance to review yet. He would review and get back to us. Wednesday at 5pm, he finally called us to say that it was inconclusive. Next options were to either do a biopsy, which sounded even more painful than the cytology- double the needle size and multiple cores taken- and the potential for easier fracture, or to go ahead and amputate, as that would probably be the end result anyway, regardless of the diagnosis. As osteosarcoma in particular is very aggressive, it seemed like a good idea not to wait and do an amputation right away. Dr. Sousa said they would get us an estimate. It took another 4 days for them to email us an estimate. This price was more than 3 times the maximum number I'd seen from research and calling around to other vets. I asked what this included to justify the extra cost, and didn't receive a reply for another 6 days, to which he said he felt it would be fine to have the surgery elsewhere as it was fairly routine, and the extra cost was for his time as a very experienced surgeon. By then we'd already been put on the calendar at our usual vet at the earliest possible appointment. We didn't realize it, but the cancer had already spread by the time we had the amputation. Our dog had post-op complications and ended up passing away five days after surgery, on Christmas Day. I did not choose to continue working with WACRC because of how slow they were to respond and work with us, and the feeling that they were really just trying to milk our pain and love for our pet for extra dollars and/or to fuel scientific papers because of the "unicorn" nature of our dog's tumor. Dr. Sousa may be an excellent vet, but he didn't prioritize our dog, who suffered for it. Maybe this practice is too busy and needs to add staff."

"Our friends had surgery for their dog and the staff was great! Very nice and modern facility."

"This place is amazing! After getting the dreaded diagnosis from our primary vet, they referred us here. We did our homework and felt pretty comfortable with WACRC. Apparently pet oncology is a busy field because we checked other options and were denied at A&M and Gulf Coast had a long waiting list. Anyways, the staff at WACRC were all amazing. Everyone was very friendly, both in person and over the phone. The facility is very nice and the individual waiting rooms really help lower the stress and anxiety for both the pets and their people. They encouraged our dog to get on the furniture and have quite the collection of toys and treats for your fur baby. We had Dr. Souza who is apparently new to the practice but had an impressive resume matched by his equally impressive bedside manner. He was very warm and sincere, even when giving us an honest assessment of our dog's prognosis and limited treatment options. We really appreciated his honesty and his candor. We were processed through pretty quickly with some pain management medication and they had us on our way. We did arrive about 30 minutes early and that wasn't an issue. The price was fair but again, we only had an initial consult and some medications. Oh, sorry about the pile of fur we left behind and our only suggestion: Kleenex in the rooms would help when receiving bad news."

"They go the extra mile"

"Great staff"