Veterinary Oncology Center

Dr Sarbu and her team are miracle workers. My dog was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma last summer. She went through chemotherapy and has been in remission and doing fine. They are so kind and caring and do little extras that put a smile on your face at a difficult time. Little flowers on collars, bandanas for holidays ands pet pictures at Christmas. The best care in a caring environment

This is a review I hoped I would never write, and I’m sorry the circumstances brought you here too.
I can’t believe this is even «a thing.» A veterinary oncologist? Really? I’m glad that this is an option nowadays, even though treatment isn’t really ideal in my cat’s case.
My sweet, gorgeous ~13 year old Bengal cat was diagnosed with carcinoma 3 days ago. 4 days ago, I took him to a vet in Bellevue. I had noticed he had been hacking — no hairballs — a few days in a row, but it went away. Then I noticed he didn’t have much of an appetite. This guy used to be 18.5 lbs & he lost 5 lbs. Some cats eat to live, but my cat LIVES TO EAT. I used to say «When he doesn’t want to eat, I will know he is dying.» *&%$ how I wish it wasn’t true.
The night before I took him to the vet, I noticed his stomach was pulsing in and out — very deep with each breath.
The vet in Bellevue did an x-​ray and noticed fluid around his lungs. He said I needed to go to an emergency clinic & have the fluid withdrawn and monitored. He said it could be heartworms (since the cat had previously been in Texas), congestive heart failure, a tumor, asthma, or bronchitis.
I took him to ACCES in Renton (who were so caring & awesome, by the way). They drew out the fluid & sent it off for testing. They did a rapid blood test to check for heart disease — negative. Since the fluid was around the lungs and not in the lungs, it ruled out asthma or bronchitis. This left 2 options: malignant or benign tumor. Dr. Beth Guerra warned me that sometimes the fluid would come back negative since the cancerous tumors don’t always give off cells in the liquid, but we would see.
Sure enough, the next night I had one of the worst phone calls of my life. My beloved little furry companion has carcinoma. I was informed carcinoma isn’t nearly as treatable as other cancers like lymphoma, but I was informed I could see a veterinary oncologist to see the options we have.
The next morning, I called the Veterinary Oncology Center to find out what we could do for my baby kitty.
I already knew that treatment probably wasn’t a good idea for a cat who HATES vet visits with every fiber of his existence. As I waited, I read some of their stories about people’s dogs who were being treated for lymphoma and how well they tolerated the treatments, but they only got about another 6 – 8 months after the treatment was over.
At the appointment, Dr. Sarbu was professional, informative, knowledgeable, and caring. She went over the radiologist’ x-​ray report & informed me there were about 3 lung nodules shown. She told me how difficult carcinoma, a skin or organ lining cancer, was to treat. The 2 drugs would only give him about a 20% chance at life for a few months. She discussed the possibility of putting in a chest tube to drain the fluid from his lungs when it built up & administer drugs — hoping that it would give him enough time to allow the drugs to work. She told me the fluid could come back in a few days or a few weeks; there was no way to tell how long it took to build up & no way to tell how long it would be before it came back again.
Weighing the options, knowing how much my cat LOVES food and HATES vet visits, knowing that 20% just aren’t great odds, knowing I didn’t want his last few months to experience any diminished quality of life, and that the fluid would make him uncomfortable while laying on his back or side, I decided to forgo treatment.
Dr. Sarbu didn’t make me feel guilty over it. I’ve had a few friends who had other vets guilt trip them over forgoing treatment, implying they did not care about their pet, etc. I didn’t experience anything like that with Dr. Sarbu. She was apologetic that the prognosis wasn’t good, and she tried to reassure me that I did all of the right things and forgoing treatment wasn’t unreasonable at all. She told me that he was obviously well taken care of, well loved, and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it and nothing I did that caused it. She even shed a tear when I sobbed, trying to explain I had him since he was 8 weeks old & had trained him to lie on his back.
I asked «does he even know?» (that he’s dying) She said he didn’t know, but he knows when he doesn’t feel good and it’s hard to breathe, and he’d display the same signs of distress I had already seen. She told me how to watch his breathing patterns and that right now, he seemed just fine. She explained that when the fluid comes back, it can create scar tissue with separating the ribs and create other pockets for fluid to build up.
She gave me diuretics to give him when his breathing becomes heavier. The next day (today), I noticed a change in his breathing. I gave him diuretics, and it seemed to help.
Now I play the heart crushing, waiting game & prepare to say goodbye to a really awesome cat.
All in all, I’m glad I went to see her and found out the options. If nothing else, the info & diuretics were worth the trip.

I can not say enough nice things about Dr. Sarbu, Jessica and the other staff. they treat you as if the animal is there own. my dog has lymphoma and has never liked going to the vet. but with this place he is so happy to go and see every one. I highly recommend this vet, they are awesome.

Dr. Sarbu is amazing. No only is she an amazing vet, she is also a great person. She and her staff genuinely care about their patients, including my cat Trixie who has been diagnosed with T-​Cell lymphoma and is being treated here. Even though this is an aggressive form of cancer and my cat is young (4 years old,) Dr. Sarbu never put a «time– stamp» on her life nor did she give me a sense of «false hope.» Instead she went over the options and addressed my concerns. We were both on the same page when I said that I will do anything I can to help my kitty until it starts affecting her quality of life. All I can say now is that I am glad Trixie is getting treated here and is still happy-​go– lucky as she has always been. Only time can tell the rest, but at least I know she is in great hands.

Dr. Lumnita Sarbu and her staff have provided care for two of our Rotties — bone cancer in each case.
Our girl, Karma, gave us another year of great times and throughout that year, Dr. Sarbu continued to support our needs — not only professionally but as a friend. When Karma made her journey over Rainbow Bridge, Dr. Sarbu was there for her and for us. She understands the human side of caring for animals and «their people».
Our boy, Lu, was diagnosed this past January. Dr. Sarbu is providing Lu ongoing care and «Lu’s people» with support, advice and friendship. Lu visits VOC for his chemo treatments — he honestly seems to look forward to entering the clinic and greeting the staff — you can tell by his demeanor that he feels at home! Very gratifying for his human family to see him so warmly greet Dr. Sarbu and her staff.
Our highest praise for VOC!

My dog was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2009. Because of the care we got from Dr. Sarbu, first at VCA, then at her own practice, my dog lived until March of 2012. I couldnt have asked for better care of my friend. I work for a vet and I am pretty picky about the way my dog is treated. There is nothing worse than someone who works in the field! But, Dr. Sarbu is great. She explained things when we needed it and I felt always did what was needed for our friend. For the most part, I loved her staff. They always seemed happy to have my dog come and «visit» for the day. My dog was pretty vocal at times but they never said he was a pain. When it was time to say goodbye they treated us like family. Jessica was amazing, so caring and I could tell she really had strong feelings for my friend. Dr. Sarbi also so caring and was upset with us when we had to say goodbye. I feel a strong connection with Veterinary Oncology Center. I have recommend them to clients where I worked.

I showed up with my 16 year old cat, knowing he had no chance of surviving a tumor and coming to Dr. Sarbu to know what I needed to do to keep him comfortable in the last few months. I was greeted warmly when I checked in and was shown almost immediately to an exam room. I put my cat on the floor to wander around as we waited and he loved the big dog bed in the corner. Dr. Sarbu entered, talked to me breifly, then sat down on the dog bed with my cat to examine him. This attention to his comfort won me over — of all the vet visits he endured, this was one of the least stressful. Dr. Sarbu explained in better detail what I already knew, then outlined options so I could make an informed decision. Along the way, Dr. Sarbu went beyond my expectations to help us find solutions to problems we faced along the way — someone to take care of him while we visited family over the holidays, someone to come to our home to euthanize in his own space.
Dr. Sarbu and her team helped us through a painful time. While I hope not to need Dr. Sarbu again, I would in a heartbeat if I had another animal with cancer.

i had a somewhat mixed experience here. yes, dr. sarbu & her staff are all wonderful and dr. sarbu is very knowledgeable and wants to do what is in the best interest of the animal. she was extremely thorough in her diagnostics, using xray and ultrasound to get a full picture of our dog’s systems. however, she thought our dog, who was in stage 4 renal failure, was a good candidate for chemo and he wasn’t. it’s true that his kidneys were going to get him before the lymphoma would, but we let her give him a dose of chemo and his kidneys crashed. we lost him a week later and i feel like we would have had another few weeks if we hadn’t agreed to it. i may be wrong and it may have turned out this way anyway, but my gut tells me it was a bad decision.
my favorite part about this clinic is there are no exam tables. everyone gets down on the floor to examine the dogs in huge dog beds.

When our dog was diagnosed with lymphoma it was devastating, since the expected survival rate is typically two months or less. Our vet offered up the only 2 canine oncologists in the greater Seattle area and we were fortunate enough to pick Dr. Sarbu and her staff at the Veterinary Oncology Center.
They arranged for an appointment right away and Dr. Sarbu spent a good couple of hours doing an initial exam and talking to us about the disease, typical symptoms and progressions, treatment options, etc. It is so important to have a doctor that takes the time to explain the situation, answer your questions, and work with you to identify the right plan to treat your pet. You feel powerless in situations like this, but having expert advice and actionable information really helps.
Over a 6 months chemo treatment we saw how caring and loving Dr. Sarbu and her staff were to our dog and lots of other pets. They were always super helpful, cheerful and accommodating. I’m happy to report that it’s been 7 months and our dog is in remission.