Yike Bing is a board-certified veterinary oncologist at Pride Referrals. From her early days in Beijing to her extensive training at Cornell University, Yike is passionate about cancer research and dedicated to supporting pet owners. Learn about the challenges she faced, the mentors who guided her, and the cutting-edge advancements in veterinary oncology that excite her. Yike also shares valuable advice for aspiring vets and insights into improving end-of-life care.
My very first exposure to veterinary oncology was a first-year vet school class called Pet Loss Support Hotline. Other than answering the hotline, an important part of that class was discussing the subject of grief and how to support clients through the difficult process after their pets receive a terminal diagnosis. One of the instructors in that class was a medical oncologist, Dr. Cheryl Balkman, who later became one of my amazing mentors. The part of a medical oncologist’s job of supporting the families and giving them hope and more time to say goodbye to their beloved pets really resonated with me, and I still find it very meaningful.
The summer after that semester, I joined Dr. Kelly Hume’s lab, another one of my closest and most incredible mentors. Working in her lab for the next 5-6 years on benchtop cancer research projects, I got the opportunity to explore the medical and cutting-edge aspects of oncology. I was and still am fascinated by every aspect of cancer biology and what scientists are trying every day to battle cancer. Both experiences inspired me to pursue the speciality of medical oncology after vet school.
I left Beijing and went to Cornell to study when I was 20 years old. Cornell is like a second hometown to me, and I spent 10 years there for training, from university, vet school, all the way to my first job as a veterinary oncologist. I’ve always wanted to be a vet since I was little, so getting into a vet school was the first step. Within the first 2 years of vet school, I discovered oncology and that’s where I’ve stayed!
The most challenging part of my training for me is client communication. I want my clients to feel heard and supported, and I want to show them that I care. But it doesn't come naturally to me, and I struggled a lot at the beginning of my career. The communication classes in vet school gave me some good basics. I still actively seek out and take CPDs on this subject. I’ve also learned from my colleagues by listening in on their conversations with clients. Ultimately, it is about lots of practice and finding out what works for me.
One of the benefits of being a veterinary oncologist (or any other vet specialist) is that there are usually plenty of job opportunities all over the world and I’ve always liked the idea of exploring different countries in a more in-depth way. It was probably more of a fortunate serendipity that I ended up with a job in the UK when I decided to leave the States. I was quite attracted by the beauty of the English countryside, as well as the rich history and culture of the UK. It is a lifestyle that I can see myself settling into!
One of the big reasons I love medical oncology is that we tend to have the best clients and best patients. I could be biased, but we work with the most adorable and sweet dogs and cats every day. My long-term clients are some of the most loving and dedicated pet owners. They understand the complexity and uncertainty of cancer treatment, and still, they choose to be on this emotional rollercoaster anyway. I also love the medicine and one-health aspect of oncology. Cancer is such a complex disease, and constant new discoveries and treatment options are emerging from both the people and animal side.
My day is probably very similar to most vets - I see appointments and the occasional emergencies, and I have on-call responsibilities during my time off. Some of the appointments are for pets who are actively receiving anti-cancer treatment, including chemo, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. For other appointments, we facilitate scans and other diagnostics to stage the cancer or assess remission status. Occasionally but not very often, I also have patients staying in the hospital because they’re not doing well, either because of their cancer or side effects from the treatment.
The first-ever checkpoint inhibitor for dogs is now available in the US for melanoma and mast cell tumours, which hopefully will be available to us in the UK soon. I also look forward to new oncology diagnostics becoming available here, such as genetic testing of the tumours, liquid biopsy, prognostic panel, and chemosensitivity assays.
Despite my patients all having cancer, we don’t deal with sad cases all day long. I very rarely perform euthanasia. Of course, there are days when I have cases not responding to treatment or cases with very limited treatment options. But a lot of the time, my patients are doing really well, and we celebrate with their families when the cancer is in remission.
The way I approach end-of-life or palliative care is that I ask the questions - what clinical signs could the cancer cause, what clinical signs is my patient showing, and are there any medications or nursing care practices that could prevent or alleviate these signs? Always listen to your clients carefully and empower them to make decisions for their pets’ care. A cancer patient’s clinical picture can change quickly, especially when they’re close to the end, so recheck and reassessment are also crucial.
Developing a solid foundation of knowledge and a systematic approach to cancer cases is really important. During your clinical year, it’s helpful to build a good understanding of how each common cancer behaves (local behaviour and metastatic behaviour, prognosis with each treatment), how each treatment works, and what side effects they each have. It can be difficult to memorise all this information at the beginning, so have it organised somewhere that it is easily accessible.
Some people might think oral chemotherapy and chemotherapy administered at home cause fewer side effects than IV chemotherapy. There is also the misconception that targeted therapy and immunotherapy are safer compared to traditional chemotherapy. In fact, the side effect profile is determined by many factors, e.g. protocol intensity, dose, etc.
I have one ginger cat, who has been with me since I was a vet student. He’s very well-travelled!