Dr. Stewart Ryan

There is actually a Dr. Seuss book called ‘MAYBE YOU SHOULD FLY A JET! MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE A VET!’ In school I wanted to be either a pilot or a veterinarian. Those were my two big things. I applied to join the Air Force and, much to my mother’s relief, I didn’t get accepted. I then applied to Vet School at the University of Melbourne, Australia and was accepted.

In Australia at that time, all veterinary students were required to study horses, pigs, cattle and poultry, as well as small pet animals. For the first two years after graduation, I joined a mixed animal practice in a country town treating mainly dairy cattle. It was a great way to consolidate my veterinary education but my dream was always to do surgery.

In 1991 I went to my first professional continuing education, in Sydney. While I was meant to be attending the dairy cattle lectures, I played hooky to listen to this guy from America: Dr. Stephen Withrow. He presented a week-long course on Surgical Oncology. It was a great course and proved to be very influential in my future career.

Shortly after that, my wife and I went traveling around the world, as many Australians do. We went on a three-month trip to Europe, UK, United States and Asia. We decided when we got home that we would be professionally proactive and look for different sorts of jobs. One of the positions I applied for was a veterinary clinic in Hong Kong. Two months later they said they’d like to employ me and asked if I could start in a month. We made the decision to go, realizing we were still young enough that we could always come back and start again if things did not work out. I met my boss when I got off the plane in Hong Kong, and was working the next day. What was initially a two-year contract ended up being a ten-year stay. From a professional point of view, this time allowed me to develop my surgical skills and interests. I completed a surgical residency training program at Colorado State University (2003 - 2006).

A key experience in my residency was a four-week externship in the sarcoma unit at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Seeing kids get diagnosed with the same cancers we see in dogs, made the research we do here even more relevant. After my residency, Dr. Withrow asked if I’d stay and do a research fellowship. With my interest in surgical oncology, I saw it as a way to marry my passions for orthopedic surgery and cancer surgery. Now, I’m an Assistant Professor and the Animal Cancer Center.

My daughter was recently learning about Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”. Not being afraid to take the road less traveled has been a feature of my career. There is always something new to learn every day. That is one of the main things that I enjoy about coming to work every day. I’ve found developing a career as a researcher very rewarding. I enjoy generating ideas, developing novel therapies, and being involved in brand new therapies that are cutting edge in the human and the veterinary worlds.

I have been a counselor at Sky High Hope Camp, a one-week camping holiday for children affected by cancer and their siblings for the last 2 years. It is a very special week and a really great experience. Our priority at the Animal Cancer Center is to provide the best possible care for your pet. But, the potential benefit is so much larger. In treating your pet for cancer we have this unique resource whereby we can help your pet as well as potentially help children with cancer. I find this aspect of my work very rewarding.

The CSU Animal Cancer Center is a very special place. Our interdisciplinary approach to research and the treatment of cancer is what sets us apart from other facilities. Our model is ideal in that it incorporates the three traditional arms of cancer therapy: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Additionally, at the Animal Cancer Center we focus on pain management, complementary therapies and quality of life. It’s an integrated approach to patient care.

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