Cassandra Prpich, BVSc, MANZCVS (SAIM), DACVS-SA, ACVS Fellow, Surgical Oncology wasborn and raised in Melbourne, Australia. She attended the University of Melbourne, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in veterinary science, graduating on the Dean’s Honors list in 2008. 

She completed a 12-month small animal surgery internship at Southpaws in Melbourne,Australia followed by a small animal rotating internship in a busy referral hospital in Melbourne. In 2013, she completed a three-year residency program in small animal surgery at Southpaws.

While completing her surgical residency in a very busy private practice setting, she also satexaminations for and achieved membership to the Australian College of Veterinary ScientistsInternal Medicine Chapter in 2012. She is one of only three Australian surgeons to haveachieved this, which demonstrates her dedication to providing the very best care to all of her patients. Dr. Prpich then became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in February 2014 after passing the examination on her first attempt. 

Having been trained by an excellent surgical oncologist during her residency, Dr. Prpich gained a true passion for surgical oncology. She applied for and was accepted into the prestigious one-year surgical oncology fellowship at Colorado State University, which she completed in June 2015. 

There are fewer than 50 practicing specialist veterinary surgeons globally with this level of expertise and training in surgical oncology. Dr. Prpich regularly gives continuing education lectures to referring veterinarians and has published and co-authored numerous journal articles. She is also an author of the Veterinary Surgical Oncology textbook. 

Dr. Prpich served as the Medical Director for three years, as well as the Hospital Director for one year, before deciding to focus on helping tobuild the Pet Cancer Center at CASE. She is the Head of the Surgical Oncology department,and receives referrals from all over Colorado and the surrounding states. Dr. Prpich ispassionate about educating her clients about different disease processes so that they can fullyunderstand all of the treatment options available. While Dr. Prpich now focuses on surgical oncology, she can still be requested to perform other soft tissue surgeries. 

When Dr. Prpich is not at work, she enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her husband, two dogs, and two kids. She is an avid snowboarder and enjoys camping, hiking, water sports and competing in triathlons.