Get Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Diet FREE Healthy dogs should have early detection cancer screens. The reason for this is that veterinarians often fail to eradicate cancer in a given dog. The fact that cancer is the single number one cause of dog death should make this clear.
If you have a dog of about 10 years of age or more, statistics show that this dog will have a 40-50% chance of dying of cancer. This is scary data!!
The problem is that we (veterinarians like myself) are lagging behind in our recommendations. By the time a dog develops cancer to the point where there are visible signs, we are often too late to do anything of benefit using conventional veterinary care.
Certain breeds are more at risk for cancers than others. Common examples that come to mind are the Golden Retriever, Rottweiler, Scottish Terrier, Boxer, Mastiff, Burnese Mountain Dog, Cocker, Labrador Retriever, Pug, Sharpei, Greyhound, Flat Coated Retriever, Chow, Collie, Irish Wolfhound, and American Bulldog, just to name a few.
Mixed breed dogs, as well as other breeds, get cancer too.
We really need to get involved doing early cancer screening. Sadly, blood testing for dog cancers is way behind that of human medicine. There is, however, a lymphoma test put out by Pet Screen which is a good quality test that would be worth considering in older dogs prone to lymphoma like the Golden, Cocker, Lab, or Boxer. Veterinarians and dog lovers need to team up to make sure the test results are interpreted accurately. Talk to your vet about getting new information on this new technology.
Scotties are 18 times prone to transitional cell carcinoma than other breeds. Senior Scotties could benefit from a urine test called the Veterinary Bladder Tumor Antigen (v-TBA). Although this test is a bit tricky to interpret if positive, a negative test result is usually accurate and reliable. That means a negative v-TBA is usually real, but a positive v-TBA may be false.
We really should be using the ultrasound to check the abdomen of these at-risk dogs on a regular basis. This is a harmless tool that emits sound waves to produce an image. Most have seen ultrasound images of a developing child during pregnancy.
This tool can look at the liver, spleen, kidneys, bladder, prostate (in males), lymph nodes, and more. It is a great way to scan the inner world of a dog, giving information that neither a physical exam or an X-ray could.
General blood work and urine testing is a good idea in senior dogs to screen for overall health.
The Dog Cancer Survival Guide discusses these topics in more detail.
At this point in the development of our profession, it is high time we vets start pushing for early cancer detection. Don’t be afraid to bring this topic up to your veterinarian, and be your dog’s number one health advocate!
Best to all,
Dr Dressler
About the Author
Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM is known as the "dog cancer vet" and is author of Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Beyond Surgery, Chemotherapy & Radiation. Visit his blog and sign up free to get the latest information about canine cancer. Go to http://DogCancerBlog.com.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I would like to say that my Standard Poodle had a Lymphoma test when he was 7 years old and it was negative. Now, in 2009 he was diagnosed with an Agressive giant cell sarcoma which was removed surgically. The veterinarians wanted him to have chemo and radiotherapy. I decided against this and went down the homeopathic route instead. Well, 3 months on his treatment and the regrowth of his tumour has shrunk away in front of my eyes. He is well, full of energy and there is noting concerning me about his health. He has also gone onto a raw meat and veg diet with added aloe vera and vit.C. My homeopathic veterinarian is well pleased and so am I. This to me proves without doubt that homeopathy works and works well!! Regards Lisbeth Gjetnes
What is the homeopathic regimen you are using? My 10 year old poodle has had two major MCT surgeries in his inguinal area, palladia until it quit working and on Nov. 18, 2009 he was dismissed by the Oncologist supplying the palladia.
We have been on our own regimen since then since our regular Vet. told us to take him home keep him comfortable. We are following recommendations made by Dr. Dressler in his book and it appears we are making some progress, however he faces a tough road. He still has a healthy appetite, interested in his surroundings and environment and is very alert.
Dear Fred,
you may want to contact Dr. Albert Ahn at AB Sciences in New Jersey to get your vet involved with the compassionate use program for masitinib, which is a pre-FDA approval medication for mast cell tumors…
Best,
Dr D
Dear Lisbeth,
Would you like to share the homeopathic route used in this successful story for the other readers?
Best,
Dr D
I’d be very interested to hear Lisbeth’s homeopathic regimen, too. My 9 year old yellow Lab is currently undergoing chemotherapy for a large MCT on his left foot which has spread into his lymphnodes. He’s doing the vinblastine CCNU (Lomustine) protocol. The tumor on his foot has all but disappeared. But, his white cells are down (likely due to the CCNU). Thanks!
My 7 year old hound mix, Mary, was diagnosed w/ Lymphoma back in July and just finished chemo last month. I have learned that a raw diet can be dangerous for animals undergoing chemo- because of the risk of a lowered white blood cell count- they’re more prone to infection. Look for GRAIN-FREE dog foods and treats (cancer feeds on carbs and sugars)!
btw: The vet told us that Mary handled chemo better than any dog they’d ever treated- and I truly believe it was because of the supplements we gave her in addition to everything else- fish oil (of course) and -tada!- COLOSTRUM! We started our dog on a colostrum supplement called Transfer Factor- it’s a blend of colostrum & herbs that help strengthen your immune system. A friend of ours used to have terrible health problems and after taking this stuff- had both her regular doctor and her holistic doctor convinced. They began recommending it to practically all of their patients! That’s how we found out about it- then, we asked our vet what she thought about it and she said it couldn’t hurt if we wanted to give it a try. So we gave Mary 4-6 TF capsules every day for several months until we couldn’t afford it anymore (it’s pricey!), then put her on a (cheaper) straight up colostrum about 2 months ago- it doesn’t have the added herbs, but we figure it’s better than nothing. Anywhos- this stuff really seems to help! After we put her on it, we noticed her energy levels went up- and even better- her white blood cell count was excellent- and stayed excellent throughout the duration of treatment. Even w/ treatment being over, we still give her 4 colostrums a day and 3 fish oil pills, just in case. I’ll let you know if she beats the odds and makes it longer than the 1 year they quoted us- I really, truly believe she will.
We’re very interested in Lisbeth’s homeopathic regimen as well! We’ve just had a hemangiopericytoma removed from our Golden/Chow mix and have decided to hold off on radiation for the moment in favor of pursuing a whole food diet integrated with supplements – some from Dr. Dressler’s book and some from an integrative vet specializing in Chinese medicine.
I’m very interested to hear what worked for her – so that we possibly have other options to consider!