It is used to a great extent, and some use it for dog cancer treatment.  Let’s look at this a little closer.

Many are familiar with the old saying, “First, do no harm.”  This is the translation of the original latin, primum non nocere.  Some believe it to be part of the Hippocratic oath, but the saying probably was coined by a French doctor alive during the 1700’s and 1800’s.

When we are coping with a canine cancer diagnosis, primum non nocere takes on a whole new meaning, in particular in the realm of conventional care.  Side effects are more concerning in cancer medicine than in almost any other branch of traditional medicine.

We must remember though that the so-called “natural” treatments also have side effects.  This should be a critical aspect of selecting which are used, and how, and when.

When I was evaluating Apocaps, a big part of the development was safety. Regular blood tests were done investigating 28 dogs over time to make sure all the internal organs were healthy.  This type of consideration is important for a loved family member.

Now, when making the choice to use an intervention, I am hoping that the reader will want information.  Being your dog’s primary health advocate means that you are in the driver’s seat, that you must take an active role with your veterinarian or oncologist in creating a plan for your loved dog.

Now, at the risk of offending some, I feel that we should really look at the use of Essiac before charging into it. I have yet to see an “in vivo” study (in real life bodies, not in test tubes or petri dishes) that really show that Essiac does something real.

Okay, I will admit that not everything that works has an official clinical trial to back it up.  But what if there is a published study suggesting it may do harm?

This is the case with Essiac.  There is actually a study in rats that suggests that Essiac may literally increase the risk (promote growth) of breast cancer. Here is the abstract for you to read yourself.

Ouch!  This is not what I would reach for in treating a dog with cancer, personally speaking.  It just gives me the heebie jeebies that this data exists.  Seriously, it is like giving an antibiotic that may actually be a capsule with germs in it.  Granted, I am sure there are many examples where the patient did not have tumor growth, but non the less I would not want to risk worsening anything without clear, definite advantages to the choice.

So that’s the scoop on Essiac for now. For more information on aspects like this, check out the Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Best,

Dr D

One of the approaches used to help these cancers are certain chemotherapy drugs. These drugs interfere with an enzyme that is a central player in inflammation in the body.  Read the science here. And here. The enzyme is called COX-2.

Now, we are always looking for options to get better successes in the field of dog cancer.  If we can access a treatment that helps more than the old one, why not consider it?  Since we have not yet found the cure, we are engaged in the search for something better.

Well, guess what. Sometimes good old mother nature already has the answer.  And this answer may already be known in one way or another, by millions of people.

What am I talking about?  I would say there are millions of people who eat curry.  Maybe even hundreds of millions or billions, I don’t know.  At any rate, the stuff in traditional curry that makes it yellow is called turmeric.  Turmeric contains a molecule called curcumin.

This stuff has the ability to inhibit COX-2.

Well, that is pretty nice!  And guess what else?  For all intents and purposes, curcumin is not toxic. Humans eat up to 8 grams a day with no adverse effects (that’s a lot folks, we are talking horse pills).  And to top it off, it is nice for us humans to be the guinea pigs for dogs, and not the other way around for a change!

In real bodies, curcumin was shown to block a process called angiogenesis.  Read more here.  This process is used in tumors to make the body branch new blood vessels in the direction of the cancer.  This  provides a food source pipeline for tumors and helps the tumors spread (metastasis).

This stuff has also slowed tumor growth and metastasis in real bodies.  For real back-up, read this abstract.

How to get curcumin?  One easy source is upcoming Apocaps, a combination nutraceutical. You can also find it by itself online mixed with bromelain. If you are using it by itself (not in Apocaps), a dosing protocol would be about 200 mg for a 50 lb dog, given three times a day.

Here is some published literature on this exciting topic.

One of the limitations with curcumin is that it is not that well absorbed into the blood after being taken by mouth.  We would like benefits with cancers elsewhere in the body too, not just lining the stomach and intestines.

For example, squamous cell carcinomas, lipomas, liposarcomas, and fibrosarcomas seem to do pretty well with curcumin supplementation, but the stuff has to get in the bloodstream.

There are way to deal with this.  You can combine it with lecithin, a gooey foodstuff that can be bought online.  I will say it is a bit of a nuisance to give since curcumin stains everything it touches bright yellow.  But that is a way to boost blood levels.  You don’t have to do this with Apocaps by the way.

So the weight of evidence points to curcumin’s usefulness.  How about side effects?

Well, the data on this is small.  If your dog is already using drugs that inhibit the same enzymes as curcumin does, certain steps should be taken under veterinary supervision.  I suggest lowering the dose of these meds by about 50-75% for most dogs.  They include Metacam, Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Prixocam, Etogesic, Previcoxx, and so on.

If your dog is on corticosteroids like prednisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone or dexamethasone, the same advice holds.

If your dog has ulcers, or has problems with the gall bladder, you should probably avoid it to be safe, even though the risks are not high there will be a problem.

Definitely talk to your vet before starting any treatment plan for your dog.

If you would like to read more about curcumin for your dog and similar topics, check out the The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Best to all,

Dr D

Like many dog lovers, they had heard that dogs could get cancer.  Sure.  Dogs can get the same diseases as people, right?  However, for the last 7 years of life with Amber, nobody had mentioned the single most important risk to health and well-being a dog can experience:  cancer.

Did Amber’s vet ever mention it?  Nope.  And Amber’s humans travel a lot, which forces them to have multiple vets in different locations.  Not once over 7 years.

I recently heard the head of one of the premier veterinary cancer centers in the world say that cancer is the leading cause of death “by disease” in dogs.

Well, sort of, but not really.  Cancer tops death due to disease as well as death caused by trauma, toxin, malformation, drug reactions,  malnutrition,  and more.

By some strange twist of the psyche,  neither dog lovers nor vets seem to know the facts surrounding this sleeping giant.

Based on data from the Morris Animal Foundation, it is estimated that one in four dogs succumb to cancer.  At this rate, I calculated the total number of dog cancer deaths in this country on a daily basis to be more than 4,200.  Every day.

I overheard a veterinary professional say that cancer is not an epidemic.  Really? Say we are conservative, and we estimate  50-60 dog cancer deaths per state daily.  If there were any other disease doing this, we would say it is an epidemic.

This makes bird or swine flu look like a silly distraction.

So it is no wonder that dog lovers are bowled over when they receive a dog cancer diagnosis.  It is no wonder that  people feel like their world just turned inside out and upside down.

What is the solution?  Step one: education, education, education.  Dog lovers need to be brought up to speed on what the reality is, and it sure seems like vets do as well.

Truly, a number of years back, I didn’t know either.  But then it clicked: it was odd that so many dogs  (of all ages) with tumors were walking through my hospital doors.

I recall that I was reminded of a movie where there is some bizarre alien invasion inhabiting bodies or something.  Very creepy.  The really scary thing is that it is not a movie, it is reality.

So I spent countless months poring over data, getting a handle on what was going on.  This ended up being the first third  of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.  This was also the genesis of this blog, which is here to to help spread the word about this epidemic.

Best,

Dr D

This cancer involves a certain type of white blood cell, the lymphocyte.  Most have heard that white blood cells are an important part of the immune system.  It turns out there is more to the story.

White blood cells are involved not only in protecting the body from microbes, but also in wound healing, foreign material removal, and cancer cell surveillance.

So what makes lympho different?  Well, the cancer cells in this case are deranged white blood cells, usually grouped into T or B lymphocytes.  These white blood cells have certain mutations in their DNA that allows them to outlive their usual lifespan.

At the end of a cell’s life, or if it gets damaged, infected or somehow deranged, there are genes in the DNA that should turn on.  These genes start the signal for an amazing process called apoptosis.

Apoptosis is the normal end-of-life stage where a cell says, “Well, I’m not doing the body any good anymore,” and quietly, peacefully, dismantles itself.

Cancer cells have mutations that block the normal process of apoptosis.

Anyway, often what happens is the cancer cells continue to life and divide, creating tumors.  One can have tumors in almost any organ.  Many have heart of phrases like “pancreatic cancer” or “brain cancer”.  In cases like this, there is usually one or more tumor in the organ.

Sometimes the first tumor will send off other cells to distant sites, far away from the body.  The cells leave the tumor, go into the circulation, and set up shop elsewhere.  This is called metastasis.

What makes lympho different is that this cancer starts in the circulation.  Since these are basically white blood cells without normal apoptosis, they are already there.  There is no metastasis per se.

Why does this matter?  With lympho,  there is usually no primary tumor in some organ.  This means that the number one weapon we have, surgery, is usually not useful with this cancer.  This is very different from some cancers, where surgical removal might be able to cure the cancer, assuming no metastasis.

If there is a silver lining, and I will admit it is maybe closer to a grayish lining, it is this:  lympho has the highest chemotherapy success rates of any cancer. More respond, and more live longer, than any other cancer treated by conventional therapy.

If you would like to learn more about ways to get a leading edge on canine lymphosarcoma, you will be interested in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

All my best,

Dr D

We humans are very good at deciding that we should do.  The problem is that many times we sort of lose track of this focus, and don’t totally follow through.

This is a very important issue when it comes to a Full Spectrum Dog Cancer Plan.  I talk about all the components of a plan like this in the Guide.  There really is quite a lot you can do to create better days for your dog.

The first thing I discuss in the Guide is how to clear your head so you feel a little better and can be more effective in helping your dog.  This takes a little bit of time, every day, for about 3 days.

Once accomplished, you will have more attention to gather data.  Facts are facts, and getting all of them (prognosis, survival times, treatments versus life quality and more) are a big second step.

Next, we are faced with treatment plan analysis.  Age, life expectancy, and personal ethics related to your four legged family member are all factored in to the choice of treatment plans.

Treatment plan analysis takes time, and these days it seems like there is a shortage of time.

Then there are the treatments themselves.  We have the conventional therapies: surgery, chemo and radiation.  We have diet to prepare and purchase.  There are supplements to get and give.

Treatments take time and attention too, and sometimes we can come up against conflicts in daily life.  Don’t our jobs need time?  How about family?  Is there any personal time left over? Are our hobbies allowed while dealing with canine cancer?

Now back to our Full Spectrum Plan: don’t forget the whole gamut of life quality enhancers shown to help cancer patients: increasing doggy social relationships, touch therapies like massage or T-touch, acupuncture, self-esteem boosting, novel experiences, and so on.  These take time too!

The key in all of this is an old idea: leverage.  In a day, there are so many different things that demand our attention. How in the world can we do it all?  Well, leverage tells us it is possible to exert brief, targeted efforts to great benefit.

With just a little discipline, we can fit everything we need into the day.  There are just a few tools that might help.  They might sound a little hokey, but they work.  I speak from experience. These tools make it possible to do about 50-100% more in a given day.

First:  get a little notebook.  Write down what you do in 24 hours.  Also note how long you do it (from when to when),  each day for about 4 days.  You will need a time keeping device like a watch or a cell  phone.

Second: review it. Upon reviewing you will be amazed how many hours are spent doing things that don’t seem to relate to your goals.

Third: define your goals in your life.  In this case, your goals will include time allocated daily to your Full Spectrum Care plan.  Other goals could be working out, spending family time, learning a new skill, getting your office organized, calling your friends, prayer, getting your care fixed and so on.

Fourth: rank your goals. Next to each one, number it appropriately.

Five: look back at your little notebook and be amazed.  There is actually some extra time to accomplish what you need to!

Six:  make a new schedule.  Put activities to achieve your top two or three goals in this schedule.  Care for your loved dog will be in this list. This time will replace the time previously spent doing things that did not accomplish your top goals.

Seven: use your time keeping device to set alarms.  This keeps you honest.  If, at 7:45, it is time for a dog massage right before going to work, your alarm beeps. Set the alarm for the next high priority goal time. Now give your dog a massage!

Hope this helps,

Dr D

A newer drug is being used frequently lately, and I would like to make sure everyone dealing with a canine cancer diagnosis has heard of it.  This medication may help some dogs out there, so let’s keep everyone up to date.

The drug is mirtazapine, also called Remeron.

The medication is a very effective appetite stimulant.  This is particularly useful in cases of canine cancer, especially if either chemotherapy or the cancer itself is causing a loss of appetite.

On top of this, it helps with nausea and vomiting, and helps block spasm of the muscular wall of the stomach and intestine.  This is useful as it not only improves nutrition by keeping food down, but on top of that, alleviation of vomiting is a major life quality positive.

But there’s more.  Mirtazapine has a neat little antihistamine effect.  Dogs with mast cell tumor cells in the body often have histamine excess, since the tumor cells secrete histamine.  Too much histamine is not good for the body, causing swelling, redness, discomfort, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and even low blood pressure. This makes mirtazapine very well suited for some dogs with mast cell tumors.

Finally, this medication is an antidepressant.  Although there is little talk of canine depression’s link to cancer, there are some documented links in human medicine.  In my opinion, the same reasoning may be applied to dogs, being sentient beings with happiness and sorrows like ours.

Mirtazapine was originally designed and intended for use in people for its antidepressant effect.  However, in veterinary cancer care, we take advantage of mirtazapine’s effects on fighting nausea and helping with appetite. The effects on mood and anxiety are a bonus!

Mirtazapine works by increasing two chemicals in the body, serotonin and norepinephrine.  A few other drugs also increase the levels of serotonin in the body.  If these effects add up, a reaction can occur.  Some other drugs that may significantly  increase serotinin levels are Prozac (fluoxetine), Anipryl (selegeline), and Elavil (amitriptyline).  You should double check with your veterinarian if your dog is on these drugs already, and you have a prescription for mirtazapine.

For more information on topics like this, check out The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Best,

Dr D

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

This has not been good news for our dogs.  The success rates (due to surgical techniques, mainly) for dealing with human prostate cancer are much better than for dogs.

However those of you who are close to a veterinary school or referral center may be able to take advantage of radiation therapy for prostate cancers of different kinds.  This can help, so read on.

One specific kind of radiation therapy is during an operation, where the prostate cancer is exposed surgically.  This allows the beam to really contact the tumor.  This treatment is called intraoperative radiation.

A study was done looking at this procedure and its success rates. Here is the abstract if you are interested.

What are the facts?  As usual, we need these as a critical part of our treatment plan analysis.

Analyzing a treatment plan before starting, or upon re-assessment, is a major part of being your dog’s primary health advocate.  This is a big topic in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.  Since there is no cure (yet) for cancer, there is no “correct” way to treat many cancers in dogs.  Thus, we must gather and weigh information, including our own values and judgments.

About half the dogs receiving intraoperative radiation for the prostate cancer enjoyed a complete remission, which lasted about 6 months.  In the world of Hard-To-Cure cancers, as tough as it is to accept, this is not that bad.

The complications of radiation in this area included inflammation of the colon (colitis), which occurs in a little over half the dogs. Roughly one fifth of the dogs that received pelvic radiation ended up with a hole in the colon (perforation).  These numbers were taken from another study looking at radiation in the pelvic area (which is where the prostate gland lives).

This is pretty nasty, but the majority (about four out of five) dogs did not develop a hole in their colon.  So the odds are still decent.  You should also realize that many of the dogs in the safety study had a  radiation potentiator (a special sponge with cisplatin in it)  implanted at the surgery site, so these stats are not just for strict radiation only. This sponge usually helps increase survival times.

However, I will point out that a perforation of the colon would require a second surgery, and for many dog lovers dealing with this particular case that might be too much for their loved dogs. This should be considered.

Here is the study on these complications.

Since prostate cancer is a tough one, I hope that this information may help as a part of a Full Spectrum Approach to dog cancer.

Best,

Dr D

being happy and at the same time time coping with canine cancer.

Since so much of humanity’s attention is on the pursuit of this commodity (happiness), let’s spend a little more time on it.  One of the previous points made was that it can seem like a betrayal to a loyal dog to allow ourselves the luxury of being happy during this life or death fight.  However, after doing what you need to to experience what comes up,  everyone wins if you can release ongoing sadness.

You will be a more effective advocate for your dog’s health. You competence will increase. You will change the mood and the environment in which your dog lives to make it a more healing one.  You will help your dog, yourself, and others by letting go of chronic sadness.

The age-old saying, “Fake it until you make it,” although it is tired and worn out, is still good wisdom.  In our context, this means using our own backbones (willpower) to literally create some happiness out of thin air.

An interesting article showed that smiling after a distressing experience is a positive coping mechanism.  Sound corny?  Well, I agree.  However, I will say that if one deliberately smiles in the mornings using will power, and allow the feelings naturally arise from the expression,  some very interesting positive  effects are produced.  If a person makes this a practice using willed repetition, the changes can be long lasting.

Simply smiling, for no apparent reason, can be a little salve for life’s abrasions.  Try it for yourself if you are skeptical.  But give it a real try.  Fake smiles don’t work on others or on ourselves.

Having a hard time with that?  Try making a deliberate effort to be around other people. Laughter is 36 times more likely to occur in the presence of someone else.

Don’t believe it?  Well, for what it is worth, the same phenomenon occurs in a favorite of scientists, the rat.

Rats product a very high chirping noise that occurs during behaviors that appear to be playful, and not during times when they are showing more fear.  They make these noises much more commonly in the presence of other rats than they do by themselves.

It has been found that there is a lot of overlap in brain circuitry when someone is experiencing happiness or sadness.  That is, a lot of the brain’s activity is the same.  So it makes sense to say, on a nuts and bolts level anyway, that happiness and sadness are not really opposites at all.

More importantly, the take home message is that you can feel happy while you are also feeling sad.  Not only are you allowed to do it, it is wired into your hardware.

If you are intrigued by the possibilities this raises, you may want to read the first couple of chapters in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Best to all,

Dr D

Why not?  Dealing with a dog cancer diagnosis can be the most challenging and daunting task faced in some one’s life.  During this time it can be quite a struggle to be happy.  The sadness, frustration and sinking feelings can overwhelm anyone.

On a basic level, you are reading this post because you would like to be more happy.  Whether looking for data to help your dog or for any other reason, the bottom line is goal is happiness accrual.  I could write about hemangiosarcoma, lymphosarcoma, or mast cell tumors.

But on a much deeper level, really the currency we are most interested in is happiness.

So let’s look at this subject in more detail, since it is, for all of us, centrally important.  And for someone in the trenches of dog cancer, it is a topic that can be overshadowed by medication, prognosis, and quality of life considerations.

Many of us feel that happiness during the time we are helping a canine family member during cancer is not appropriate.  It can feel like a betrayal to our loved dog.  Be happy when our four legged companion is in a fight for life? Are you kidding?

No, it really seems like it is in poor taste to be laughing and smiling when your most loyal, trusted companion is struggling with a killing disease.  How dare I suggest this?  What is wrong with me?  Am I totally insensitive and devoid of respect for the bond between beings?

Well, hang on a minute.  Let’s back up and contemplate this.  It is really wrong?  How much does your ongoing sadness actually help your dog?  How much does chronic sadness help you?

Dale Carnegie pointed out that some people will cling to emotions for prolonged periods, in some cases incapacitating themselves and those around them for years.

When is an acceptance and release of the sadness allowed?

Nobody is saying that one should not experience the trauma and sadness that is a natural reaction to one of life’s most overwhelming experiences.  But, once the anguish has been experienced, how long are we to carry it around?  That is the key point.

How long are we to hang on to the sadness?

Can we let it go even while our dear one is still in the fight for life?

I would like to reiterate a question:  how much does your ongoing sadness help your dog?

Does it make you more competent? Does it make you more resourceful? Does it create an effect in your dog that is healing, restoring, calming, and reassuring?

I think after considering this question deliberately, the answer will surface. The answer is, of course, no.

Again, experience what is there in whatever way is natural for you.  But will you allow chronic sadness to be a second disease that you and your dog must face together?

Perhaps allowing ourselves to more quickly experience happiness again, even while on the path of canine cancer, could help everyone involved, especially our dogs.

For more on techniques to increase feelings of happiness even while enduring canine cancer, you may be interested in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.

Best to all,

Dr D