Get Dr. Dressler's Dog Cancer Diet FREE The problem with chemotherapy, at least traditional drugs, is that it does not always target just the cancer cells. What I mean by that is the chemo drug may not care if it shuts down a dividing body cell or a dividing cancer cell.
Chemotherapy drugs tend, with some exceptions, to go after cells that divide. True, cancer cells, by their nature, are continually dividing much faster than body cells. They have no normal end-of-life stage (apoptosis) leading to healthy cell replacement. So it would be seem logical to target dividing cells if one were to try to hit cancer cells but not body cells. This has been the traditional strategy.
Cyclophosphamide, Lomustine (CCNU), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine (Oncovin), prednisone, and more all are targeted in this way. There are many other ways that chemo drugs work and they have their own side effects, but these are very common.
However, the body does have normal (non-cancerous) cells that divide faster than other normal cells and are affected by chemo drugs. These fast dividers are located mostly in the lining of the stomach and the intestine, and in the bone marrow.
When dividing cells lining the stomach and intestine are injured, it causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, ulcerations, bleeding, and low energy levels. This is what accounts for some of the adverse chemo reactions.
If the cells in the bone marrow are suppressed, the number of cells that come from the bone marrow drop. These cells are the red and white blood cells, and the platelets. If those cells go down, we see anemia, risk of infection, bleeding tendencies, low energy levels, and loss of appetite.
There are supplements that can be used that may help with these problems. These are covered in detail in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide and I have posted on them as well.
I will be presenting on this topic (what you need to know about chemo and how to lessen reactions) in this Sunday’s webinar. It will be recorded if you are unable to listen live.
Beta glucans are found in several supplements. These supplements can help with the low white blood cell levels and low energy levels, as does Astralagus. Cimetidine and ginger can help with nausea and loss of appetite.
Please check with your veterinarian when making medical decisions for your loved dog.
Best to all,
Dr D
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.
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From Cassie and Joanne (Canada)
Hi Dr. D,
Have written to you quite a few times but I just thought that I would write and let you know that after one year our Cassie is still CANCER FREE. She had a mast cell tumor on her hock that could not be removed completely unless it meant taking off part of her leg so we opted for Chemo. This certainly did the trick so far. The Vet is amazed at her progress. There is not one hint of cancer at all. We thank our higher power every day for this. You were also talking about diet for the dog with Cancer. I give Cassie a food called Holistic Blend. I do not know if it is available in the US or not. It has no animal by-products, poultry fat, BHT,BHA,Ethoxyquin, corn, wheat, sugar, salt, beet pulp, soya, growth hormones or antibiotics. It contains lamb meal, brown rice, amaranth, barley, salmon, flax seed, alfalfa, cranberries, garlic, yucca, cinnamon and rosemary. We also give her flax seed, natural yogourt, dog immune, omega 3-6-9 and acidophilus with bifidus & FOS ( 4 billion active cells). This has proved to be a successful diet for Cassie and maybe would be good for some of your subscribers dogs. I guess the only thing that could be considered over cooked is the Chicken Tenders for treats that she gets. But, they are 100% natural and contain Chondroitin & Glucosamine. They are made by VitaLife and we get them at PetSmart. Quite expensive but worth it. Hope that this has given you some insight to other things that work for a dog with Cancer for their diet.
Cassie and Joanne
Dear Joanne,
this is great news. Thank you for the wonderful update!
Dr D