Keep Yourself and Your Dogs Safe with Palladia
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: April 13th, 2021
Palladia is the first FDA-approved drug for dog cancer. It is a chemotherapy medication, and as such it is a big gun.
When I say big gun, I mean that there are side effects and issues that you need to be aware of. And some of you may have not heard this yet. Since a goal of this blog and the Dog Cancer Survival Guide is to give you important information that you may have not yet heard, let’s look at Palladia.
When you give your dog Palladia, you should wash your hands with soap and water after handling. Better yet, wear gloves. This is because a small amount of Palladia could end up inside your body if you handle the medication with bear hands. Like many chemotherapy drugs, toxicities are possible, and there is no reason to be exposed to these materials if you are not undergoing treatment yourself.
The drug insert suggest that you keep the bottle away from children. Also remember to keep the bottle away from any other medication. Sometimes medications can be confused by us grown-ups too, and drugs like these need to be kept in their own secure location.
If you are pregnant, I would not even handle Palladia due to the possible effects on developing babies. The insert says that birth defects are possible if Palladia were taken during pregnancy.
Remember to never break or crush the tablets. This is because the drug will aerosolize (become an airborne powder) and may be inhaled.
According to the manufacturer, the “waste” products of a dog taking Palladia should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal. Gloves should be worn. This is fairly strait forward for feces, but I would assume urine is a waste as well. Thus, I would consider active urinary metabolites of the drug to be possible. Same with vomited material.
For vomit, bag it wearing gloves. Urine would be tougher to collect in a bag, and skin contamination is a risk. Thus I advise irrigating the urinated area well with water. This implies that dogs on Palladia living in homes with other dogs should be walked outside, separate from the others, for elimination of waste. It would be considerate for others in the neighborhood for you to carry a jug of water to irrigate the appropriate areas, in addition to your ziplocks.
Whenever you embark on a treatment for dog cancer, be your dog’s number one health care advocate. Get the full picture, weigh your options, and create an action plan.
All my best,
Dr D
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Hi, Please check with your vet about whether Palladia is available in liquid. But keep in mind, this is a chemotherapy drug. Very potent, and protective measures must be taken with tablets, so even if you can get a liquid version, it must be prescribed by your vet and you must take extreme caution. Dosage could be very tricky as well. To ensure an exact dose in liquid is a big responsibility. Again, please go back to work with your vet on this. Palladia is not a supplement or a benign tonic. Do be careful. Good luck.
Does Palladia come in liquid form? or some way I can give it not in pill form?
Hi – I have a 7 yo Boston Terrier named Riley that was diagnosed with stage 3 MCT on his right rear leg and stage 1 MCT on his lower abdomen in May 2012. He had surgery to remove both and they were able to get clean margins. His scans were all good, but his bone marrow showed evidence of MCT. He has had 8 rounds of Vinblastin chemo and has done well. He had an abdominal scan on 9/4/12 which showed everything looks good. The oncologist would like to put him on Palladia now, but we have heard about all the bad side effects and are having some doubts. We want to do the right thing for Riley – any suggestions?
P.S. Since May we have had him on Artemisinin in evenings, Benedryl 3 Xs day, 200 mg of vit C 2xday and 200 iu’s of vit E 2 x day.
Hello Lena, my boxer Lola was diagnosed with stage 1 osteosarcoma in her lower jaw back in June of this year. Before we did anything her oncologist recommended that she do a chest x ray to check for spread and also a cat scan of the jaw to see where to direct the surgery. She said the chest x ray showed no spread of the cancer so removal of half of the lower jaw would be the best fit.
I did that and when Lola got out, she said that they got it all out, the margins were clean and there was no need for chemo. I was very worried about not doing chemo but she said that her and a group of 4 other doctors all felt the same. She got an infection about 2 months later and had to be rushed in where they treated her with a strong dose of antibiotic etc. She recovered and has been fine since, eating well, drinking, full of energy and life.
The Dr did no follow up with any blood-work, a chest x ray or bone scan as it’s mentioned on so may sites. This has a high incidence of spread and I am shocked by her lack of follow up with such a serious cancer. She said see you in 6 months for a chest x ray just to be sure, so that;s what I did. I took her in last night for her 6 month follow up and had a chest x ray done. The dr said her lymph nodes felt good and were not swollen and the surgery site looked wonderful. She came out from the chest x ray and sai there were 3 concerning spots on her lungs. I immediately froze and said but you told me not to do the chemo. She said I would have made the same decision based on what we knew of the tumor then.
I confirmed that she now has mets on the lungs there are 5 small spots. Her oncologist yeserday reccomended the use of Palladia. I know Palladia is for mast cell tumnors and I’m not sure if I shoukld try this or not with the Osteosarcoma. All of her bloodwork came back good so they say we can try but I feel as if it prob won’t work. right now she is lively and vibrant and i hate to ruin her spirit and make her sick for no reason Any help would be appreciated. thanks
Do you know of any stats relating to recurrence of palatine fibrosarcoma in a 3 yo Golden Retriever after a hemimaxillectomy, 19 doses of radiation, and 6 courses of adriamycin. So far, chest rads have been negative, though we are doing a CT scan and repeat CXR in 3 weeks to determine the next direction to go. Cytoxan +/- Palladia have been suggested. He has tolerated all of the treatments well, with blood levels returning quickly to normal after adriamycin dosage. Thanks for any suggestions.
Hello:
I have a 7 year old lab who is going through MCT’s. In Jan he had one mass removed from his throat and that came to be high grade 2 so we started chemo. Chemo went well for 7 out of 10 sessions and then lymph node had to be removed and contained MCT.
So we started PAlladia. He had 2 visible masses out of which one dissapeared completely and second reduced significantly but we have to stop palladia due to side effects. Now he has Anemia so am giving me sulcrate. They are saying if he does react blood transfussion will be necessary. I am not sure of that is it worth it so I can give him MAstivet?
Dear SRC,
it seems masivet (Kinavet) would be a logical consideration once the GI issues are dealt with. I would not hesitate to bring this up with your oncologist or vet (and if you have not seen an oncologist, I would do so). Don’t forget about the other things that can help a dog- diet, apoptogens, immune support, and in this case, possibly yunnan baiyao. Make all steps under veterinary supervision. It seems reading the Guide would be a good step if you have not.
Best,
Dr D
Hello!! My name is Cece and my 10 year pomeranian has a MCT stage 2, unfortunatelly at this point surgery or chemotherapy would cost alot and financially cannot afford it, Julliet showed signs of a lump almost 2 years ago on her right elbow (behind her right leg) and the lump has been there all this time, she hasn’t showed any signs of pain or discomfort, she still her happy go lucky self and I’m wondering what can I do to give her the best quality of life possible without the Chemo?? or what kind of medication can I give her so we can manage to keep it under control.. I will appreciate your input regarding this matter, Thanks.
Sincerely,
Cecilia Dogru
I, too have a dog with osteosarcoma (rib) who was recently prescibed Palladia. Eight weeks ago the tumor, part of her lung, and 2 ribs were removed (at which time there was no evidence of lung metastasis). She had one carboplatin and one adriamycin treatment. Just this week x-rays show a lung nodule and regrowth of the original tumor. We stopped the IV chemotherapy; the revised treatment plan is now cytoxan and palladia alternating every other day, with doxycycline and previcox every day. I also have ordered artemisinin and K-9 immunity and plan to start those. The side effects of Palladia seem pretty common (and wicked!) and given that I can’t find any mention of this drug being useful in osteosarcoma, I’m not sure if I should use it or just use cytoxan every day. Also, not sure if the supplements are safe with chemo drugs?
Time is running out, what we have already tried has not worked, and I am hoping to make the best treatment decisions possible moving forward. Your input would be greatly appreciated… Thank you.
Our 13 years, 4 months labrador retriever developed an osteogenic sarcoma, telangiectatic subtype in his left hindlimb, proximal tibia. While wating for the appointment with the oncologyst it fractured and had an amputation. The osteosarcoma developed just beneath the site of a previously irradiated cutaneous mast cell tumor ( about 4.5 years ago)
X-rays show some nodules in the lungs, ultrasound shows maybe (not sure about this one) some nodules in the spleen. Lab tests are ok.
After surgery he is doing very good, continues eating, chewing his toys and going out to enjoy the wind, birds, etc (he needs help to standing up and walk but it seems ok to him ( I’ve been feeding him with raw food for years, and supplements, I already bought your book and will start with the supplements you recommend)
The thing is that the two oncologyst have different opinions, and we, who don’t know about medicine have to take a medical decision.
One oncologyst suggested to start with Carboplaxin, then doxorubicin. If that doesn’t work Palladia.
The other one, suggested Palladia, which is for mast cell tumors but she says is showing some succes for osteosarcoma with metastasis. She says that Carboplaxin and Doxorubicin are not so effective if there are already metastasis.
Now in your book I find something really interesting about IL-2 and Artemisin.
What is your recommendation?
Thank you for listening
thank you Dr D.
I just received good news on marcey’s latest stain kit 🙂
I am very very greatful that my veterinarian is also a good personal friend of mine. He is an amazing surgeon and so damn smart!
I am also very very greatful that I found YOU and bought your book!