Neoplasene as a Dog Cancer Treatment
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: May 24th, 2020
I received a question recently asking if I had heard of Neoplasene, so I thought I should post about it.
Neoplasene is derived from bloodroot, an old herb used by native Americans. The stuff works but can be a bit much for an average dog lover to deal with. Read on.
It is delivered to the dog cancer patient in a salve that is rubbed on the tumor, or pills, or can be injected in the vein or around the tumor.
It is different from so-called “black salve”, as Neoplasene is a specific extract of bloodroot, not the whole herb. Only certain components of the plant are used.
There are a variety of successes documented, especially with tumors of the skin like fiborsarcomas, mast cell tumors, mammary tumors, and others.
Neoplasene is for use under veterinary supervision only. This is a good call by the makers of the product (Buck Mountain Botanicals). The reason for this is, when the ointment is applied to the tumor on the skin, the tumor cells start to die.
When the tumor cells die, the tissue tends to slough off. A hole is left which needs medical attention. This hole can be pretty big, especially if the tumor was on the larger side. Sometimes the defect produced after large sloughs can go down to the bone. Kind of heavy-duty for some dog lovers.
For more helpful tools and information, get a copy of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide
Other factors need to be considered before using Neoplasene. One is that your dog must not lick the ointment. An Elizabethan collar may be needed, sometimes for a long time. Another issue is the wound may need twice daily care. Finally, there can be pain or discomfort after application or use of Neoplasene, which may require the use of prescription strength pain control medication, in some cases.
Like many tools in medicine, we need to consider all the pros and cons of this treatment. For some dogs with cancer and those who love them, it may be a great match, but not necessarily for all.
I hope this information is helpful. For more outside the box ways to deal with canine cancer, check out the dog cancer e-book, The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, Beyond Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Surgery.
Best to all,
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.
Dear Dr D,
My 4 yr old Neopolitan/English Mastiff cross, Napoleon, started oozing bloody mucus from his right nostril a little over a month ago so I took him in and had him scoped. The vet said that there was too much blood and mucus even after several flushings to be able to see what was going on up there.(if it was a tumor or foreign body). He also did an xray of a broken tooth to see if it had abscessed but it wasn’t. He started him on antibiotics and had taken a sample for a slide but I wasn’t able to afford to send it to the lab at that time. About 2 weeks after he finished the antibiotics, Napoleon had a SEVERE nosebleed.He sneezed out a tumor about the size of a large blueberry or cranberry and a bunch of huge clots. Every vet I talked to told me to ice pack it because that is all they would be able to do to it. Nappy, of course, wouldn’t let me do that and as he weighs 177.6 lbs I couldn’t force him to let me. After 5 hrs of non-stop steady bleeding ( I was terrified he was going to bleed out) I finally found a vet close by that agreed to sedate him and give him some epinephrine to stop the bleeding. He gave me ace pills and more epinephrine to take home to control the bleeding. I had taken the tumor with me for him to look at but he refused to look at it because it had been in the freezer and he said that had ruined it. Well I had hoped that the tumor he sneezed out was what had caused it all and prayed that he would heal up now. Well 3 1/2 weeks later he had another bad nosebeed and sneezed out another larger tumor with crystal rock like clusters on it and lots and lots of clots again. This has me pretty much convinced it is cancer. I had this tumor sent to the lab and should have the results this friday. I had taken pictures of the first nosebleed into the vet and he said he had never seen any animal have a nosebleed as severe as Nappy’s was. The enclosed porch where I kept him when he had it looks like a body had been dismembered there. The walls and floors were completely covered in blood. I had to keep bringing him old comforters so he had a dry place to lay down and he completely saturated 5 of them.The vet said he didn’t think after seeing the pictures that there would be any treatment that could help him at this point. Nappy seems to be in perfect health most days, really playful,eating normally but most nights he has a very hard time breathing and has to inhale through his mouth. He will sometimes start a really loud, deep, wet, rattling snore and when he wakes up after that he gags and retches alot. I have been giving him shortening mixed with honey and a vitamin supplement to soothe his throat when this happens. I know this scares him because although he has always been my shadow he now doesn’t want me out of his sight. He has become a lap dog whenever possible. I am desperate to find a way to help him and feel so helpless as he and I sit up all night and I listen to him struggle for air. I am currently unemployed due to lay-offs and because the extra costs Nappy’s size incurs for all procedures I can’t afford more scopings, surgery, chemo and radiation even if it would be a possible course of treatment.I am praying that the Neoplasene could help him. I don’t want him to suffer or put him through painful treatments that will just prolong his misery. I haven’t been able to find a vet locally or in the surrounding areas that has had experience with the sudden onset of such severe nosebleeds and they are stunned by the size of tumors he has sneezed out. I would be extremely grateful if you would allow me to email you the pics of the nosebleed and of the tumors he sneezed out and get your opinion. If you think there is a chance that the Neoplasene or if there is any other therapy/remedy/treatment you think could save my best friend. I don’t know what to expect with this illness and at what point to say he’s had enough. It’s breaking my heart and I don’t know what to do. Please, I need some advice and will anxiously await your reply.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Schmidt
I am in the process of trying figure what my 10 yr. Old Golden Retriever has on her left back hock. It started out as a hard lump which developed visually within about 6 months. When I realized it had become the size of about a walnut I took her in to my vet and they did a test on the fluid. The result came up as having some suspicious cells and further testing needed to be done. I needed to wait about a 1-1/2 weeks to have a wedge biopsy done, but in the mean time the lump went wild. It spread to about a 2″ by 3″ inflamed lump that continually drained from several spots. I had the wedge biopsy done and that showed the lump to consist of scar tissue and infection. She doesn’t limp at all, but her leg quivers when you go to touch the area, or she thinks your going to touch it. So started the antibiotics and anti-inflamatories. 3 months later and a second opinion vet, were still fighting this. We just did a bacteria test, that ruled out a bacterial problem. Now were doing a urine test for some other kind of possibility. The area just keeps on draining, so is my wallet. Personally I think its some type of Osteosarcama, especially after doing some research, thats when I came upon this site and Neoplasene.
What do you think? Do you think that Neoplasene Salve could work for my Elsa. Please help.
Dear Renee,
I think the vets are on the right track. Sadly, re-biopsy may be needed. You don’t want to start treating for a cancer unless you know definitively that you have a cancer….sounds frustrating. Hang in there and best of luck,
Dr D
Dr. D ~
Our almost eight-year old spayed female Golden Retriever/Chow mix had surgery last Tuesday – Jan. 26th on a small soft tissue sarcoma tumor on her left front forearm. Biopsy results revealed the tumor as hemangiopericytoma with very narrow, but clean, borders of 0.1-0.4 on the edges and 0.1-0.2 deep. An integrative vet we are consulting with is recommending topical application of Neoplasene to kill off any remaining cancer cells. And, given the narrow clean margins, we expect there to be some.
I’ve skimmed through the research document you referred to above, and am wondering if you think we should expect a large wound area on our dog(like the one shown for a nerve sheath tumor) given we successfully had the tumor surgically removed, and are now treating only the surrounding areas for possible remaining cancer cells?
Given we’ve already completed the surgery, and are now treating only for random remaining cancer cells, do you think we need a treatment as strong as Neoplasene? Or, would you suggest we wait on the Neoplasene and instead implement a course of the Big Five for a period of time – as well as other supplements you recommend, along with a whole food diet, and assume that will kill any remaining cells quickly before a tumor re-grows?
We’re open to risk – she’s healthy otherwise and only eight years old, but I’m wondering if we need to put her through some of the stronger treatment routes like radiation or Neoplasene if we can achieve remission through the supplements?
My dog has mast cell and was diagnoised last march and doing great. I used the neoplasene for some of the external tumors both injectable and salve, it worked great!. However there was alot of healing time involved as well as some surgery to repair what the neoplasese ate away from the cancer cells. Just relize sometimes this can make some horendous wounds but it also can be a great experiance simply because the tumors are now gone..My dog also took the oral neoplasese to. I raw feed Dannon my dog so I took the oral and put it in a sticky meat ball and threw it to him so he gulped it down. The taste of the neoplasene is horrible and can burn the mouth from my experiance so it is important to get them to swallow it in something. They trypically wont eat it in there food mixed with it, and squirting it into there mouth in my opinion isnt an option because of the nasty taste as well as the burning sensation. After using the product for 6 months I had great results but unfortunatly my dog became allergic to the oral.So we stopped the neoplasene and started on another product called Angiostop and Revivin. Both kill the cancer from many diffrent ways. Both are oral and holistic. The angiostop works on many various cancers with out the bloody wounds as side effects. I might add my dog Dannon is doing great after haveing a previous grim prognosis. The other thing that has really helped him is KAngen water. This is an alkaline and antioxigend water . Cancer cannot live in an alkaline enviorment or without sugar. Acidity increases disease as well as sugar. Dannon has great energy since adding the Kangen water he is back to his old self.
Dear Kammee,
thanks for the info!
Best,
Dr D
Dr. Dressler,
Our 8 Yr old Black Lab was diagnosed with Nasal Adenocarcinoma last week. The Doctor said he removed over 90% of the tumor form his left nasal passage. They confirmed it had not spread behind his nose to the Cranial Plate and has not spread to his Chest. We visit our Oncologist tomorrow. Would Neoplasene be beneficial being that we may have caught it in an early stage and, if yes, how would it be administered?
Thank you for your hard work and research!
RC
Dear RC
it can be administered topically (right on the site), and also orally and as an injected solution. Have your vet call Dr. Buck at Buck Mountain. I would consider its use in your case!
Keep up your hard work too!
Dr D
My 6 year old Belgian Malinois has a brachial nerve sheath tumor. Because of the location, injectable neoplasene is not a possibility so we have been giving her an oral dose twice a day. She is in good health and feeling spunky, and has outlived the predictions of the vets at the University Hospital who wanted to amputate the leg and essentially sent us home to manage the pain and die. I also give her Chinese herbs, as provided by my holistic vet and take her every two weeks for biocom treatments.
What is your opinion of the biocom treatments? We did that prior to my vet learning about the neoplasene, and the treatments seem to have helped.
Dear Dr. Dressler,
Is Neoplasene appropriate for internal usage? Eddie, my 11 1/2 year old Labrador has osteosarcoma and I’m pretty much willing to try anything. Traditional methods (surgery, amputation, chemo, radiation) are not really an option as his tumour is very large and located on his side, between his ribcage and hip. How would Neoplase work internally on something like this?
Thank you for any advise you can give.
Heather
Doctor D.
I have a 6 year old JRT and she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her jaw. I called my vet after doing as much research as the internet would allow and told him about neoplasene. He called Buck Mountain and ordered the treatment for my dog. I am happy to say that she is doing well and the inside of her mouth is healing nicely. BTW she was not supposed to make it past Thanksgiving.
Thanks for all you do
Kurt
Thanks Kurt, glad things are going well
Dr D
Hello Dr. Dressler,
We found out on two days ago our 11 year old golden retriever has oral cancer. We found it on the inside of her mouth inside her cheek. A little history about Chloe. 6 years ago she was undergoing a simple procedure and had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia. 5 years prior she had surgery and we didn’t have an issue. As a result of the complications in surgery they flushed fluids in to her. We didn’t find out for three days and many calls to the vet that the flushing had impacted her kidneys. In the three days she lost weight and everytime I called the vet they kept telling me it was because she still had some of the anesthesia in her. She had to be admitted to the hospital and on IV for four days. As a result she has been on special diet of Hills KD dog food.
The vet told us if he removed it he would have to also remove part of her jaw. He said he didn’t think should would be able to handle all that surgery. He said the growth would continue to grow and she would die from lack of nutrition. He really did not leave us with any hope. We still have her on the KD dog food but have changed it to soft canned food. Do you think Neoplasene might be an option to slow the growth? We are willing to try anything.
Thank you.
Dear Karen,
well, this is a tough one. Neoplasene does indeed kill cancer cells, and I would bet that it would exterminate your dog’s cancer cells too. However, I have two concerns. One is that as the cells die, your dog might not want to eat, and this could take days. Secondly, with the tumor gone, a hole could be produced in your dog’s cheek that might need to be closed with a surgery. If the tumor is more invasive than just the cheek, the defect left could possibly be so large that it would not be repairable. This is a very tough call. I suppose if all other options were exhausted, and there were no choice, this would be an idea. You would need to be ready for these two issues though, and really need to ask yourself if they occurred, would you be prepared for them? If the answer is yes, and you are in a corner, it might be a gamble you are willing to take.
I hope this helps,
Dr D
Hello,
7 year old neutered male rescue beagle was just diagnosed (ultrasound guided biopsy) with carcinoma of the prostate. Researching different treatment options. In the mean time, he is on piroxicam, misoprostol, and primor (bloody urine / UTI is what led to us discovering the prostate tumor) and I also have him on saw palmetto, turmeric, maitake, and noni juice. Am very interested in Neoplasene. Any recommendation of a veterinarian in the seattle area that is familiar with it / has used it would be very welcome. Snoopy is a wonderful dog – he was my dad’s until my dad passed away in september so the diagnosis is especially hard. I had not planned on getting another dog after my Irish Setter lost her battle with osteosarcoma in 2000 and now I’d dealing with dog cancer yet again.
Thank you,
Nancy and Snoopy
Nancy
One approach would be to contact Buck Mountain and ask for a reference for a vet, then have the vet call Buck Mountain after you bring your Snoopy in for an initial exam and consult.
Best,
Dr D