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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: October 25th, 2019
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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.
My Belgian Malinois, ConTiki, began to show signs of cancer last November.
I purchased your book and now am doing what I can. I cook for Tiki daily.
My husband built her a ramp to walk on instead of stairs, she was so weak. She
could hardly walk, or hardly bark. Since then, this summer, and now into this fall
and winter, she has done extremely well. We also feed game meat which we hunt
(elk, deer meats). I am cooking for her, still, giving her the Apocaps, also K9 Immunity Plus, plus the various supplements, most of the ones you recommend.
I am also giving her the Melaleuca vitamins, (by the Idaho Falls, ID based Melaleuca company). The vitamins are some of the best; I take them and have
given them to my dogs for years as well. One other item I had recently began
giving to Tiki is Two Feathers Healing Formula by the company in Reno, NV. I
feel this original Black Salve, very expensive, has done wonders in conjuntion
with all the other natural meds. She had a baseball sized tumor; now it is like a
pancake. I am also using the Healing Formula on a spider bite that is drawing
out infection on myself). Tiki has a lot of energy for being over 10 years old,
going on 11 in March 2013. She walks with me on our goat ranch and even
barked strongly to alert me to some pheasant hunters in a neighbor’s large
acreage 1/2 a mile away from us while we were with the goats! I am recommend-
ing your product to others. Granted, one must watch the Two Feathers Healing
Formula; if you put it on a tumor, you are advised to CALL THEM FIRST before
taking action. That salve really helps….MANY testimonials to it drawing cancer
from many people. I have others telling me the stories themselves, also.
Thanks for the book, the diet and the meds.
Sincerely,
‘Genie in NW Wyoming, USA
Dr Dressler,
Our Scotty was biopsy Dx (a symptomatic) May of this yr.with Lymphosarcoma ,grade B cells. Immediately referred to an Oncologist who started the Wisconsin Protocol,following extensive Dx testing. We, in the meantime immediately purchased your book and all supplements and dietary recommendations,with little to NO improvements. Our Vet & the Oncologist was totally dismissive of your approach re boosting the Immune System, while continuing traditional Tx.
I’m a NP who feels compelled to give you feedback re your optimistic but unrealistic” attitude toward your Tx. I would Never have agreed to Chemo, had I not been repeatedly assured that she would go into remission and recapture some quality of life. With great remorse we euthanized our beloved little girl within 6 mo. Of Tx, based on the side effects of the increasing doses of corticosteroids, in addition to the Chemo.
The critically missing element from my Vet, the Oncologist, and most importantly you,was to guide us as to when to consider “enough is enough”. We willingly spent thousands of dollars to ad some enjoyment to her life, which never happened.
Please know we appreciate your efforts in defining and Tx Canine Cancer, but it easily installs “false hopes into the Guardians role.
Hope you can assimilate this experience into your progressive efforts.
Judith Clark, RN
Dear Judith,
I am sorry to hear that you lost your Scotty. This is very difficult and there is little I can say or do to alleviate the pain of this kind of loss.
I am able though to comment on what you wrote concerning false hope. One of the important features emphasized in the Guide is both treatment plan analysis as well as emphasizing life quality, and finally matching the treatment with your personal feelings as a guardian. We also discussed what median survival means, which is the time when half the dogs are still with us and have have passed away. When we say that a chemo protocol yields say 11 months median survival, this means that at 11 months, half the dogs have succumbed to the disease. It is tempting to create an expectation based on these numbers, but in reality we have to take them with a very large grain of salt.
I am sorry but I do not at this time have a cure for cancer, and I hope I did not convey this to anyone out there. If so, I apologize.
Dr D
My 11yr old schnauzer has been diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma. Location & size makes it inoperable (on back near tail & too large to get any margins). Per vet recommendation I am giving her Thymex, Immune Support and Enteric Support & feeding her whole foods. I am considering your Apocaps & plan to start using your diet. I am wondering about Modified Citrus Pectin use with Apocaps. Do you recommend using both?
Dear Dr. Dressler
Thank you for answering my fb post. I have search your site and read all the blogs that came up.
I have a 4.5 year old puggles. He is a puppy-mill puppy with many allergies. Recently he had two fatty growths removed. I would like to start preventative cancer care. I would like to start curcumin but am unsure of dosage for 30 lb dog.
Also after reading your site, I am uncertain if your apocap pills are for dogs that do not yet have cancer? Where do I find the ingredient list, since my dog has so many allergies, I always read the labels first.
Thank you.
Dear Dede
to keep healthy dogs healthy, I would suggest Everpup:
http://everpup.com/
Best,
Dr D
Our 8 yr. old female 42# Aussie Shep. mix dog was diagnosed with agressive squamous cell carcinoma July 13, 2012 on the center of her tongue. The section of tongue removed showed the cancer was completely thru the tongue and actually looked worse on the under side. Her prognosis was not good and we didn’t expect her to live for more than a couple months. The cancer reappeared immediately after surgery and started growing. The Dr. said she would eventuallty just stop eating.
I read everything on your site and started making her food from your receipe. We also gave her mashed raw eggplant with extra virgin olive oil & added fish oil, curcumin & maitake mushroom to it twice a day before her meal. I’ve seen on a TV show that an eggplant cream was healing this type of skin cancer on human skin so I decided to feed it to her instead. With her “real” food we added in a vitamin, sardines and chinese herbs. The sardines were one way to keep her eating in the beginning so we’ve just kept it up.
4 months later her tongue is almost completely healed. We couldn’t believe it and were leary of rejoicing. Now she’s acting like she did as a puppy. WE believe it all to be true. Thank you for your care and concern for our 4 legged fur people we get so attached to.
The thought that kept running thru my mind that I read was, “your dog wouldn’t give up on you so don’t give up on your dog.” Thank goodness we didn’t!
Great news Mary! You might want to start up your apocaps if you haven’t already as a continued supplement under veterinary supervision.
Best,
Dr D
Just had a question about the reverse osmosis water.
I switched my 7 yr old dog, Chanel, over to it when I changed her to the cancer diet and Apocaps. She had been drinking mostly distilled water then before diagnosis some spring water. Anyway, she barely wants to drink it and will refuse the RO water even when I know she should be thirsty. I’m thinking of trying the water from a different store to see if it is because the store’s MF brand says it is “super oxygenated”. Maybe that is what she thinks is not good?
So, since I haven’t seen this issue addressed in the book or website I’d like to ask you here.
Chanel seems to be doing well on the diet and supplements along with the Melanoma vaccine. We go for the second one on Friday. She has had two malignant tumors removed. Her left eye that we hoped had cured her then a second one came back below her right eye on her cheek. That one had a bit of a dirty margin when removed. There has been no radiation or chemotherapy. My plan is to clean up her diet which was already pretty good and add the supplements and melanoma vaccine to extend her life.
So, if I can figure out the RO water and why she’s not into it, we can get on with her cure.Thanks for all the valuable info in your book!
Hi, I am sorry if this quesiton has been asked, but I am wondering if the amount of ‘whole grain’ in the cancer diet (as described in the book: 1.5 cups of oatmeal or 1.25 cups of brown rice) is referring to the pre-cooked amount ? Thank you very much.
I have been writing for several years. I since Have lost both my goldens at 13 1/2, both to cancer. One did live 2 yearsn 4 months longer due to your help, and his sister died 4 months later, got suddenly sick with cancer, while my mom was in an out of hospital. I still had my shitzu, who is not 8. He is now the issue. I am not sure what to do. He has always been a little on the heavy size, but he only eats 3/4 cup of food a day of natural balance with fresh chicken. Before the goldens died, I cooked for all of them, chicken, puree veges, pumpkinhamburger, vitamins, rice. My mom who is alost 92, is also one I take care of, so when my neighbors helped and gave Kobe Natural Balance and he ate it, I went to that food, with chicken, as it was easier as we are in and out of the hospital with mom. I also have a chiwawa which is my daughters, who gets 1/8a cup 2 times a day. I do need to hand feed Kobe (my shitzu) all the time, and have for as long as I can remember. Lately he is not always wanting to eat, so he will skip a meal, but only once or at most 2 times a week. He does not eat much and he does not loose weight. He is aout 22-24, hard to tell on their scale. A few years back he was 22 or so. He was bordenline on his thyroid, so one vet wanted thyroid, but he triglycerides were 1504 t4 1.1 t3 tt free t 4 28,3 alk phosphatase 265 all else normal do not know want to do. I am really worrried, but he plays, takes many walks, rans around from us as a game, I just do not know what to do. Please write and help Cynthia
I have had 3 dogs with bladder cancer in the past 21 years. The first an American Eskimo had chemo – 3 different kinds progressively stronger that we had to stop due to some kidney damage tho she lived the last 11 months with only antibiotics for bladder infections and bimonthly shots of EPO in all she lived 26 months and that was before piroxicam was discovered to be helpful. She did get several antioxidants daily because of my research. The 2 nd one was Keeshond who only lived 8 months, but was older and may have had PHPT damage to her kidneys prior to the dx of TCC. The last one was also a Keeshond who had 5 chemo treatments( stopped due to low wbc levels and apparent remission) but she had the benefit of daily piroxcam and even more antioxidants and she lived 17+ months. All my dogs have been on reverse osmosis and extra filtered water after the first dog’s dx. Th first was exposed to second hand smoke for her first 2 yrs, but not the others. I think TCC is on the rise in all dogs an I have become the ‘go-to-person’ for advice in ‘fighting’ transitional cell carcinoma in my area and many breeds are developing it, sadly. Is there any new treatment n the horizon? research on causes? I purchased both the Nook and early paperback version of your book and have recommended it to several owners including my vet! who have purchased it. Nothing in particular on TCC the book but general guidelines. So what might be new with this crppy cancer which s usually inoperable? (sorry this is so long)
Are antibiotics safe for older dogs with cancer? My 14 year old great dane whose tummy is already very sensitive had a very bad experience with oral keflex on friday. She is going back in on Monday to get an antibiotic shot (not sure what kind – she has a UTI and we did not do a culture & sensitivity). What are safer options for a sensitive girl like her? I admit I’m afraid of the shot too, because I can pull the oral antibiotics when she gets sick, but how do you stop an adverse reaction to a long acting injection? I’m afraid!!
Tiffany,
In general antibiotics are very safe for cancer patients. I use them commonly in my patients. While sometimes there are sensitivities to certain antibiotics in certain pets, your vet should be able to find one that works and that she tolerates. Good luck, Dr Sue