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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.
Dear Dr. Dressler-
I was wondering if you can help me try and understand something. Our almost 10 YO lab/spaniel mix was recently diagnosed as having lymphoma. Our vet, not an oncologist, made this diagnosis; we haven’t taken the dog to an oncologist to determine the type of lymphoma. There is only one oncologist around where we live, and (unfortunately) we have read several negative reviews concerning their fees. I am not 100% sure our dog has lymphoma. My question is this: If a dog is diagnosed with lymphoma, should its blood test show a high level of lymphocytes? I just rec’d a copy of his blood results, and the “LYMPHS” line shows 1.37 K/ul (Reference Range shown is 1.05-5.10; %LYMPHS is shown as 18.4%). If he had lymphoma, shouldn’t this count be higher? The only other “abnormal” readings in his test results are HCT = 33.9 % L (Reference Range 37.3-61.7); HGB = 11.6 g/dL L (Reference Range 13.1 – 20.5); AND ALKP =335 U/L H; REFERENCE RANGE 23-212. Its my understanding that an elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase could be a symptom of Cushing’s. He has lost his appetite (and weight), with taking only small bites of food (we’ve tried your Cancer Dog Diet – mixed together, he won’t eat it). We separated the ingredients in a bowl; he will only pick at whatever meat we put in the bowl (turkey, chicken, chicken liver). He also prefers eating from our hands now instead of the bowl. Drinking is normal. Our vet diagnosed lymphoma from conducting the needle test on a lymph node (all of which are swollen),with the caveat “I’m not an oncologist, but,….” How do I know its not something else (like Cushing’s Disease) or another liver ailment?
Hi Dr. Sue and Dr. Dressler,
A couple of us from Tripawds were wondering about stopping at 4 rounds of chemo carboplatin. Ours are large breeds (mastiff Happy Hannah and Great Dane Atlas) and they have handled the chemo with minimal side effects. Our question is wether two more rounds of chemo or metronomics would benefit them.
Thanks for your opinions.
Patricia
(I meant a little too much, not the opposite), my mistake
ooops sorry I forgot to mention that I also have four small Griffons (around two pounds) and that I am giving them EverPup but it seemed to me that half a scoop was too much a little so I adjusted the dosage to 1/4, Is it OK? And most important, one of them got a stone in his bladder, oxalate compound so he has to eat Hill´s non-struvite (canned food, not the dry one) but now… I am not sure if this diet is the best one I can offer him because all the things you explain in your book, what could I do? Can I use Everpup on him?
Hope that my English is good enough to explain my vet´s and mine dubts
Thank you again
Hi Dr., greetings from Spain (yeah.. I am from Spain). I have read your book and I am following the full spectrum guide the best I can. My vet doesn´t speak English so it´s me who made the research in English (always better than Spanish when refering to vet care) and found your book. Thanks a lot for the complete, loving and respectful gift you have given to all dog lovers. But I cannot stop thinking, May I be doing something wrong because I am not a pro? My vet didn´t know anything about Apocaps,diet, a full spectrum approach…., not even the Onco she has brought in the team ( in fact there´s another med, Apoptus, which the onco suggested and I refuse to use because by then I was one of your “believers”. There is information available in English about Apoptus if you are interested, it is made from wheat I think). There is a wonderful lady, Susan Harper (you know her) from England who is trying to help me but there are some especific questions, technical issues and… I am at a lost. Would you be please so kind as to give a hand here? But first allow me to introduce you to my wonderful lady, Ginger: Ginger is a mixed Gos dÁtura (spanish breed), sort of lab, 80 pounds, 13-years-old, spayed very young… We are not sure about her age because I took her from the shelter after having been there for 8 years. Even when the shelter staff was caring and loving, her life conditions were not the best ones, and so the food. Diagnosed with anal adenocarcinoma one month and a half ago, surgery performed with “clean” margins (meaning no cells on the edge of the tissue sample, no signs of spread or methasthasis) but not wide margins (less than 1 cm), normal calcium levels, started on chemo (mitoxantrone) three weeks ago (she has been prescribed 3 session every three weeks, next Friday 3rd June is the second one), no other health issues but severe arthritis, no external symptons no side effects of chemo but bone marrow supression treated with amoxiciline for 7 days (her blood test are back to normal now), on your suggested diet for four weeks now, taking K9, K Transfer (Susan told me is OK now), Fish/Krill Oil, Apocaps and the healthy additions to her food you recommend (she doesn´t like them but I manage). I also have modified citrus pectin and cordyceps but I was not sure about these two. So far, I have the following doubts:
– can I use Olive oil instead/in addition to coconut oil? (I am waiting for the Coconut to arrive, I have already ordered it but I have very high quality Olive oils
– she loves yogourt, can I use it? (she takes her dose of cottage cheese) If so, whole, light, Greek? and the calcium tablets?
– what about fruits? Too much sugar maybe? She likes watermelon and melon and several more but banana
– what about eggs?
– should I give her another supplement like Modified Citrus or Cordyceps – she´s got K9 or Artemisin, ? Are the ones I am using OK for her? (I´d have started but this one)
– should I add enzymes or as long as she eats fine and have no digestive problems it is better not to?
– do I have to stop any supp before/after chemo with mitoxantrone? if so, how many days?
– according to cronotherapy, what´s the best timing for mitoxantrone? I cannot find it in your book
– can I use these supp if neutropenia happens again? And with antibiotics like amoxic.?
– she has to start with a NSAID, Piroxicam most likely, asap. UMMMM what do you think? and what about the doses?
If everything goes well, we´ll see if methonomic therapy is appropiate but this is another tale.
thanks a lot for everything and sorry if I am asking very plain questions…. I am just a newcomer.
Saludos!
My 6yo female Chow, Fluffy, was diagnosed with oral melanoma today. She has a 0.6 cm mass on her tongue and I was told it was stage 1. No one would guess she is sick by looking at her as she shows no symptoms. The oncologist couldn’t conclusively confirm spread to the lymph nodes without getting them out although they noted a large volume of dark cells from the aspirates sample taken. She said it could just be melanocytes but due to the large volume she believes the melanoma is in the lymph nodes. Her treatment recommendation is surgical removal of tongue mass and lymph nodes followed by radiation and melanoma vaccines. The cost of the vaccine is prohibitive for us (over $2900 for the first 4 shots only) and the survival rate doesn’t increase enough for me to justify the vaccines. My regular vet said he has good success with homeopathic remedies. Considering Fluffy’s young age, good health, and Stage 1 diagnosis, what would be your recommendation for treatment?
Dear Stacy,
sorry to hear about your Fluffy..I have a loved Chow myself.
Well, there are some other considerations.
I would start here- this will at least get you on the right track. Homeopathy, alone, will not be enough, you’ll need more than that. You should also find out what is meant by “good success” with homoepathy in the realm of metastatic melanoma. In my experience you will need much, much more.
Here:
https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/an-overview-of-what-else-can-i-do/
under veterinary supervision, consider:
diet
chemo (carboplatin based), get an MDR mutation test first
apocaps
flax https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/cancer-spread-flax-and-dog-cancer/
beta glucans
possibly oral neoplasene with mirtazapine
to name a few
I hope this helps
Dr D
I wrote before regarding my Casey. He’s a 9 year old Corgi who has been battling lymphoma since March 2012. He has one more drug left in his 2nd CHOP protocol. He has had multiple blood panels and, this last time, he had an elevated BUN and a urinalysis showed excess protein. He has been on the Dog Cancer Diet and was on Orijen, but I have switched him back to Halo because of this. What can I do to help lower his BUN? He takes Denamarin, fish oil, Pepcid AC, and Fortiflora. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! The oncologist believes that this is dietary and not from chemo/cancer.
Thank you, Sandy Dighton
Hi Sandra,
did your onc suggest it was at a dangerous level and related to kidney function? If so you could under veterinary supervision consider a product like Azodyl.
Best
D
Are apocaps safe for diabetic dogs?
Dear Cassandra,
We have seen no adverse events related to your question. When Apocaps were first formulated, there was a precaution based on a very low risk seen in humans of lowering blood sugar, but we have not seen this in the dog. As always, please use veterinary supervision.
Thanks!
Dr D
Dear Dr Dressler.
I have contacted you twice before regarding my English Springer Spaniel’s battle with nasal cavity cancer. I have found your comments and suggestions very helpful. Your “Dog Cancer Survival Guide” has helped me make decisions on how to treat the cancer and has also helped me as I cope with her diagnosis.
She was diagnosed this past fall with adenocarcinoma. Although we now know that her first symptom that, we were aware of, was Jan 4, 2012 when she had her first nose bleed. The tumor was very close to her left eye orbit and had also spread to the other side. The Oncologist said that she would have about 3 months to live without radiation treatment and 6-8 months with treatment, which she recommended. I decided not to have her go through the treatment due to the side effects which included losing her vision and her age.
I have been following your recommended diet with the addition of some of Hill’s Science Diet ND. I give her K9 Immunity Plus (started 3 wks ago) and up until last week was giving her Apocaps, 5 caps per day (started 4 months ago). Recently, she developed nasal congestion and was not able to breath through her nose and eat at the same time. She sounded as though she might be aspirating her food. She also became very anxious at night and I believe this was breathing related. I asked my Vet if we could start her on Doxycycline and Piroxicam since I had read that these two drugs have been used with some success in treating nasal cancer. She agreed (she has also been supportive of the Apocaps). At that time, she also had a bilateral ear infection and was given antibiotic ear drops.
I stopped the Apocaps because I had read that if they are given in combination
with Piroxicam there could be side effects which could include bleeding. Her breathing seems to be better since she has been on these meds and her energy level has improved (this may also be due to the K9 Immunity since she has only been on this for about 3 wks). I would like to know from you if there is anyway the two meds can safely be given together? I’m concerned about losing ground by not having her on the Apocaps.
She has now lived 5 months passed the time that the Oncologist gave her 3 months, she is happy, energenic, loves to eat and has a good quality of life. I am so grateful for your book. I feel that every new day with my dog, Baylea, is a gift.
Thank you,
Nancy
Hi Nancy
we usually reduce the dose of apocaps with nsaid drugs like piroxicam to 1/4 -1/2 of the labeled dose and if your dog has a delicate tummy give with a full meal.
See if your vet agrees to try that approach…if you are very concerned could add cytotec too.
Best
d
My 11 years old rottie/german shephard mix had a splenectomy in April and the biopsy result was spleen hemagiosacroma. The vet just told me to spoil her for the rest of her life because she would only has a couple of month to live. Luci ( my dog’s name) has a good appetite, normal bowl movement, and a lot of energy to play and/or go for a walk. I didn’t accept what I was told by the vet, so I started researching online and found Dog Cancer Survival Guide. However, I purchased apocaps and K9 immunity plus before I actually ordered the book. I read through the book as soon as it arrived and noticed that Dr. Dressler doesn’t suggest K9 immunity plus because it contains sugar which is not good for the dog with cancer. I also noticed that the site on the book ( www. dogcancershop.com) still carries K9 immunity plus. Is it ok to give my dog K9 immunity plus? or should I return this and buy K9 immunity and Trance factor?