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Featuring Demian Dressler, DVM and Sue Ettinger, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Oncology), authors of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide
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Cancer Causes

If you’re just starting to research cancer causes, you’re probably feeling pretty lousy right now. It’s true: the causes of cancer are many, and some of them we can’t do a thing about on a personal level.

But there are a lot of cancer causes we can lower or prevent altogether. Here are dozens of articles designed to help you just do that.

Calcium Tablets May Contain Carcinogenic Lead

Does calcium matter to a dog with cancer?   How about carcinogenic lead? Many dog lovers are feeding their dog The Dog Cancer Diet in The Guide, with very good results.  A dog with cancer has a unique metabolism that is totally different from a dog with no cancer. With this in mind, it is clear…

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Glutamine, Immunity and Canine Cancer

Cancer is a whole-body disease.  When we think about cancer, many times we tend to look at it as if it were just a single growth. A single growth is called a tumor. We can see tumors, either on the body of a loved dog or with a tool to see the inside of the…

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Help Metastasis with Flax Lignans

In the world of Full Spectrum care for dog cancer, we try to look for anything that gives us an edge.  This edge could be related to survival, life quality, decreasing treatment side effects, or finding something that just works better than the old way. This is a major goal of The Dog Cancer Survival…

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After Cancer: Do Carcinogens Matter?

According to the National Cancer Institute, carcinogens are any substance that causes cancer. It makes sense that we would want to protect healthy dogs from carcinogens.  Since dog cancer is the number one cause of death, limiting a family pet’s carcinogen exposure is the right choice. But, what if your dog already has cancer? Does…

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Dog Cancer and Carcinogens Near You

How did my dog get cancer? When faced with a dog cancer diagnosis, this question needs to be answered. Most have heard of carcinogens.  For many, carcinogens are kind of “out there”, something that we have heard of and may have disregarded. For others, carcinogens are important. Especially if they are close to us. Do…

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dog food and dog cancer

Dog Food: Is There A Cancer Risk?

Naturally, when we talk about the  cause of cancer, diet is brought up. Many will immediately poo-poo the notion that what is eaten can have an impact on cancer development.  It is amazing.  Watch the condemnation without investigation. On the other hand, many feel there is a link, and there is evidence to support that…

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Is Dog Cancer Treatment the Same as Prevention?

I’ve been thinking about a distinction that deserves way more attention from those who want to be their dogs’ primary health advocate. Why are distinctions important? One meaning of distinction is, “the act of making or keeping distinct”.  So there is action implied in distinctions.  Many time actions are built in to words because they…

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Smoke Screens and Dog Cancer

Is medical science ignorant? This is quite a loaded question.  When you are coping with a canine cancer diagnosis, it may feel at times like the answer is yes.  Let’s take a closer look at the fog surrounding dog cancer causes and the dollar that keeps you in the dark. A spot-on word that is…

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Detoxification in Dog Cancer

One of the ways companies make money on cancer is by using words that sound great but mean little. “Detoxification” is one of them. Let’s take a closer look at this.  On the surface, getting rid of “toxins‘ is a good idea, right?  “Toxins” bad, “detox” good, correct? Well, sure, except nobody really knows what…

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The Two Sides of Sunlight in Dog Cancer, part 1

I practice veterinary medicine and surgery in a sunny area.  For those of you with a loved dog who gets a lot of sun, you may have wondered about the effects of sun on canine cancer. As with many topics in medicine, there are a couple different things that have to be considered, as it…

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Preservatives and Cancer: Believe the Hype?

Do preservatives in dog food cause cancer? Good question. Dog lovers seem to divide themselves into two camps.  The first camp says, “Well, whatever.  Everything causes cancer.  I’m not going to worry about it.” Camp two says, “I only feed my dog all-natural food or home-made organic meals. We prefer alkaline water and do not…

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Hemangiosarcoma, Mammary Cancers and Plastic Link?

Many of you will remember a media stir over BPA, that stuff found in plastic baby bottles that could be hazardous. BPA is Bishenol A.  It is found in many different types of plastic. The most common is the clear, hard plastic called polycarbonate. BPA is also found in plastic food and beverage containers, “carbonless”…

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Anti-oxidants versus Pro-Oxidants

A reader asked an interesting question recently that I thought would make a good post. The question involved the use of antioxidants, either for dogs with cancer or to help prevent cancer. Lets get an overview to clarify this frequently-muddied picture. A free radical is a reactive molecule that tends to damage cell parts.  When…

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New Ways To Boost Immunity

I recently received a question about a product called Beres Drops, named after the designer, Joszef Beres.  This is a liquid which is designed to deliver adequate amounts of trace minerals in a favorable form. In a discussion of cancer, the most relevant aspect of these drops are the effects on the immune system. This…

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Vitamin D and Dog Cancer

Dog lovers will do anything they can to help their dog with a cancer.  And you should! This can be one of the hardest times anyone will face. Many times the effort helps, and other times it may not. This, of course, is not due to any ill intention on the part of the dog’s…

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Apoptosis and Dog Cancer

Apoptosis and Cancer … what’s the connection? Every cancer shares six characteristics — and a LACK of apoptosis is one of those characteristics. Every cancer suppresses apoptosis, which is why boosting apoptosis in cancer cells can help.

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New Antioxidant Info For Managing Dog Cancer

Got some new stuff for everyone into vitamins and antioxidants in cancer treatment for their loved dogs. Recall we are talking about cancer treatment, not cancer prevention. These are two different categories gang, with different considerations. You may recall also that the big deal is that there has been concern with free radical scavenging, which…

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Bladder and Prostate Cancer: Neutering Male Dogs Increases Risk

Oh man. This is going to make a lot of people in my field angry.  Apologies to classmates and veterinarian friends! I came upon a study from the August, 2007 journal Prostate.  Probably not what a lot of us would be reading in our spare time, but I am busy with upcoming info products for…

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Is The Cause of Cancer Really Not Known?

Conventional vets (and I count myself among this group) suggest that the cause of cancer is not known. Well, this statement rests on a faulty premise, because there is no single cause of cancer.  Cancer is the product of many separate steps that all must occur before the disease happens. So of course the cause…

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Dog Cancer and Antioxidants…Time to Clear Up Confusion!

Hi everyone, The use of “antioxidants” is a charged topic in cancer care these days.  The holistic set tends to be “pro”, while the western vets and oncologists tend to be “anti”.  Let’s take a look from my favorite viewpoint…Full Spectrum care ( where we try to avoid biases that exclude useful things but gear…

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Bladder and prostate cancer: neutering male dogs increases risk

Oh man. This is going to make a lot of people in my field angry.  Apologies to classmates and veterinarian friends! I came upon this study from the August, 2007 journal Prostate.  Probably not what a lot of us would be reading in our spare time, but I am busy with upcoming info products for…

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Dog food and cancer: help fight this problem!

In the last post I wrote about one of the issues in most commercial dog foods contributing to dog cancer: omega 6 fatty acid excess. This is a group of fats that are found in large quantities in corn products, vegetable oils, and meat products like tallow and lard, to name a few sources. Dogs…

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Is My Dog Depressed and at Risk for Cancer?

Is my dog depressed … and does it REALLY increase my dog’s risk of cancer? Turns out the answers might be “possibly,” and if yes, “definitely.”

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Depression, Stress and Dog Cancer: Let’s Think About It

Are depression stress and dog cancer linked? Let’s take a look.

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Spaying, Neutering and Cancer in Rottweilers

Okay everyone, today I am going outside the realm of politically correct. You will see me do this from time to time, and some readers are not going to like it. Sorry, but I want to present information, and I don’t care if it is not PC if it saves lives. As a vet, I…

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