Cancer Type
Chubby Golden Retriever Has Less Cancer Protection
I was talking to one of my clients today in the exam room. She owns an awesome Golden Retriever named Baloo. Like his namesake in the movie “The Jungle Book,” Baloo is happy, friendly, goofy and….chubby. I started telling Baloo’s owner about the cancer rate in the breed. It is estimated that around 2/3…
Read ArticleMelanoma Vaccine for Amelanotic Melanoma?
An interesting question came up recently. A guardian has a dog who is afflicted with amelanotic melanoma. This is a special kind of cancer. Normally, melanomas have pigment in them, and thus they are dark. However, there is a more rare and odd kind of this cancer that lacks the pigment. Melanomas can occur in…
Read ArticleNew Technologies for Brain Cancer Coming Up
Brain cancer, both in pets and in people, is very difficult to deal with. First, we have something called the blood-brain barrier. This is not really a wall per se, but is rather just a feature of the tiny blood vessels in the brain. These little capillaries have tight junctions that don’t let things pass…
Read ArticleA Dog With Bone Cancer
I couple of months back, I diagnosed a bone tumor in a wonderful dog named Dolly. Dolly is one of the world’s happiest dogs. She is an elderly family member (she would not be happy if I told you her age). She is a Boxer. As many are aware, Boxers are one of the breeds…
Read ArticleSigns of Dog Lymph Node Cancer
Many find a bump or a lump on their canine companion at home. The first question is usually, “what is this?” Sometimes the second question is, “Is it a gland or a lymph node?” These are good questions. The reason is that glands, or lymph nodes, become swollen for different reasons. Like in people, infection…
Read ArticleA Sign of Dog Cancer to Know About
What are the signs of dog cancer? That’s a tough question. There are internal cancers and there are external cancers. With the external cancers, those that are found in the skin, the space under the skin, superficial muscles, or in bony structures that are close to the outside of the body, many times we see…
Read ArticleTreatment Plan Analysis in Real Life
Yesterday, a 13 year old Rottweiler came in to the hospital. She had been limping, and there was a swelling in her front leg, down on the forearm. It was firm and slightly warm to the touch. The area was about 4 inches long. We took X-rays of the sore leg. The films showed a…
Read ArticleDiagnosis of Nasal Tumors
Tumors of the nose and sinus in dogs are often difficult to diagnose at first. These tumors are located inside the nasal passages, invisible to the naked eye, at least in the earlier stages. Many times a guardian will notice that their four legged family member starts to sneeze more often. The first thought can…
Read ArticleCerenia: An Option for Dogs with Vomiting
Cerenia can really help with dogs who are vomiting or getting nauseous. Ask your vet!
Read ArticleDog Cancer Clinical Trials
These days really seem like “ruff” times for many. Bad economy, emotional strain, and a lot of general hardship. If you have a dog diagnosed with cancer, but you cannot afford expensive treatments, what can you do? There are several different options in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. I know that not everyone can afford…
Read ArticleNew Approaches to Squamous Cell Cancer
A cancer we see in from time to time veterinary hospitals is called squamous cell carcinoma. Even though it is not as common as other cancers in dogs, for any dog lover coping with this diagnosis, it is a huge issue. These cancers are not fun. First of all, especially in advanced cases, they are…
Read ArticleWhat Makes Canine Lymphoma Different?
Canine lymphoma, also called lymphosarcoma, is a strange cancer. Not that cancer is not strange in general, because it is. But lympho is different. This cancer involves a certain type of white blood cell, the lymphocyte. Most have heard that white blood cells are an important part of the immune system. It turns out there is…
Read ArticleDog Prostate Cancer: Intraoperative Radiation
Prostate cancer in the dog is very different from that in people. Not because the cancers themselves are that different, but because treatment success is different. This has not been good news for our dogs. The success rates (due to surgical techniques, mainly) for dealing with human prostate cancer are much better than for dogs.…
Read ArticleHomeopathy for Dog Cancer?
Using homeopathy for dog cancer is a mixed bag in terms of the literature, but it may be useful for certain cancers. What Exactly Is Homeopathy? Homeopathy is a system of medicine based on the administration of very diluted amounts of substances that mimic the symptoms of the disease being treated. The underlying idea is…
Read ArticleSmoke 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…
Read ArticleVaccinating Dogs with Cancer
Vaccination. For some dog lovers, this word is a general part of health care for a canine companion. For others, it is the root of a syndrome called “vaccinosis”. Vaccinosis is a made-up term is a term used by alternative vets to describe the cluster of side effects from vaccinations. Like most issues in medicine,…
Read ArticleReal-Life Stem Cell Therapy
The last post focused on the newest version of a canine “Bone Marrow Transplant.” In a nutshell, this is a brand-new procedure that may produce a good number of actual dog cancer cures. Curing canine cancer essentially unheard of in conventional veterinary care using chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, at least with the systemic dog cancers.…
Read ArticleStem Cell Transplants: Dog Cancer Cures?
Many of us have heard of bone marrow transplants used in people with cancers. In the last few years, bone marrow transplants have become available for dogs too. Ironically, it was dogs that served as the models for development of the technology in people more than 3 decades ago. Finally, they are benefiting from the…
Read ArticleSurvival Times and Dog Cancer
I recently got a comment from a reader who was quite upset with her veterinarian because he didn’t fully explain the survival times he expected with her dog’s cancer. Her dog underwent a splenectomy (spleen removal), presumably for treatment of a hemangiosarcoma (a malignant tumor of the blood vessel walls) of the spleen. This dog…
Read ArticleA Thermometer to Save Dogs Fighting Cancer?
It is clear that dogs with cancer, at least with true, aggressive forms of cancer, have some special needs. I would like to give you some information about a special need that is often overlooked. Dogs with a cancer diagnosis should have their temperatures taken on a regular basis. If a dog is on chemotherapy,…
Read ArticleWhen to Avoid Chemo for Canine Mast Cell Tumors?
There has been much online talk these days about dogs with mast cell tumors (read, Palladia) which are the most common canine cancer. So I thought I’d just add some fuel to the fire and give my readers some overall guidelines about mast cell tumors and chemotherapy. As many already know, these cancers come in…
Read ArticleDiet for Dogs With Mast Cell Tumors
Friends, Today’s post will likely be met with some skepticism from those immersed (and confined) to our Western medical approach. So if this is your framework, please keep an open mind. You will be pleased to know that the information here is taken from little known, but still Western, data banks. I have recently been…
Read ArticleYunnan Baiyao for Dogs: Chinese Herb for Bleeding Dog Cancers
Yunnan baiyao for dogs with cancer may sound weird because it’s used for bleeding problems. But in certain cases, it is really useful.
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