Articles
Dr. Demian Dressler has been writing articles for DogCancerBlog.com since 2008. If you’re looking for excellent advice and insight into your dog’s cancer, this site has hundreds of articles to use. You can search using the box above or choose a topic from the navigation menu. And you can always ask us for help!
Things You Need To Know About Radiation for Dog Cancer
This is a continuation of the previous blog topic, radiation therapy in dog cancer. We looked at some benefits of radiation previously, both in terms of life quality and lifespan. This time, I would like to look at some of the downsides. I am not interested in painting a darker picture than is necessary. This…
Read ArticleRadiation therapy and dog cancer?
Radiation is a big gun in dog cancer therapy. There are many out there that would not even consider it….to hardcore, too scary. And honestly, many times they might be correct. But in some cases radiation should be at least considered. For many it is out of the question. No nearby cancer referral center, no…
Read ArticlePrejudice in viewpoints on Dog Cancer Care
One of the things I realized in my quest for defining what I’ve coined a “full spectrum approach” to treating cancer is personal bias. I am not talking about racial or sexual discrimination of course. Rather, something I realized that we all carry within us, and I include myself in this, is the presence of…
Read ArticleCanine Cancer Surgery: Dog Owners…Check on the pain control!
I have been focusing a bit on osteosarcoma, since this is a common cancer. This info applies to any big surgery involving cancer in dogs though. I thought that a few bits of vet-only knowledge would be nice for dog owners. That way you can discuss the important topic of pain control at the time…
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Canine Osteosarcoma: Amputation and Life Quality
If your dog’s leg is amputated, how does it affect them? Dr. D looks at amputation and life quality for dogs with osteosarcoma.
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My Dog Has Osteosarcoma: Should I Allow Amputation?
Is amputation a good idea for dogs with osteosarcoma? Dr. Dressler looks at this decision from two perspectives. In this article: life expectancy.
Read ArticleVitamin C for Canine Cancer Patients?
Many have heard of the Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. After winning the prize in chemistry in 1954, he went off on this tangent and decided to be the major proponent of vitamin C for health. Lots of people became pretty excited, and decided to see if Vitamin C did anything to cancer cells in…
Read ArticleWhat about Ozone Therapy and Dog Cancer?
Ozone therapy is one of those things that people ask about sometimes. Kind of an odd bird, ozone. What’s the deal with ozone therapy and dog cancer? First of all, what is ozone anyway? Ozone is a gas that can be administered after it is dissolved in liquid, most commonly either IV or as an…
Read ArticleDog Cancer Surgery: They Didn’t Get It All Out
Sound familiar? Did this happen to anyone out there? Removal of all the cancer cells from the body during surgery is pretty important. How can we tell? The most important thing to do is get that biopsy report. Some don’t want the extra cost. “Just get it out” is a line I have heard from…
Read ArticleDog Cancer and Food…what’s the Carbo Problem?
Everybody loves sugar. Late night snacks, movies, late afternoon….kids and grown-ups alike….and dogs like their carbs in dog food and in dog treats, which of course are changed in the body to sugars… Cancer in dogs loves sugar too. Especially sugar. Cancers tend to gobble sugar way more than fat or protein. Cancer definitely has…
Read ArticleBut I want CLA for my dog with cancer!
Dear friends and fellow dog lovers, Here is the follow up on the CLA post… Just for the record, I don’t care for the stuff. The forms of CLA are all mixed together usually. At some point they will separate the forms of CLA in the mixture, and then we can re-assess. At this time…
Read ArticleCan melatonin be used with lymphosarcoma in dogs?
Before we go back to linoleic acid, the last blog topic, this question has been festering in my mind and needs to be addressed. Should be be using melatonin in dogs with lymphosarcoma? This is an interesting question, especially because as I am about to disagree with what is all over the internet….”don’t use melatonin”…
Read ArticleConjugated Linoleic Acid and Dog Cancer
I received a question about the use of safflower oil for a type of lyphosarcoma (lymphoma) in dogs. The group of active ingredients in safflower oil is called the Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA). There are other things in safflower oil too that have effects, but this is a biggy. So should we be giving this…
Read ArticleDog 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…
Read ArticleFantastic fungus and dog cancer..medicinal mushrooms!?
Yes, you read that right. Certain kinds of mushrooms have immune boosting and anti-cancer effects. Some examples of these mushrooms include Shitake (yes, the same one we eat in Chinese restaurants), Maitake, Reishi, Cordyceps, Coriolus, Agaricus and Cordyceps. The good folks over at Aloha Medicinals have known about this forever. I spoke with Dr. John…
Read ArticleYour Comments, Please
We are working to make the Dog Cancer News and our blog as helpful as possible. We would love to hear what you have to say. Please provide comments, suggestions, criticism (and even compliments) in the comment area below. We would love to hear what you say and we read all of our comments. Many…
Read ArticleEGCG and dog cancer: beyond chemo, radiation and surgery
So you feel that there is more than chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for dogs with cancer? So do I, and we are correct! Here’s just one example: EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). This is a naturally occurring substance found in green tea. EGCG has several anticancer effects that are very real. This substance is in trials at…
Read ArticleDoes my dog have cancer? What NOT to rely on!
Hi! Glad to see so many readers these days! Thanks everyone. I have noticed that there are some misconceptions about dog cancer floating around that perhaps could be clarified a little bit. Specifically, there are things that people are looking at to deduce that their dog’s lump is NOT cancer…but the problem is that some…
Read ArticleFine needle aspirates to diagnose dog cancer?
Hi everyone, I have been getting questions about the best way to gather info about growths in dogs. So, let’s take a look at a common technique used to accomplish this…a fine needle aspirate. First of all, a fine needle aspirate is not a biopsy. A fine needle aspirate is a sample of the mass…
Read ArticlePredicting Chemotherapy Reactions in Dogs: MDR 1
Hi everyone! What about chemo safety in dogs, anyway? How do we know whether a given dog with cancer will tolerate chemotherapy? Well, for some drugs, there is a test that can give us info. The test is for mutations in a gene called MDR 1, or ABCB delta 1. This gene make a protein…
Read ArticleWhat is the evidence? Dog cancer and information sources.
So you are ready to be your dog’s health advocate. Good choice! Can you dissect apart all different things that can affect whether a dog will get cancer, or how long a given dog will live, or if a treatment will definitely work in a given dog with cancer? Sadly, the answer to all of…
Read ArticleMast Cell Tumors in Dogs: some advances in conventional care
Hi! I have been getting feedback about mast cell tumors and I would like to get some info out there. I will focus on some conventional medicine advances for the time being that should be thoroughly checked into by dog lovers interested in mast cell tumors. These are not general cancer recommendations, rather just a…
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Ginger to Help Dogs with Cancer
Ginger to help dogs with cancer? YES! This inexpensive, great-smelling, pungent root is great for your dog. Learn why and how to use it.
Read ArticleHelp overcome dog food dangers: which oils for cancer??
Rochelle Lesser, who created and manages a great site for Golden Retrievers (and dogs in general), asked about krill oil on a recent post. Here’s the skinny on why I like its cancer-fighting benefits (krill are those tiny shrimp that whales eat). First, krill oil helps offset the omega 6 fatty acid excess I wrote about…
Read ArticleMast Cell Tumor Surgery and Benadryl
The mast cell tumor is very common in the Pug, Boxer, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Shar-Pei and other breeds. This tumor most commonly occurs in the skin as a raised, inflamed nodule or mass. Sometimes it is found internally in the liver or spleen. The cells that make up this tumor are called mast cells. There are…
Read ArticleDog 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…
Read ArticleFood and dog cancer: omega 6 fatty acids
Many people ask me if dog food has something to do with the development of cancer in their pet. Before I devoted my time to studying the topic, I never gave it much thought. Nah, I would say. Dog cancer is mostly genetic, viral, a few carcinogens…who knows? “There is no real cause of cancer”,…
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