Full Spectrum Cancer Care

If you're facing dog cancer and you feel overwhelmed, there's a good reason for that: it's overwhelming. There is a lot of information to sort through and understand, and it's not always easy to get it from veterinarians. Full Spectrum Cancer Care is an approach pioneered by Dr. Demian Dressler, author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, that includes conventional approaches like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, but also many other strategies from other medical traditions that have been shown to have value for dogs with cancer.

The following articles were written by The Dog Cancer Vet Team to introduce you to some of the most important aspects of his method of understanding and treating dog cancer. We hope you find them helpful.

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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…

What Is The Best Supplement for Dog Cancer?

We are faced with some hard choices when in a war against dog cancer. The truth is, as dog lovers, often we feel pretty undergunned and overwhelmed, with choices that range from not-so-great to downright awful. One of the difficulties many have is the choice among the supplements discussed in this blog or in The…

Can I give supplements with Chemotherapy?

In the world of dog cancer, we find ourselves in a war where we can be under-gunned. I must confess that when I look at this statement, I find myself wondering whether it is healthy. To think about dealing with malignancies as a war? Perhaps this analogy is too violent, too antagonistic, too contrary. The…

Everything is overwhelming…

Many dog lovers, especially those of you who just received the news that your dog has cancer, feel very overwhelmed. This is very common and completely natural. So many questions arise. How did this happen? Where did the cancer come from? Why wasn’t this picked up before? Is it the food? Vaccines? Chemicals? What do…

But my vet has not heard of this….

Dear dog lovers, I have been deluged with comments that some vets out there, maybe even most, have not heard of many of the approaches to dealing with cancer that are beyond surgery, chemo and radiation. As a consequence, there seems to be a large “black box” as to what to do, how to arrive…

Neoplasene as a Dog Cancer Treatment

I received a question recently asking if I had heard of Neoplasene, so I thought I should post about it. Neoplasene is derived from bloodroot, an old herb used by native Americans. The stuff works but can be a bit much for an average dog lover to deal with. Read on. It is delivered to…

Dog Tumor Surgery and Anesthetics

In the last post we looked at why surgery ends up often being a good option for malignant dog tumors. Of course, this is a simple answer, but it may not be all that simple in reality. Why? Well, aside from the cost-benefit considerations, surgery itself varies from vet to vet. I have worked with…

Dog Tumor Surgery: It Matters

Many dogs afflicted with cancer face a surgery. In spite of how far we have come in medical science, our most reliable way of getting rid of canine cancer is still a bit old fashioned: cut it out. Indeed, most of the time surgical removal is the treatment of choice for tumor cure in the…

Is it for me or for my dog?

Decision making when loving a dog with a cancer diagnosis can be tough. Many times we will experience some degree of confusion in decision making. There are many options that are presented. Should I allow chemotherapy? Amputation? Is radiation really worth it? I think that a lot of the difficulty may not actually relate to…

Oncology and Beyond

I have been getting some questions lately about whether or not I am a board-certified oncologist. Nope, and I do not try to be either. Here’s why: Oncology is our word for the field of cancer medicine. Oncologists spend a good amount of time doing chemo, and have broader interests usually within the additional areas…

More on Curcumin and Dog Cancer

In the last post, I introduced curcumin, a useful tool against cancer found in turmeric. In this post we will look at some of the effects and practicalities in the use of this remarkable substance. Safety should always be questioned. Curcumin is exceptionally safe when given by mouth. Read more here. One of the complaints…

Spice of Life: Curcumin and Dog Cancer

In researching topics for expanded treatments of dog cancer, I have discovered surprises aplenty. Because of the desire for options beyond surgery, chemo and radiation for dog cancer, I chose to look in areas that I would have ignored just a few years back. One of the hottest topics in cancer research right now is…

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…

Cancer spread, Flax and Dog Cancer

Flax is one of the oldest crops known to man. Even the ancient Egyptians cultivated it extensively. These days, we don’t see it around much, except in health food stores or the supplement shelves in grocery stores. So why am I writing about this stuff? Well, flax has some handy properties that someone who loves…

Laser Surgery For Oral Cancer in Dogs

When a dog lover is contemplating a surgery to remove a canine cancer, we should remember there are different ways to do surgeries. Depending on the way the surgery is done, certain things can be improved upon that would otherwise make recovery harder. Some of these are: pain blood loss swelling One of the challenges…

Lymphosarcoma and Simpler Chemo Options for Dogs

Lymphosarcoma is a cancer of the white blood cells called lymphocytes. It is one of the most common cancers in dogs. The worst kind of cancer is the kind you have to deal with in your dog. I heard that from a lady I saw on a video online a while back and I thought…

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…

Dog Cancer and the Malaria Drug Artemisinin

Artemisinin for dogs with cancer? Yup. This herb can help make chemo more effective, and may also target cancer directly.

Luteolin and Dog Cancer, Continued

A look at the cutting edge, new bioflavoniod luteolin, its application in cancer treatment, and a source.

Mast Cells and Luteolin in Cancer Treatment, Part 1

Here’s a post I have been promising for a while now. Let’s look at Luteolin, a practically anonymous, food-derived agent with numerous possible uses in cancer treatment. Nobody has heard of Luteolin. That is because the research being done in its potential anti-cancer application is really new. What is it anyway? Luteolin is a bioflavonoid…