Dog Cancer Life Quality Treatments
Does Massage for Dogs with Cancer Do Anything?
Life quality is a major part of dealing with canine cancer. Since cancer is a disease that impacts a loved dog’s quality of life, it makes sense that we should pay attention to it. Treatments designed to kill cancer cells are not enough. One of the overlooked areas in conventional veterinary medicine is that of…
Read ArticleLife Quality: Is My Dog In Pain?
Physical comfort is very important for a dog’s life quality. When it comes to canine cancer, life quality is a central topic that deserves much attention. Since the systemic cancers are so formidable and resist successful treatment, often increasing life span and maintaining a normal life quality are main goals. Life quality can be evaluated…
Read ArticleGlutamine, 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…
Read ArticleHelp 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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Making Time for Full Spectrum Dog Cancer Care
There is a big difference between coming up with an idea to do something, and doing it. We humans are very good at deciding that we should do. The problem is that many times we sort of lose track of this focus, and don’t totally follow through. This is a very important issue when it…
Read ArticleMirtazapine for Dog Cancer
Dear Dog Lovers, A newer drug is being used frequently lately, and I would like to make sure everyone dealing with a canine cancer diagnosis has heard of it. This medication may help some dogs out there, so let’s keep everyone up to date. The drug is mirtazapine, also called Remeron. Now granted, many of…
Read ArticleIs There Hope For Dog Cancer?
Hope. Even looking at the word on a computer screen can cause an odd mix of feelings. This is especially true if you are coping with a canine cancer diagnosis. If there was ever a double-edged sword, hope is it. On one hand, allowing yourself to feel hope can turbocharge your abilities and motivation. On…
Read ArticleVitamin C and Dog Cancer Update
There is much talk on the use of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), in it’s various forms, for cancer treatment in the “alternative” medical community. It’s use in conventional cancer care is routinely ignored. In the spirit of full-spectrum care and rational analysis, let’s take a closer look. Due to some interesting observations, focus on vitamin…
Read ArticleThe Most Important Question in Dog Cancer Care
Many dog lovers arrive at The Dog Cancer Blog looking or information. There is a problem though, and I would like to begin to spread the word about the most important question in dog cancer care. Here it is: What type of person are you? To many, this may sound very bizarre, so give me…
Read ArticleA Dog Cancer Wake Up Call
From time to time I receive comments from readers who express opinions about what they will consider in treating their dog’s cancer. These particular folks segregate themselves into a single group…the “anti” people. First, we have those who are very impressed with conventional veterinary care. This is my background, so I see the appeal. Big…
Read ArticleCarcinogenic Chemo Drugs
One of the biggest ironies I have encountered are carcinogenic chemotherapy drugs. Sound odd to you? Well, I don’t blame you! When I first found out about it I was shocked. Medication used for fighting cancer actually increasing the odds for cancer later? Now, before everyone gets reactionary, we have to temper this topic…
Read ArticleThe Two Sides of Sunlight and Dog Cancer, part 2
In the last post, we examined those cases where a dog lover might want to protect dogs prone to certain skin cancers with sunscreen and indoor living. However, these are the minority. The vast majority of dogs actually benefit, in a real way, from some direct sunlight. Here’s my argument… Sunlight exposure in people is …
Read ArticleThe Cost of My Dog’s Life, part 2
In the last post, I blogged on what one can do to deal with the difficult financial issues attached to dog cancer care. In this one, I would like to widen back, to help with some of the more personal issues about the subject. To be sure, the real-world money issue is a basic, real…
Read ArticleBone Cancer Pain: New Ideas
Many who love a dog with bone cancer need information to make sure pain is managed. Bone cancers are often very painful. Since life quality is so essential for us when making medical choices, we need to always control pain. Bone cancer is often first noticed as a limp. Many times I have had a…
Read ArticleThe Number One Way to Cure Canine Cancer
These days, there is so much information out there about cancer in dogs. Some is good, and some is not that hot. If you dig, you will find enough to make your head spin. You will get the basics from your vet or oncologist. These are what I call The Big Three, and consist of…
Read ArticleWhat Is Over-Treatment of Dog Cancer?
Decision-making when faced with a dog cancer diagnosis can be tough. Treatment outcome, age, cost, and side effects all can weigh heavily on the mind of a dog lover. During the first decision-making period, so much has to be weighed. The difficult part in this process is that nothing seems to be for sure. Objective…
Read ArticleHow Do We Tell If A Loved Dog Is In Pain?
Pain. The very word makes us wince. Same with the word cancer. A friend recently brought up the fact that some of us refer to cancer as “The C-word.” So when we put these together and talk about cancer pain, we have quite a loaded topic on our hands. Before I get into how to…
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Manageable Challenges and Life Quality
Manageable challenges and life quality: your dog with cancer NEEDS to feel good about himself. Continue to challenge her, to boost her sense of self-esteem!
Read ArticleEnd of Life Care in Dog Cancer
The end of life stage can be very hard on everyone. It often is gut-wrenching to see your dear companion start to say goodbye. Like any weighty decision, sometimes the emotions involved can paralyze our ability to choose. During these times it is so important to gain some clarity by seeking support in counselors, support…
Read ArticleDo Numbers Matter?
A lover of a dog with cancer needs to come up with an plan that makes sense. The first step in any plan is arming oneself with answers, or data that relates to the situation. There are two basic areas that we need to focus on. The first is what can we do to maintain…
Read ArticleHow Long Does My Dog Have?
It is very important to do what we can to avoid ongoing depression when trying to cope with cancer in our dogs. Ongoing depression is exhausting, steals our reserves, and clouds judgment. It decreases your dog’s chances of good life quality during a life with cancer. Yes, your ongoing depression. Please do not misunderstand me. …
Read ArticleCan 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…
Read ArticleChronic Morphine May Worsen Dog Cancer
Well, in this post I want to give the readers some cutting edge new developments in dog cancer pain control. For decades, morphine has been a good old standard in pain control, both in dog and human medicine. Many oncologists and veterinarians involved in treating dogs afflicted with cancer use morphine to help these patients.…
Read ArticleWhat I Do in my Veterinary Hospital
Some have wondered what does this guy do, this Dr Dressler? Why does he do this blog anyway? Well, there is a shorter version of the long truth. Since this is a blog post, and I’m told mine are too long anyway, I’ll give you the short version. I spend many hours working as a…
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