You’re the Boss
I Don’t Want to Treat Dog Cancer!
Don’t want to treat dog cancer? Dr. Dressler talks about how that’s totally, 100% understandable. Also, none of our business.
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Full Spectrum Cancer Treatment for Dogs to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity
Forget dogma: Full Spectrum Cancer Care includes ALL cancer treatment for dogs that work, no matter where they come from. Just what helps YOUR dog.
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Find a Veterinarian: How to Find, Interview, and Hire Your Next Veterinarian, Oncologist, or Other Specialist
Need to find a veterinarian, oncologist, or second opinion? Read our tips on how to find, interview and hire the right veterinarian for you and your dog.
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How Can I Help My Dog with Cancer? Read Chapter 1: Your Role in Dog Cancer
How can I help my dog with cancer? It’s the first question dog lovers ask. Dr. Demian Dressler answers it. Warning: his answer might not be what you expect.
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Summer Dangers for Dogs with Cancer
Summer dangers for dogs with cancer are right around the corner. Let’s be prepared!
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How to Make Decisions About Dog Cancer Treatments
Overwhelmed and anxious, and unsure how to make decisions about dog cancer treatments? Read this article to find out how to “think like an entrepreneur” and calculate the risk.
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The Most Important Question in Dog Cancer
What’s the most important question in dog cancer care? You’ll be surprised at what Dr. Dressler has to say.
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Reducing Anxiety in Dogs with Cancer
A worried dog has a harder time healing — and dogs mostly worry in response to OUR worry. When it comes to reducing anxiety in dogs with cancer, what’s a dog lover to do?
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Is My Dog Still Happy?
So, is your dog happy? It’s not always easy to tell. But there are certain tell-tale signs that will help you know one way or the other.
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Safer Flea and Tick Treatments for Dogs
What’s the best way to protect your dog with cancer from fleas and ticks? Susan Harper explores safer flea and tick treatments in detail.
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How Is Your Relationship with Your Vet?
Dr. Demian Dressler, author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, and his oncologist co-author, Dr. Susan Ettinger, don’t always agree about everything. But they definitely agree that you are the ultimate authority on your own dog – and that’s why you should take on the role of “Primary Health Advocate.” As Primary Health Advocate, you…
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Are You a Dog Lover, or a Dog Guardian?
Who’s in charge of your decisions when it comes to your dog’s cancer? You are.
Read ArticleClinical Trials for Dog Cancer: Pros and Cons
Dog lovers coping with canine cancer often are looking for solutions. When hearing the news that a loved dog has cancer, and the statistics and costs related to chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, many times a guardian will start looking for something else to try, a solution that seems better than what is available. Often the…
Read ArticleIs It Wrong To Treat Dogs for Cancer?
There has been a lot of press and debate lately about the high costs of veterinary medicine. Being in New York, I’m thinking of several NY Times articles. On the front page on April 5th, there was the article “New Treatments to Save a Pet, but Questions About the Costs.” This article highlighted the advances…
Read ArticleRight and Wrong In Dog Cancer
When coping with a diagnosis of canine cancer, many guardians worry about decisions they are making. Often there does not seem to be a “right” answer. Similarly, when learning about topics in cancer treatment, we may have a tendency to categorize as “good” and “bad”. An important fact of dog cancer, and many medical topics,…
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What I Would Do for My Dog with Lymphoma
What would a veterinarian oncologist do for her dog with lymphoma? Dr. Susan Ettinger tells us how she would handle this dread disease.
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Disruptive Stress and Dog Cancer
Coping with dog cancer is extremely stressful. Certain life events, like coping with dog cancer in your loved family member, create such stress that it actually disrupts normal thinking. This is called “disruptive stress.” This is very natural and common. However, disruptive stress has been shown to have a real negative effect. Disruptive stress creates…
Read ArticleGuardian Versus Dog Lover in Dog Cancer
There is a big difference between loving a dog and being a dog guardian. Guardianship implies being a protector. There is vigilance, resourcefulness, and problem solving mixed with love. Being a dog lover is just enjoying your relationship with your dog. Guardianship is required for dealing with canine cancer. Being a dog lover is not…
Read ArticleCarcinoma of the Anal Sac, part 2
In the last post, anal sac carcinoma was discussed, including diagnosing these malignant tumors in the dog. In this post, we will cover more on treatments and some data concerning outcomes. If a guardian is coping with a diagnosis of canine anal sac carcinoma, often major questions arise soon after the news is received. Chemotherapy? …
Read ArticleTo Chemo or Not To Chemo?
One of the little known facts about veterinary medicine is that chemotherapy does not cure cancer in dogs, with few exceptions (except transmissible venereal tumor or the very rare lympho or something). I believe that many people are unaware of this fact. So we are left with a treatment modality that has a goal of…
Read ArticleTaking Care of Your Dog’s Guardian
The Olympics are a test in sports against the world’s most formidable athletes. To win in the Olympics, an athlete must not only tend to diet, practice, and technique. An Olympian must use every edge to win, including managing emotions and the mind under intense pressure. Coping with a canine cancer diagnosis is an Olympian…
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 ArticleThe Cost of My Dog’s Life, part 1
If you are a dog lover coping with the diagnosis of dog cancer, at some point you will be forced to deal with costs. In this economic climate, many are faced with heart-wrenching decisions. “I need to choose between my dog’s care and my own.” “I have to pick either paying for my home or…
Read ArticleBut 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…
Read ArticleIs 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…
Read ArticleProblem Solving while having a Dog With Cancer
Lymphosarcoma. Hemangiosarcoma. Osteosarcoma. Mast Cell Tumor. Nasal Tumor. Melanoma. Mammary Cancer. All these words, so harsh, so foreign and scientific. And also, so horrible. Do you love a dog with cancer? How are you dealing with this fact? Upon reflection, some may not even allow the reality to sink in. You are telling me my…
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…
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