A crash course on canine cancer.
This book will show you how to be your best friend's best advocate.
“Your book was my savior, my inspiration while battling cancer with Maxim. Anybody fighting cancer with their pet should have Help Your Dog Fight Cancer as a reference.” (Marie and Angel)
IF YOU HAVE A DOG WITH CANCER
Go to the book website! Click above.
You will find lots of info about dogs and cancer and
FREE downloads with information you will need.
Learn how to navigate the complicated ins and outs of canine cancer treatment.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
You may find that friends and family – the people who give you moral and emotional support group in other circumstances – are not able to help you now. They cannot understand or relate to your efforts to help your dog fight cancer. They might say “It’s only a cat” or “It’s only a dog.”
Be assured, you are not alone! Many others are helping their pets fight cancer!
Internet support groups for pet cancer are jam packed with people going through the same experience you are going through. They will never say “It’s just a dog!” Members offer each other emotional support. They share information about their experience with their pet’s cancer, various treatments and tests and supplements and more.
If you have a pet with cancer, please join one of these groups! If you are shy, you can just read posts by others for a while, then jump in and introduce yourself and your pet.
Pet Cancer Support any dog with cancer
Feline Cancer Support any cat with cancer
LymphomaHeartDogs dogs with lymphoma
BoneCancerDogs dogs with bone cancer
Tripawds.com 3-legged dogs and cats
CanineCancer.com any dog with cancer
Vaccinating a pet with cancer is like throwing kerosene on a fire. Download a vaccine waiver HERE.
There’s almost always more than one way to treat a dog with cancer. As your pet’s first advocate, find out what all of the options are, and then choose the one that works best for you and your pet.
If your veterinary medical team says what treatment they will give your pet – without explaining all of your options and letting you choose – you need more information.
Schedule a consult with Laurie. She will review your pet’s diagnosis, treatment plan and home care plan, and help you make decisions. You’ll discuss what else can be done to help your pet fight cancer.
Zoom or phone call, your choice.
Here is a very brief explanation of the Cancer Diet for pets. It is the diet that Bullet was given for more than 4 years, while in remission from lymphoma. A pet with cancer should eat a high fat, low carbohydrate diet.
Fats (Omega-3 fatty acids) provide nutrients to the pet. Good O-3 fatty acids include flax seed oil, and fish oil.
Carbohydrates only feed the cancer, allowing tumors to grow and multiply.
For those who home-cook (or home-raw) a diet for their dog, a good plan is to include 3/4 vegetables and 1/4 meat. Add supplements like fatty acids, tofu, and eggs.
Supplements benefit any pet. They are essential for pets with cancer. Always give your pet high quality supplements produced with reliable quality control. Reports from www.ConsumerLab.com can help you compare the quality of various brand names, and choose the best quality supplements for your pet… and for the rest of your family.
Thousands of manufacturers and distributors claim that their products fight cancer. There are just as many web sites selling these products. Most have only anecdotal evidence of their efficacy with testimonials from users, veterinarians and/or physicians attesting to the supplement’s cancer-fighting properties. When you find a supplement that you want to give your pet, type it into a search engine and compare sources. The prices vary widely and the quality may vary as well. Some products are organic or natural-made and others are not. Some manufacturers have superior quality control of their products.
Each cancer case is different. Each pet is unique. A supplement that is helpful in one case may be ineffective in others, for reasons that are not understood. With the information currently available, pick and choose what you believe will help our pet. Read, research, and reach out to people in the support groups to help make your decisions.
Which products actually help in the fight against cancer? Clearly, there is no supplement that cures cancer! For most of the types of cancer, there isn’t even a medication or procedure that can offer a cure. If there was, none of our pets or family members or friends would have cancer! Successful cases do occur, and may be due to choosing the perfect “treatment + diet + supplements” regimen. Some may be spontaneous cures or remissions that occur sporadically and inexplicably, just as cancer itself may inexplicably develop in some pets and not others. But give your pet supplements to strengthen his/her organs against the cancer, and against treatment side effects.
Omega-3 fatty acids have cardiac, psychological and occular benefits. They promote joint, coat and skin health. They provide anti-inflammatory benefits that are essential for pets with cancer and may prevent the weight loss that can lead to cancer cachexia. Omega 3s found in fish oil provide EPA and DHA. Flaxseed, canola and soy oils provide ALA, (alpha-linolenic acid), which enables the body to manufacture EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are polyunsaturated “good fats.” The O-3 product you choose should be low in dl-PCBs (less than 3 picograms per day). If you choose an O-3 fatty acid product in liquid form, prevent them from becoming rancid. Refrigerate and use the entire supply within a few weeks after opening the bottle. If your pet’s stools become oily, the oils are not being absorbed, so give a smaller amount.
Antioxidants line the shelves of every health food store. On a cellular level, antioxidants help by neutralizing free radicals. There are many different antioxidants, such as pycnogenol, cordyceps, astaxanthin, glutathione, and alpha-lipoic acid to name a few.
L-Glutamine is an essential amino acid. Among many other benefits, L-Glutamine protects the small intestine from damage caused by chemotherapy drugs. Please give all pets in chemotherapy L-Glutamine to minimize gastrointestinal side effects of chemo. Any pet with gastrointestinal ailments will benefit from this supplement.
L-Arginine may hinder the progression of cancer. L-Arginine is already included in many pet foods, so don’t over-supplement.
Probiotics help to improve immune function and to prevent or resolve diarrhea. Probiotics contain acidophilus and bifidus lactobacillus and other “good” bacteria that exist naturally in the stomach.
Milk Thistle protects the liver and may prevent liver toxicity as a result of chemotherapy. Speak to your veterinarian before giving your pet milk thistle. It does stimulate the liver and it’s dangerous to over-stimulate the liver.
