Cancer 
Cancer Cancer, an uncontrolled growth of cells on or inside the body, is common in pets. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, dogs get cancer at about the same rate as humans. The incidence increases with age and accounts for almost half of deaths over the age of ten years. However, many veterinarians interviewed for this book expressed concern about seeing more younger animals than ever before developing cancer. “When I started in practice more than twenty-five years ago, cancer was a disease of older animals,” says Robert Goldstein, VMD, who regards cancer as an epidemic disease among pets. “Now you see it regularly when they are one, two, and three.”
The incidence of cancer is attributed by holistic veterinarians as a failure of the immune system in the face of genetic weaknesses fostered by contemporary breeding practices and a constant onslaught of poor diet, medication, toxic chemicals, vaccines, and stress. The disease is seen as a systemic affliction that may appear locally as skin tumors in one patient or breast cancer in another. But the underlying problem, in the holistic viewpoint, is a failure of the body’s defenses to stop abnormal mutating cells from growing rapidly.
Just as their human medicine counterparts, veterinary oncologists (animal doctors specializing in cancer treatments) recommend the standard approaches of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. For some forms of cancer, surgery is the best option. Skin tumors, for instance, can often be eliminated cleanly by surgery, especially when treated early, veterinarians say. Drugs and radiation are also beneficial when used appropriately. For lymphomas and lymphosarcomas, chemotherapy can be very effective and should be considered as an option.
Natural healing methods, unlike conventional treatments, are not invasive. They emphasize strengthening the body’s weakened healing resources. Natural methods can be used in two ways:
In combination with standard treatments to reduce side effects and speed healing. Animals undergoing chemo or surgical procedures do much better if they are on nutritional and natural supportive therapies.
As the major modality, under the care of a holistic veterinarian, and bypassing standard therapies.
Cancer is a life-threatening condition. The following commentaries and anticancer programs provide general information for helping affected animals; however, the most effective approach is an individualized plan of natural “immunotherapy” structured by a qualified holistic veterinarian to extend and improve the quality of life and enhance the chances of recovery.
Alternative treatments are highly varied and multifaceted. As Roger DeHaan, DVM, points out, “There is as yet no ‘magic bullet’ that kills cancer cells. The holistic approach tries to build up the immune system and improve nutrition. Any time you do these things you are going to help the animal—or the person—combat cancer. Working on these critical fronts is basic to any anticancer approach, whether it is medical or natural. I am for building the body’s defense mechanisms. The normal pet’s body is equipped to kill or discard unhealthy cells. My goal is to fortify this natural ability. I believe this is the best way to tackle cancer.”
General points made by the veterinarians include the following:
Good nutrition is critical. Food as medicine is particularly important for very sick animals. An anticancer diet does not include commercial pet food. Cancer patients need a home-made diet emphasizing fresh, wholesome food and lightly steamed vegetables (see chapter 7). Avoid chemical additives. “Unless this is done, animals don’t have a fighting chance,” says Joseph Demers, DVM.
Use of supplements. Holistic veterinarians recommend multiple nutritional supplements to fortify the immune system. They suggest starting the supplements at a lower dose and working up slowly to recommended levels. You will find that here in this section on cancer different veterinarians recommend some of the same supplements at somewhat different dosages. Your best bet is to select and apply one particular veterinarian’s program and work with it. These recommendations are general guidelines that can be used in virtually all cases, even if your animal is being treated conventionally.
Stress depletes the body of important cancer-fighting vitamins, interferes with digestion and the nervous system. Stress thus weakens the immune system and the defense cells that kill or neutralize cancer. Is there a lot of stress in your animal’s life? (See discussion on stress later in part 2.)
Last resort. Holistic veterinarians say they unfortunately tend to see animals who have been previously treated with chemotherapy and who are then brought to them as a last resort. “Even though they may be near the end we can frequently improve their quality of life for the time that is left,” says Tejinder Sodhi, DVM, of Bellevue, Washington.
Meditation, prayer, and forgiveness. Do not burden yourself or your beloved pet with guilt, which only blocks healing. Enjoy the time that’s left.
SPAYING/NEUTERING AND CANCER—NANCY SCANLAN, DVM, SHERMAN OAKS, CA
Domestic animals are bred for maximum fertility. They go into heat more frequently and produce more offspring than their wild counterparts. In addition, the high-protein and high-caloric foods they eat stimulate more eggs and hence more offspring. Canines in the wild go into heat once a year and have a single litter. A female dog nurses her young longer and expends considerable energy hunting down food. This tends to delay the next heat period.
If you own an unspayed female who keeps coming into heat, and you do not breed her, she will have a tendency to develop cysts on the ovaries and be more prone to cancer, especially breast cancer. If you spay before the first heat, the risk of breast cancer is reduced by about 95 percent; before the second heat, up to 60 percent less. In addition, spayed dogs have no chance of developing pyometra, a potentially fatal infection of the uterus.
Male dogs can develop enlarged prostates. Neutered animals are much less prone to develop prostate cancer, which is somewhat common in older dogs.
Even when we do the best for our pets, cancer may still strike. Here are some personal recommendations when this happens:
Get a full veterinary diagnosis, including a biopsy, and surgery if relevant.
Feed a natural diet of whole foods that minimizes or eliminates chemical additives. Feed live foods, such as yogurt.
Supplement the diet with important antioxidant and protective nutrients. Among them I recommend coenzyme Q10, an important antioxidant, especially in cases involving mammary and lung tumors, and noni (morinda), a healing tropical fruit from Hawaii. (The noni product I use, from Nature’s Sunshine, is available through Holistic Veterinary Services, at 218-846-9112.)
Coenzyme Q10: 1 milligram daily for each pound of body weight.
Noni: 1 capsule daily for each twenty-five pounds of body weight.
Digestive enzymes (to support the pancreas and digestion): Follow label instructions.
(Note: Scanlan has written a comprehensive book on cancer in pets—Cancer, All the Options: A Wholistic View of Cancer Therapy, available through Hibridge Press in San Jose, California, at 800-860-9422. This book offers the latest information on cancer treatment, both conventionally and holistically, for dogs and cats.)
Whatever course of treatment you choose, support it with a strong supplement program to protect and reinforce your animal’s immune system. Antioxidant supplements, such as vitamins C and E and coenzyme Q10, will do this, as well as exert specific anticancer benefits. They should be part of any anticancer strategy. Antioxidants also offer protection against the side effects of chemotherapy.
Omega-3 fatty acids, as found in fish liver oils (containing eico-sapentaenoic or decosahexaenoic acids), also give nutritional support. Animal studies have shown they inhibit tumor growth and metastasis.
I also recommend two Chinese herbal formulas made for humans that have anticancer properties. They are extremely helpful in dealing with cancer in animals. Both are made by Health Concerns (800-233-9355) and are available through health professionals or veterinarians. I use Power Mushrooms, one of the formulas, for any kind of cancer as well as to boost immunity in animals with weak defenses. I have used Regeneration, the other formula, for its anticancer properties as well as its ability to help counteract the side effects of chemotherapy.
Vitamin C: Build up slowly to bowel tolerance level. (See note to reader at beginning of part 2 on how to give vitamin C in this manner.) Sicker animals need more—and tolerate more—vitamin C than healthy animals.
Vitamin E: Small dogs, 50 international units (IU); medium dogs, 100 IU; large dogs, 200 IU; giant breeds, 400 IU. You can safely double these doses in serious cases. Don’t exceed 800 IU.
Coenzyme Q10: Small and medium dogs, 20 milligrams; large dogs, 40 milligrams; giant breeds, 60 milligrams. You can use even higher amounts, but watch for possible signs of gastric upset or decreased appetite.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Small dogs, 250 milligrams daily; medium dogs, 500 milligrams; large dogs, 750 milligrams; giant breeds, 1,000 milligrams. Do not use omega-3 fatty acids that are combined with omega-6 oils.
Power Mushroom and Regeneration: Give twice daily. Dogs under fifteen pounds, give 1/4 to 1/2 tablet each time; dogs up to thirty-five pounds, 1 tablet; dogs up to fifty pounds, 1 1/2 tablets; dogs up to eighty pounds, 2 tablets; larger breeds, 2 1/2 to 3 tablets.
Seventy percent of my cases involve cancer. Homeopathy offers an effective alternative to conventional approaches for this devastating disease. In general, you can accomplish with homeopathy the same results obtained with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical treatments. Often we can accomplish more. However, I strongly recommend that you consult with an experienced veterinary homeopath because the remedies used must be skillfully individualized.
We do get cures with homeopathy. More than 50 percent of animals go into remission if treated early enough, but even with more advanced cases we have results that are similar to invasive therapies, yet without the side effects. In general, the tumors that respond the best to chemotherapy and radiation are the same that respond to homeopathy.
In my opinion, homeopathy helps pain better than any drug. The animal will feel much better right up to the end. Homeopathy seems to ensure a dying process that is more natural, as compared with that of an animal being treated with drugs. Often with homeopathy we are able to extend the lives of animals given only a short time to live by other veterinarians. This is because homeopathy uplifts the animal’s life force.
In addition to homeopathics, there are many other remedies you can apply to strengthen an animal diagnosed with cancer. I have found the following to be particularly helpful.
Chinese astragalus: This herb is an excellent immune stimulant that can be used indefinitely on a daily basis. It is available as an herbal tincture or in capsule form. Give twice daily. Small dogs, 3 drops or 1 capsule each time; larger dogs, up to 6 drops, or capsules up to the human dosage depending on size of animal.
Grapeseed extract: 1 milligram per pound of body weight twice daily.
Multi-vitamin/mineral: Pro VitaMix or other quality formulas available through Morrill’s New Directions (800-368–5057). Follow label instructions.
Vitamin C: Give twice daily. Small dogs, 500 milligrams each time; large dogs, 1,000 milligrams.
Vitamin E: Small dogs, 200 IU daily; large dogs, 400 IU.
Omega-3 fatty acid fish oils (such as salmon): 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams daily, depending on size.
The following supplements are basic elements in a nutritional program to help support animals with cancer. Start low and build up to the recommended levels. The supplements can usually be mixed into the food.
One supplement you may be familiar with as a spice, but not as a nutritional aid, is turmeric. This popular Indian spice contains cur-cumin, a natural substance that acts as a strong anti-inflammatory in the body. It also helps boost the immune system. Turmeric is available at most supermarkets, health food stores, and for sure at any Indian store.
Vitamin C (sodium or calcium ascorbate powder): Use the bowel tolerance concept. (See note to reader at beginning of part 2 on how to give vitamin C in this manner.) Remember that tolerance varies.
Vitamin E: Small dogs, 100 IU, giant breeds, 800 IU.
Digestive enzymes: Use the pet products made from plant sources. Follow label instructions.
Coenzyme Q10: Small and medium dogs, up to 30 milligrams daily; large and giant dogs, up to 120 milligrams.
B complex: Small dogs, give a supplement that has up to 25 milligrams of the major B components; medium to large dogs, 50-milligram potencies; giant breeds and dogs with special needs, 75 milligrams. Special needs refers to dogs debilitated from the illness or who suffer weight loss due perhaps to inflammatory bowel disease and other associated problems.
Essiac tea tincture: 10 drops, two or three times daily.
Turmeric: Small dogs, 1/4 teaspoon. Giant breeds can take up to 1 teaspoon twice a day. Mix into food. Start low and increase gradually.
There are a number of potent products available at health food stores that have substantial anticancer properties. Among them are natural whole-food supplements such as kelp and barley grass. Start with a pinch and increase slowly to the recommended label level over two weeks. The ones I particularly recommend are the following:
Sea Meal, a kelp formula made by Solid Gold (800-DOG-HUND). Kelp nourishes the thyroid gland, which in turn helps to stabilize the endocrine system.
Barley Dog, made by Green Foods Corporation (800-222-3374), containing chlorophyll, antioxidants, amino acids, and enzymes.
My other anticancer recommendations include the following:
Essiac tea, an alcohol-extract product from New Action Products (716-873-3738). Small dogs, 4 to 8 drops daily; medium dogs, 8 to 10 drops; large dogs, 1 to 2 full droppers.
Antioxidant supplements. Find a good product with vitamin A or beta-carotene, vitamins E and C, and selenium. I like to add some of the potent antioxidants such as pycnogenol or grapeseed extract. The daily dosage for these is one-quarter of the recommended human level for small dogs and up to a full dose for very large dogs.
Organic flaxseed oil. This type of product contains important fatty acids believed to combat cancer. Animals don’t like the taste. Start with 1 to 2 drops and mix into the food. Slowly increase to 1/2 teaspoon daily for small dogs and as high as 1 tablespoon for giant breeds.
Digestive enzymes. Cancer patients need help with their digestion. Enzymes will enable them to extract the maximum nutrition from the food they eat. Follow label instructions on pet products.
Pau d’arco is a primary herb I use for all species diagnosed with cancer, immune disorders, or chronic yeast infections. It is a powerful immune-stimulating agent from Brazil, where it is widely used for cancer patients. I recommend the glycerin-based liquid product from Gaia Herbs (800-831-7780), available at health food stores.
The most dramatic effect I have seen was with a group of ferrets with cancer I was treating for a rescue organization. Ferrets are very prone to colds. About five years ago a terrible virus was ravaging the older rescued ferrets. The only ones that did not come down with upper-respiratory symptoms were the ferrets with cancer that I was giving pau d’arco!
I also recommend buffered vitamin C powder (in the form of calcium ascorbate). I have had wonderful results with this combination for animals given little time to live. Many have gone on to live for years. This is a safe and beneficial long-term program.
Pau d’arco: Give twice daily. Small dogs, 10 drops each time; dogs up to fifty pounds, 20 drops; larger dogs, use the capsule form and give 500 milligrams each time.
Vitamin C: Start with 500 milligrams and slowly increase the dosage to bowel tolerance. Mix powder directly into food. If animal balks at the taste, mix it with yogurt.
Once an animal is diagnosed with this form of cancer, the conventional opinion is that it will live about six months if you do not remove the tumor. And if you remove the tumor, the prognosis is death within two years from recurring cancer. In my clinic I recommend surgical removal of the tumor, followed by natural remedies on a long-term basis to help prevent recurrences. With this approach many animals live on for years, in the end dying of causes other than cancer.
For such mammary gland tumors, I enhance my supplement program with a traditional Chinese multiple herbal formula called Chih-ko and Curcuma, from Seven Forests (distributed through I.T.M., 800-544-7504). The Chinese name for this formula is Xiao Zhong Liu Pian. It is used extensively in China for cancer and comes in the form of an oval tablet.
Chih-ko and Curcuma: Give twice daily. Small dogs, 1/2 tablet each time; medium dogs, 1 tablet; large dogs, 2 tablets; giant breeds, 3 tablets.
In many cases we attain good therapeutic results using a variety of different natural approaches where pet owners chose not to subject their animals to chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. Frequently tumors go into long-term remission. In general, animals that eventually succumb to the disease live much longer than expected and usually more comfortably, without any of the serious side effects associated with conventional treatment.
The type of natural treatment a holistic practitioner selects depends on the severity of the condition, the tissues involved, and what the owner expects. My approach is basically threefold:
Acupuncture, probably ten sessions or more, to stimulate the body to fight off the cancer. This technique works well to protect animals against side effects from radiation treatments.
Shark cartilage. I recommend Benefin shark cartilage made by Lane Laboratories (1-800-LANE-005). I have little confidence in other shark cartilage brands for cancer therapy. Most companies limit the expected benefits to arthritis.
One old pitbull I treated years ago was a descendant of “Pete,” the dog who appeared in many Our Gang comedies. The animal had been previously diagnosed through biopsy with two types of tumors: a hemangiosarcoma, a blood-borne cancer that frequently settles in blood-filled organs such as the liver and the spleen, and an oral fibrosarcoma so big that he couldn’t close his mouth. Another veterinarian had recommended the dog be put to sleep.
First, I surgically removed the oral tumor. Then, sometime afterward, I prescribed shark cartilage, which cleared up the other tumor and also dramatically improved the animal’s arthritic condition. The dog was eventually euthanized, not because of his cancer, but because he was feeling so good that he started running after female dogs and severely damaged his arthritic joints!
Either uña de gato (cat’s claw), a South American herb with a powerful effect on tumors, or Dismutase. The choice is often based on the form (tablet, capsule, liquid, or powder) of the supplement available or on the preference of the pet or owner.
Una de gato is an antioxidant and adaptogen—a substance that helps the body against stress. I have seen tumors disappear over time when this herbal is used. It is also an excellent agent for reducing or eliminating the serious side effects that accompany chemotherapy. I have found Rainforest Bio-Energetics’ una de gato to be a reliable herb (available through Van Cise’s clinic at 909-737-1242).
Most owners of cancer patients are reluctant to stop therapies that contribute to their pet’s recovery. The amount of frequency of dosing una de gato or other supplements might be lowered once the pet recovers, but it is unlikely that you would want to stop the supplements completely.
Dismutase, the other supplement I often recommend, strengthens an animal against cancer. It is an antioxidant made from wheat and soy sprouts. The product is available in tablet form, and dogs usually eat it readily. (For more information on this product, see Van Cise’s entry under arthritis.)
Benefin: 1 gram in either caplet or powder form per fifteen pounds of body weight, preferably on an empty stomach.
Uña de gato: Small dogs, 10 drops of liquid formula twice daily; medium and large dogs, one 500-milligram capsule twice daily; giant breeds, 2 capsules twice daily. The herb works better on an empty stomach.
Dismutase: Small to medium dogs, up to 6 tablets daily; large and giant breeds, 8 to 10 tablets. Give on an empty stomach.
My approach to cancer involves a combination of herbs, amino acids, vitamins, and coenzyme Q10. Each case is individualized, but results are generally good.
One of the herbs I use is Essiac, in capsule form, to help promote recovery and for the long term as a preventive against recurrent tumors. Essiac is an herbal combination developed by a Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse, who for a period of more than fifty years treated many hundreds of patients with cancer. Essiac is Caisse spelled backward. Caisse never made her formula public in her lifetime. She said the formula had been given to her by a patient who had been cured from breast cancer by an Indian herbalist. The four main ingredients in Essiac are burdock, Indian rhubarb, sorrel, and slippery elm. In the 1970s Essiac was tested at two U.S. cancer institutions and said to offer no anticancer activity. According to Ralph Moss, Ph.D., in Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer’s Guide to Non-Toxic Treatment if Prevention (Equinox Press, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1992), “the mixture remains worth investigating, not just because of persistent anecdotal reports, but because most of its identifiable components have individually shown anticancer properties in independent tests.”
For any animal being treated for cancer either conventionally or holistically, Essiac tea is an excellent natural remedy. It acts basically as a blood cleanser. It tends to increase elimination—you may see more voluminous stool. It also stimulates the appetite, which is desirable in cancer cases, and increases the immune system’s effectiveness against cancer cells.
I recommend a tea called Whisker’s Own Rednop Essiac, a blend of Essiac plus pau d’arco and red clover blossom, developed by Whisker’s Holistic Pet Products at 800-944-7537. It comes in a powder form that you make into a tea and then administer by dropper down the animal’s throat. Essiac tea is mildly bitter. When an animal is fighting a serious illness such as cancer, some people are reluctant to force a liquid medication on animals. Although I prefer the tea, there is an alternative—a freeze-dried crystal form of Essiac that can be put right into an animal’s food. It is called E Tea and is made by Nature’s Sunshine (800-223-8225).
Whisker’s Essiac: Follow label instructions.
E Tea: Small dogs, one-quarter of the human dose on the label; dogs up to fifty pounds, one-half the label dose; dogs more than fifty pounds, full amount.
For animals receiving chemotherapy treatments, I recommend the homeopathic remedy Nux vomica to help the body cope more effectively against the toxicity of the drugs. Chemotherapy often generates adverse side effects. As the treatment progresses, animals are more likely to become sick and develop vomiting or diarrhea. Nux vomica can make a big difference. It can be given at any time during the treatment program.
If the side effects are not severe, give a single dose of Nux vomica 30C immediately after the chemo treatment. If side effects are severe, give twice a day for two days.