By CJ Puotinen

The high-tech world of modern medicine has so many weapons that its “war on cancer” arsenal promises something for everyone. But all along, there have been patients, physicians, veterinarians, and animal caregivers who refuse chemotherapy, radiation treatments, surgery, prescription drugs, and other oncology protocols.

What do they use instead? Everything from an improved diet to homeopathy, medicinal herbs, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and energy therapies. The aim of all of these treatments, which are used singly or in combination, is to engage the healing properties of Mother Nature while avoiding debilitating side effects.

Rather than describe every alternative cancer treatment – an impossible task that would fill a book – we’ll describe several frequently used alternative therapies. These protocols tend to be simple and affordable, especially compared with conventional medical therapies. In some cases, they completely cured a dog’s cancer. In others, they significantly improved the patient’s quality of life, resulting in companionship and an active lifestyle for months or years beyond the original prognosis. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees, for no treatment always cures cancer or extends the patients’s life. Sometimes, nothing works.

If you decide to use one or more of these protocols, please do so with the help of a knowledgeable holistic veterinarian – or a sympathetic conventional vet – who can monitor your dog’s condition, document his or her progress, and provide support throughout the dog’s treatment.

This can be especially important when the patient goes through rapid detoxification or a so-called “healing crisis” – where the dog gets dramatically worse before getting better – something any natural therapy might trigger. “Information, encouragement, and assistance from someone who understands what’s going on can be a blessing, especially if the symptoms are unexpected or dramatic,” says trainer Nancy Strouss, of Nyack, New York, who has lost six Golden Retrievers and one black Lab to cancer.

For information on product sources, dosages, and specific recommendations, see the “Resources” sidebar.

Nutrition
Diet is so important in the treatment of cancer that all holistic veterinarians encourage their clients to improve the quality of their dogs’ food. Organizations like the Weston A. Price Foundation and your local farmer’s market or co-op can help you locate organic, pasture-fed ingredients, including raw or cultured dairy products.

Unlike products from factory farms, the meat and milk of pasture-fed animals contain conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which inhibits the development of tumors. Upgrading to pasture-fed ingredients can actually help your dog fight cancer.

As mentioned in “Don’t Despair, Just Care” (January 2006), carbohydrates feed cancer cells, while fats do not. This may explain why some dogs with cancer have responded well to a diet recommended for human patients by the late Johanna Budwig, PhD. A German pharmacologist, chemist, and physicist, Dr. Budwig is best known for her research on fats and oils and for her use of flaxseed oil and sulphur-rich quark cheese (a cultured dairy product similar to cottage cheese) to treat cancer. She advocated the use of nutrition, sunlight (a natural source of vitamin D), and stress management as a stand-alone alternative cancer treatment.

Five years ago, Misty, a German Shepherd Dog belonging to Craig Stauffer in Sunnyvale, California, developed mammary cancer. Following the biopsy of two tumors, Misty was given six months to live. “The recommended treatment was the removal of all mammary tissue followed by chemotherapy,” says Stauffer.

Instead, Stauffer researched alternatives and learned of Dr. Budwig’s treatment. He began supplementing Misty’s dog food with flax seed oil, cottage cheese, ground flax seed, garlic, and broccoli. Misty’s cancer disappeared, and she enjoyed an active, athletic lifestyle with no recurrence of the disease. “We lost her in May 2005 to old age,” Stauffer reports, “shortly before her 14th birthday.”

Because flax seed oil is highly perishable and quickly goes rancid at room temperature, this ingredient requires constant refrigeration. Coconut researcher Bruce Fife, ND (see “Crazy About Coconut Oil,” October 2005), suggests replacing the flax seed oil in this protocol with coconut oil. “Coconut oil is far more stable than flax seed oil,” he explains, “and it has significant anti-tumor properties.”

Carbohydrates feed cancer cells, so feed canine cancer patients a grain-free, low-carb or no-carb diet. (See “Feed the Dog, Starve the Cancer,” November 2003.)

Antioxidant supplements
Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that protect cells from damage caused by oxygen molecules known as free radicals, which are believed to encourage the development of tumors. Antioxidants include beta-carotene (found in carrots, cantaloupe, and other orange-colored foods), vitamin E (found in nuts, wheat germ, and some vegetables), vitamin A (found in liver, egg yolks, and cod liver oil), vitamin C (found in citrus fruit, hot peppers, and leafy vegetables), and the mineral selenium (found in grains).

Human clinical trials suggest that synthetic vitamin E may contribute to, rather than prevent, certain illnesses, something that advocates of whole-food nutrition have long maintained.

Some herbs and nutritional supplements used in the treatment of cancer are (or are claimed to be) powerful antioxidants. Antioxidant supplements may be helpful in combination with most natural cancer treatments, but they can interfere with others. Be sure to study a protocol carefully before adding antioxidants, and for best results use food-source rather than synthetic products.

Other supplements
Melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland in response to darkness, helps us sleep and has potent antioxidant properties. It is a popular treatment for canine thunder phobia and separation anxiety, and because it has been shown to help humans recover from breast and prostate cancer, it’s being given to some dogs with these conditions.

Several years ago, shark cartilage seemed to be the most promising alternative treatment for cancer, but uneven results, quality problems, insufficient research, and concern about the ecological effects of shark hunting reduced its popularity. Bovine cartilage shares similar properties, and some holistic veterinarians prescribe cartilage supplements for cancer.

When New Jersey resident Gayle Roberson’s 11-year-old Toy Poodle developed an almost non-stop gagging cough and a heart murmur, an X-ray revealed a major mass in his chest. None of the medications his veterinarian prescribed produced results, so Roberson experimented with bovine cartilage. “By the end of the first bottle, he was coughing less,” she says. “After the second, he was so much better that I had his chest X-rayed again. The mass had almost completely disappeared and his heart murmur was downgraded from a 5 to a 1. This was sensational, and he lived to be 17!”

Beta glucan (more correctly called Beta-1,3/1,6-Glucan) is a simple sugar derived from the cell wall of Saccharomyces ceresvsiae, common baker’s yeast. Researchers have been testing its immune-boosting properties since the 1940s.

Ted Keller, a registered pharmacist in Colorado, says he has seen dramatic results with beta glucan in human and animal cancer patients. “The best example I can give is a dog diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and given six months to live. Thanks to beta glucan, the dog was still alive two years later, to the amazement of her veterinarians. . . . The earlier the diagnosis, the better the beta glucan works. For melanoma, beta glucan works wonders as long as it hasn’t metastasized to the brain.”

Herbal treatments
Search online for herbal cancer treatments and you’ll find thousands. A few are backed by serious research, some are hyped by multilevel-marketing companies, most are described with exaggerated claims, many have been used for centuries in traditional medicine, and some have saved dogs’ lives. Distinguishing one from the other requires careful study or the help of an herbalist.

Several reputable companies make herbal tonics, teas, extracts, and other products that help dogs fight cancer. Some contain medicinal mushrooms (such as maitake or reishi), aloe vera, cat’s claw, or Chinese herbs, all of which are highly regarded as natural cancer treatments. All You Ever Wanted to Know about Herbs for Pets, a terrific book by Mary Wulff-Tilford and Gregory Tilford, is helpful for anyone interested in treating pets botanically.

The Tilfords’ favorite anticancer herb is red clover, which, they say, inhibits the activities of carcinogenic compounds, helps improve blood structure, and strengthens lymphatic functions that are crucial in cleansing cell tissues throughout the body.

Red clover also contains plant sterol constituents that may inhibit the production of blood vessels that feed newly formed tumors. Herbs for Pets includes instructions for making a tonic/support formula for cancer patients by combining red clover, the Chinese immune-boosting herb astragalus, dandelion root (which gently stimulates the liver, improves digestion, and assists with the removal of waste), and garlic (which has its own anticancer, antitumor properties).

The herbal formula Essiac (described in “Don’t Despair, Just Care,” January 2006), is another tonic tea that enhances immune function and helps the body heal itself.

The yellow spice turmeric is becoming known as a cancer fighter, even by conventional medical practitioners. Turmeric’s key ingredient is curcumin, a phytopolyphenol pigment with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties. Curcumin helps starve tumors by disrupting their blood supply, and it stimulates the immune system, enhances cardiovascular function, and improves digestion. Some cases have been reported in which turmeric or curcumin caused tumors on a dog’s head or body to turn black and disappear.

We introduced WDJ readers to Australian herbalist Robert McDowell in “Buying Time to Spend Together” (October 1998), which described how McDowell helped Jet, a 10-year-old Belgian Shepherd, recover from bone cancer. The herbalist continues to work with canine cancer patients around the world. His standard approach to all cancers involves maritime pine bark extract, an immune system tonic, in combination with a specific support formula directed at the patient’s particular cancer. “Maritime pine is a special antioxidant nearly 25 times more powerful than vitamin C,” says McDowell.

Chinese herbs
Chinese herbal medicine is a primary component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In conventional Western medicine, drugs are chosen for their ability to exert specific physiological actions; in TCM, the practitioner chooses treatments, including herbs, based on the manifestations of disease and energetic imbalances he detects in each individual’s body. In other words, a TCM practitioner may prescribe different herbs (and other treatments, including acupuncture) to different individuals with the same disease. Most of the herbs (and mineral or animal-based ingredients of predominantly herbal medicines) used by TCM practitioners have been used to treat people for thousands of years.

When Audrey Blake’s nine-year-old Golden Retriever, Dylan, was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in November 2002, Blake knew she didn’t want Dylan to undergo conventional therapy.

“Surgery wasn’t an option because his liver was involved, and I didn’t want to put him through chemotherapy,” says the Riverhead, New York resident. “Another factor was that two of my friends had just lost their Goldens to hemangiosarcoma. Both dogs died a few weeks after surgery. The odds weren’t good, so I decided that even if all we had was three months together, I wanted those months to be as comfortable as possible for him.”

Fortunately for Dylan, his veterinarian was Dr. Jiu Jia Wen, who majored in acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine at Beijing Agricultural University in China. Dr. Wen prepared a blend of 20 Chinese herbs that Blake added to Dylan’s food. The herbs were easy to administer and affordable, she says. By their next checkup, the tumor had stopped growing, and by the following month, it was shrinking.

“I was ecstatic,” says Blake. “Dylan was active, playful, and happy.” After about a year, the tumor began to grow again and a second herbal blend was added to his food. Eventually, the cancer won out, and Dylan died shortly before his 12th birthday.

“I still miss him,” says Blake, “but I have no regrets. I would use this same protocol again, and I recommend it to others. Older dogs and hemangiosarcoma are never a good combination, but the Chinese herbs worked incredibly well.”

Artemisinin
Three years ago, WDJ introduced readers to artemisinin, an extract derived from the Chinese herb Artemesia annua, also known as sweet Annie or annual wormwood (see “New Hope for Treating Cancer,” May 2003). A traditional cure for malaria, the plant is now a treatment for cancer. Like the parasite that causes malaria, cancer cells hoard iron in order to replicate their DNA. When artemisinin comes in contact with iron, it becomes a toxic chemical, releasing free radicals that destroy affected parasites or cancer cells.

For a while, it seemed artemisinin might be the magic bullet that would quickly cure cancer in humans and pets. In 2003, a research study was under way at the Washington Cancer Institute Department of Orthopedic Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, vets who used the herb were reporting promising results, and an “artemisinin and cancer” online forum attracted hundreds of members.

Now the dust is settling. The research study was cancelled for lack of funding, and not every dog who took artemisinin improved. In addition, some veterinarians worried about adverse side effects.

Despite these disappointments and concerns, artemisinin remains a popular alternative. Henry Lai, PhD, Narendra P. Singh, MD, and other researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, have published artemisinin studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Because of their solid theoretical and experimental results, even conventionally trained veterinarians take artemisinin seriously.

“I can think of at least three reasons why some dogs have not been completely cured of cancer by artemisinin,” Dr. Lai told us. “First, artemisinin treatment is usually started too late, when dogs are at an advanced stage of cancer. Second, I don’t think artemisinin is completely effective unless we can prolong its half-life of action and increase its selectivity. We are working on solutions for that problem, but they will be expensive. The third reason is that a lot of owners feed high doses of antioxidants such as vitamins C and E to their dogs, and antioxidants counteract the action of artemisinin.”

Artemisinin works as an oxidant, explains Dr. Lai; therefore its action is opposite that of antioxidants. “It is known that antioxidants decrease the effect of artemisinin on malarial parasites, and we have experimental data showing that this is also true for cancer cells. It seems that people in developing countries respond better to artemisinin than people in the U.S., possibly because they don’t take a lot of antioxidant supplements.”

Giving antioxidants to dogs several hours after artemisinin is one possible solution. “But some antioxidants, such as vitamin E, stay in the body for a long time,” says Dr. Lai, “so they would continue to counteract artemisinin. Stopping antioxidants during the initial phase of artemisinin treatment might produce better results.”

Even if cancer returns and causes the patient’s death, dogs on artemisinin often outlive their original prognosis. Kathy Rowley’s Greyhound, Tera, was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her lower left hind leg. “That was on a Tuesday,” Rowley recalls. “The following Saturday we started her on artemisinin. The next day she seemed to feel better, and on Monday she was bouncing off the wall and acting totally normal. We couldn’t believe it.

“Two weeks later our vet examined her leg and was shocked that she had no pain. He suggested we do X-rays in three months, even though we knew the odds of her still being alive in three months were slim. But she kept getting better, and after three months, the tumor had shrunk dramatically. The vet said he would not have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.”

Tera’s tumor didn’t disappear but it didn’t begin to grow again until the following spring. “We increased her dose of artemisinin,” says Rowley, “but for some reason it just stopped working. When pain began to incapacitate her, we knew it was time. Tera died in July 2004, shortly before her 10th birthday. The artemisinin might not have cured her, but the extra 14 months that we shared with our lively, happy dog were nothing short of a miracle.”

Cancer salves
Escharotic salves, often called black salves, were so popular in the early 20th century that entire hospitals were devoted to their use. The name comes from the eschar (thick dried scab) that develops after the salve destroys tissue to which it is applied. Most such salves contain bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and zinc chloride, a preservative said to enhance the effectiveness of the salve.

Holistic health guru Andrew Weil, MD, revived interest in cancer salves when he wrote about using one on his six-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Coca, who developed a growth on her right side near the shoulder. Dr. Weil describes the experience in his book, Spontaneous Healing, concluding, “The end result was a perfectly circular, slightly depressed area of skin, with no trace of tumor. The bloodroot had removed it more neatly than one could have done with a scalpel. Later, hair grew over the spot, concealing it completely. I could not have asked for a better outcome, especially as the dog had shown no signs of discomfort.”

In humans, treatment with escharotics can be painful and scarring. While dogs tend to have higher pain thresholds than humans, this is still not a treatment to approach casually. Keeping the affected area bandaged and attending to its healing can be a challenge.

In 1998, Gail Tenney of Mahwah, New Jersey, learned that Jo, her 11-year-old mixed-breed dog, had mesenchymal neoplasm, a non-specific slow-growing cancer of the soft tissue. Jo had two tumors, one on a toe on her front foot, the other on a back leg.

“The oncologist I consulted said he would remove Jo’s leg and toe,” recalls Tenney. “I rejected that idea right away. Even surgery to remove the tumors without amputation could be dangerous because of her advancing heart disease and elevated liver enzymes. I had already used a black salve to remove a wart from the top of her head, so in March of 1999, I decided to try this method.”

The tumor on Jo’s foot, now the size of a walnut, responded just like Coca’s skin growth. The second, near her tail, was larger than a baseball. Following the advice of the salve’s distributor, Tenney asked Jo’s veterinarian to inject the tumor with salve diluted in saline solution.

“Exactly like the first tumor,” she recalls, “on the third day it started to turn hard and black, then began to peel away from her body. It bled all over her bed, and she really hurt. Even on pain pills, she whimpered. On the fifth day, the tumor fell off. What a mess! There was a huge opening on her leg with all kinds of green-yellow pus oozing from it. The open wound was the size of my fist.

“For two weeks I did nothing but clean up blood and attend to Jo 24 hours a day. Another vet I consulted told me to wash the wound twice a day and apply betadine. I used a garden hose to really clean the sore, but it still oozed fluid. What was interesting is that as soon as the tumor fell off, Jo seemed really happy with no discomfort at all, even when I touched the wound. Like the wound on her foot, it gradually healed.”

Jo died in January 2000, of congestive heart failure. “If I had it to do over,” says Tenney, “I would have used the salve right away, when the tumors were tiny. In general, I would say this is not a treatment for the faint-hearted, and the best way to do it is with the support of a sympathetic veterinarian.”

Patricia Weissleader, who lives near Palm Springs, California, has treated several of her rescued dogs with black salve. “In every case,” she says, “the salve removed the tumors and the dogs were healthy.”

Weissleader now runs an online group devoted to black salves. “The salve will always remove visible tumors,” she says, “and we’re always learning about ways to speed the healing of the area after that.”

Homeopathy
Few approaches to healing are as controversial as homeopathy, in which extremely dilute substances are matched with symptoms on an individual basis and given, usually one at a time and often only once, to stimulate a healing response. Because it is so different from what they are used to, most mainstream physicians, veterinarians, and researchers consider homeopathy irrational, ineffective, or dangerous.

As cancer researcher Ralph Moss, PhD, says, “The argument that any positive results reported for homeopathy have to be due to the placebo effect seems arrogant. Homeopathy is no weirder than the basic postulates of quantum mechanics, which were vehemently resisted by the older generation of scientists, only to become the foundation of today’s particle physics.” He notes that 3,000 peer-reviewed articles deal with homeopathy, including 140 clinical trials and 100 articles on randomized controlled trials.

New York veterinarian Stacey Hershman, DVM, a classically trained homeopath, uses homeopathy as a support therapy rather than a stand-alone cancer treatment. “I just haven’t seen spectacular results, especially in advanced or complicated cases,” she says. “I love homeopathy and I use it every day, but for cancer patients I use it in combination with other holistic treatments, addressing symptoms as they develop. I think it’s excellent for that.”

While there are many home-study guides for treating animals with homeopathy, cancer is a complicated subject. For best results, consult an experienced veterinary homeopath.

Cryosurgery
When surgery is the best option, an alternative procedure called cryosurgery can sometimes be used to destroy cancer tissue by freezing.

In October 2004, Labrador Retriever breeder Ed Katz of Elka Park, New York, discovered that his three-month-old puppy, Doc, had an aggressive mast cell tumor on his paw pad. The cancer had already spread to his lymph nodes and his spleen was enlarged. Doc’s veterinary oncologists recommended amputation, 25 radiation treatments, and intensive chemotherapy.

Instead, Katz took Doc to Marty Goldstein, DVM, in South Salem, New York, who performed a 23-minute cryosurgery procedure and sent the puppy home with artemisinin and nutritional supplements. Doc healed quickly and today, says Dr. Goldstein, you can’t tell which paw was affected.

According to Katz, Doc is the most athletic, happy, intelligent, bouncy, resilient Lab imaginable. He celebrated his first birthday last summer, continues to take his artemisinin and supplements, and has been cancer-free, with “perfect” blood tests, for more than a year.

Cryosurgery is not always successful, warns trainer Nancy Strouss, whose nine-year-old Golden Retriever, Valley, underwent the procedure to treat a mast cell tumor on her toe. “The cryosurgery was painful,” says Strouss, “and the cancer came right back. When her toe was amputated, it came back again, and soon it metastasized through her body.”

Enzyme therapy
No discussion of holistic cancer treatments would be complete without mentioning enzyme therapy. Enzymes are most familiar as digestive aids that break down fats, proteins, and other foods, but they are taken between meals on an empty stomach when they are used to treat cancer.

Bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme found in pineapple, has cancer-fighting as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Familiar enzyme products for dogs include Prozyme, a plant-based powder that is sprinkled on food to improve digestion, and Wobenzym, described here in January 2001 (“Banking on Enzymes”) and October 2005 (“Digest These Benefits”). Both products contain bromelain; Wobenzym contains pancreatic enzymes as well.

In our 2001 article on systemic oral enzyme therapy (the term used to describe the administration of digestive enzymes between meals), New Hampshire resident Susan Appelin described her two Greyhounds, one with hemangiosarcoma, the other with a mast cell sarcoma. When a holistic physician told her about Wobenzym, she added between-meal enzymes to her dogs’ home-prepared diet. Both dogs recovered and enjoyed more than a year free from cancer.

Systemic oral enzyme therapy is usually well tolerated by dogs of all ages. However, Wobenzym and other products containing bromelain can thin the blood. Note the safety issues raised in our 2005 article to prevent adverse side effects.

Cancell/Protocel
One of the more controversial alternative treatments for cancer is a product called Cancell, also called Protocel, Cantrol, Entelev, and Cantron. It was created in the 1930s by a Dow Chemical biochemist who claimed that the product balanced the vibrational frequency of cancer cells, returning them to a healthy state.

Protocel’s ingredients are copper, sodium, potassium, and a proprietary blend of tetrahydroxyquinone, rhodizonic acid, inositol, croconic acid, catechol, triquinoyl, and leuconic acid. According to its manufacturers, Protocel is a powerful antioxidant that helps cleanse the cells, thus supporting immune function.

“Cancell has been the subject of a long-running guerilla war between its enthusiasts on the one hand and the FDA on the other,” says Dr. Moss. “Every time it is suppressed under one name, it pops up under another.”

Animal studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) decades ago concluded that Cancell lacked substantial anticancer activity and that no further research was warranted. In 1989, the FDA was granted a permanent injunction against Cancell’s manufacturers, prohibiting them from distributing an unapproved drug. However, many have argued that the NCI falsified its reports of the tests it conducted, and some of the evidence against Cancell does appear to be biased.

Daniel King, DVM, of Tolono, Illinois, is one of a handful of veterinarians who use Protocel. In the past eight years, he has treated 50 cancer patients with the product and consulted on more than 200 additional cases. He estimates that 65 to 70 percent have responded well. “In most cases,” he says, “the cancer doesn’t go away, but it does stop growing; it doesn’t metastasize, it stops causing pain, and the patient lives a normal life span, usually dying of something other than cancer, like congestive heart failure or kidney disease.”

Dr. King’s favorite Protocel patient is Duke, a Boxer who was 11 years old and vomiting red blood when he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the stomach in January 2002. “Somehow his owner, Gus George, who lives in nearby Tuscola, heard about my work with Protocel and brought him in,” he says. “In less than a week on the Protocel, Duke stopped vomiting and started feeling better. After eight months, he returned to the veterinary clinic that had diagnosed him for follow-up tests, and they could find no sign of cancer.” Duke died in January 2005 at the age of 14.

In Dr. King’s experience, about 15 percent of patients treated with Protocel are fully cured of cancer; almost all of those, he says, had cancers that affect the mucous membranes, such as adeno-carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma.

Bioresonance therapy
For Gigi Gaulin, DVM, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the leading edge of alternative veterinary medicine is a technology developed in Germany 30 years ago and used in 65 countries around the world. “Bioresonance therapy” utilizes a patented device that measures the patient’s “electromagnetic oscillations” through electrodes placed on the body. The frequencies it measures are then returned to the patient as a form of healing energy, with “bad” frequencies inverted and “good” frequencies enhanced.

Dr. Gaulin is one of nine veterinarians in the U.S. who are using Bicom Resonance Therapy equipment. Where cancer is concerned, she says, the treatment proceeds in stages, clearing underlying conditions. “Cancer isn’t an entity all of itself. It’s part of a process; eliminating cancer is a process, too. You start by removing energetic blocks, opening up the lymphatic system, and supporting the organs that help the body correct imbalances.”

Treatment sessions last anywhere from 20 to 90 minutes, and are commonly used on a weekly basis. Dr. Gaulin reports that most patients experience improvements in energy, attitude, appetite, specific symptoms, and overall condition. As they become stronger, she says, their quality of life increases and cancer growth slows. “The changes and improvements that result can be truly astounding,” she says.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Cancer Treatments for Dogs”
Click here to view ” Dog Cancer Diet”
Click here to view “Special Diets for Dogs with Cancer”

-A long-time contributor to WDJ and author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs & Cats, and other books, CJ Puotinen lives in New York with her husband, a Lab, and a tabby cat.

Cancer always sounds like a death sentence, no matter how the diagnosis is delivered. When patients are cured, they’re the exception rather than the rule – especially when they are very young or very old or when their cancers are well established.

“It’s true that some cancers have a high survival rate,” says Carol Falck, VMD, a holistic veterinarian in Pompano Beach, Florida, “but cancer is never good news, even if it’s easy to treat or detected early. Cancer is a chronic disease, an aberration of the immune system. Whenever and however it appears, it indicates that the body has been out of balance for a long time.”

Unlike conventional veterinary medicine (see “Conventional Cancer Care,” December 2005), which identifies dozens of specific cancers and treats each as a unique illness, holistic medicine takes a “whole body” approach.

“Holistic medicine does not specifically treat cancer,” says Dr. Falck. “Instead, it helps patients eliminate factors that allowed their cancers to develop in the first place. In holistic medicine, there are no specific protocols for different cancer diagnoses the way there are in conventional medicine. Rather, cancer is considered an imbalance that should be corrected so that the body can repair itself.”

Because cancer is such a frightening disease, it’s easy to panic and feel overwhelmed as you try to make sense of diagnoses and treatment options. “But you don’t have to decide everything that same day,” says Dr. Falck. “You have time to consult a holistic veterinarian or get a second opinion. And you don’t have to decide on a 100 percent conventional protocol or a 100 percent natural protocol. Integrative or complementary medicine combines the best of both worlds. In addition, there’s a lot you can do at home with holistic therapies to help your dog heal.”

Complementary medicine
Although the terms alternative, natural, complementary, integrative, and holistic are often used interchangeably, they have slightly different meanings.

“Alternative” is a catch-all phrase that describes any treatment that has not been endorsed by conventional medicine. “Natural” therapies are based on centuries-old botanical, nutritional, and physical treatments, most of which are gentle as well as effective, though they work more slowly than conventional treatments. “Complementary” and “integrative” describe the combination of natural and conventional therapies. “Holistic” applies to any treatment plan that considers all of the factors in a patient’s life, not just his lab test results.

In contrast, conventional or orthodox medicine trains its practitioners to identify specific diseases and treat them by attacking their symptoms. This approach is also called “allopathic,” which literally means “symptom-suppressing.” The downside of conventional medicine is that it seldom addresses an illness’s underlying causes, so it does not correct or eliminate the illness at its source. Treated illnesses often continue to progress, even while their symptoms subside temporarily. This is why recurring cancers are so common and so serious. Another problem with conventional medicine is that its treatments can cause side effects more painful and incapacitating than the illness itself.

“In addition,” says Dr. Falck, “conventional medicine usually ignores the emotional aspects of disease. I think holistic medicine does an excellent job of incorporating physical and emotional aspects into a treatment plan.”

Specific treatments that fall under the holistic/alternative umbrella include diet, nutritional supplements, homeopathy, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, flower essences, chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, massage, and several others. In complementary or integrative cancer care, these treatments are used to improve the results of conventional therapy and counteract its adverse side effects.

For example, acupuncture and medicinal herbs help alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy, while nutritional supplements help restore lost hair. Aromatherapy and herbs speed the healing of surgical wounds and help prevent skin damage caused by radiation treatments. Herbs, aromatherapy, and flower remedies alleviate stress and help bring emotions into balance. And an improved diet supports all cancer therapies.

Diet
The cornerstone of every holistic cancer therapy is diet – but which diet remains a subject of controversy.

Most conventional veterinarians prescribe commercial pet foods for dogs with cancer, or they encourage owners to feed the patient whatever he or she will eat. In contrast, holistic veterinarians often recommend a home-prepared or raw diet that does not include grains. Cancer cells metabolize carbohydrates quickly, so grains and other carbohydrates are problem ingredients. However, cancer cells do not metabolize fats, so fats are “safe” ingredients, although hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, highly refined, and rancid fats should be avoided.

The list of recommended fats includes all animal fats, including fish oil, as well as coconut oil, which has its own cancer-fighting ingredients (see “Crazy about Coconut Oil,” October 2005).

As described in “Feed the Dog, Starve the Cancer” (November 2003), cancer researcher Greg Ogilvie, DVM, Dip. ACVIM, and colleagues at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences recommend a diet of less than 25 percent carbohydrates, 35 to 48 percent protein, and 27 to 35 percent fat, with more than 5 percent of the total food comprised of omega-3 fatty acids and more than 2 percent arginine (dry weight measurements).

Protein is a crucial ingredient in any canine diet, for dogs, like their wolf ancestors, are best adapted to protein foods. Meat, eggs, poultry, and fish that are organically raised, pasture-fed, or caught in the wild are best for cancer patients. Meat and eggs from factory farms and fish from fish farms are far more likely to contain harmful bacteria, prescription drug residues, or contaminants that interfere with immune function. (See “Upgrading to Pasture-Fed,” July 2003.)

Supplements that improve the assimilation of food, such as digestive enzymes, can be an important addition to any dog’s diet. Powders such as Prozyme can be sprinkled on food before serving, or digestive enzyme capsules or tablets can be given with meals.

Patients undergoing chemotherapy may lose their appetite, making any nutrition challenging. Freezing the dog’s food can reduce its odor, which seems to improve some dogs’ appetites. Toward the end of Bullet’s two-week fast (see sidebar, above), Kaplan bought a package of frozen smelt, and after she coaxed one of the fish into Bullet’s mouth, he began to chew. She later discovered that massaging inside his ears after placing his food bowl within reach triggered a reflexive eating response.

Seacure, the fermented deep sea whitefish powder described in “Securing Seacure” (April 2003), is an excellent supplement for cancer patients because it speeds tissue repair, helps alleviate the side effects of conventional treatment, and is immediately assimilated. Seacure powder can be added to food or simply mixed with water, and Seacure wafers can be fed at any time. Store this extremely fishy product in the freezer to reduce its odor.

Getting cancer patients to drink sufficient water can be as difficult as persuading them to eat. Filtered water added to food or squirted into the dog’s mouth, meat-flavored broth frozen in ice cube trays for easy dispensing, or meat-flavored gelatin can all increase a dog’s hydration.

Whether vegetables belong in a dog’s diet is another hotly debated topic, but when it comes to treating cancer, certain vegetables have been shown to fight the disease. In Germany, lactic acid fermented vegetables like sauerkraut are an integral part of some cancer therapies because these foods are “hostile” to cancer cells.

It’s easy to puree carrots with fresh ginger and other vegetables, add some powdered acidophilus and a sprinkling of unrefined sea salt, and press everything under a weight overnight or until the vegetables’ juices separate and they develop a piquant flavor. (See “It’s All in How You Make It,” March 2001, for directions.)

In addition to increasing their vitamin content and assimilation, lacto-fermented vegetables support beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. Replacing the vegetables in any canine recipe with pureed lacto-fermented vegetables is easy and sensible.

Supplements
In The Healthy Pet Manual: A Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer (another recommended resource), Deborah Straw describes several supplements that are appropriate for canine cancer patients.

First on the list is vitamin C, which may be the most-researched cancer supplement. As Straw explains, “Vitamin C may protect against cancer because it acts as a cellular antioxidant. It enhances the immune system by detoxifying certain carcinogens and by blocking the formation of various carcinogenic compounds created when certain foods are digested.”

The suggested dose varies by expert, with many recommending dosing to “bowel tolerance,” as loose stools result when the body has ingested more vitamin C than it can utilize. However, proponents of whole-food supplements argue that megadoses aren’t needed if the vitamin comes directly from food, as does the vitamin C in Cataplex C from Standard Process and Food C from Wysong. Or you can simply provide foods that are rich in vitamin C, such as small amounts of lacto-fermented vegetables.

Other key vitamins are B-complex, E, A, D, and K, all of which are important for overall health. Vitamins from whole-food sources are well tolerated, easily assimilated, and provide an entire complex of nutrients.

Bones provide minerals such as calcium and magnesium. For those who don’t feel comfortable feeding raw bones, look for supplements from companies, such as Standard Process, that make supplements from pasture-fed organic bones. Or, ask a local butcher who carries organic meats to grind fresh bones after he removes the meat for your dog’s meals.

Selenium, another important mineral, has been shown in human population studies to significantly protect against cancer.

Discuss appropriate dosages of these and other mineral or vitamin supplements with your holistic veterinarian.

Don’t neglect your dog’s beneficial bacteria. Probiotic supplements such as acidophilus, freshly prepared yogurt, and other beneficial bacteria improve digestion and bolster the gastrointestinal tract.

L-glutamine is also a very important supplement for dogs in chemotherapy. It helps the intestines and minimizes treatment side effects.

Herbal support
One of the most famous herbal remedies associated with cancer is Essiac, a tea developed by Renee Caisse, a Canadian nurse. A blend of burdock root, sheep sorrel, slippery elm bark, and turkey rhubarb root, Essiac tea can be added to food or drinking water or squirted directly into the mouth.

Essiac is said to be most effective if given on an empty stomach. The recommended dose is about 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight or 1 tablespoon per 30 pounds.

Beverly Cappel, DVM, recommends Essiac tea as a support therapy for cancer. “I give it to every animal I treat because it’s not going to hurt and it flushes them out,” she says. “Some reports say that it kills cancer. It does not kill cancer; it just cleans the body out. We’ve had success with animals that have melanomas, suspicious-looking basal cell tumors, or even mast cell tumors of the skin. We put them on Essiac once or twice a day and the tumors shrivel up within a couple of weeks.”

Aloe vera is another popular support remedy for cancer patients. Aloe vera juice or gel can be given internally with food and applied externally to growths and tumors. In his book Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer’s Guide to Non-Toxic Treatment and Prevention, Ralph Moss, PhD, reports that both aloe and its cousin garlic are widely used as adjuvants, or helpers, with other therapies.

Taken internally and applied topically, aloe may help prevent infections, increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, protect against radiation therapy skin injury, and support the liver during detoxification.

Emotions
Anyone who thinks that dogs don’t have feelings just isn’t paying attention. These creatures are emotional sponges.

“It’s so important to keep our own emotions under control,” says Dr. Falck. “If you panic, your dog is going to feel your stress and anxiety, and those emotions are not helpful. My suggestion to owners who are dealing with cancer is to focus on things that you can do, things that are helpful and positive, not on things that leave you depressed or worried.

“For example, if your dog has a good appetite, here’s a chance to upgrade her diet. You can do research and learn about her illness and things you can do at home to support her or make her more comfortable. You can also keep a journal in which you record everything your dog is experiencing, from symptoms to supplements to special events or activities. This is an excellent way to document her progress. Instead of just worrying, you can channel your energy into something constructive.”

Dr. Falck recommends turning your attention away from the dog’s present symptoms by focusing on memories of her healthy past. “Keep her favorite activities in your mind as a mental image,” she says, “and let those thoughts carry you to thoughts about the best possible outcome.”

Flower essences or flower remedies, including the famous Bach Rescue Remedy, can help canine patients and their human companions cope with emotional stress. “Rescue Remedy is the all-purpose formula,” she says, “but you can refer to books or symptom charts to select other essences that address specific emotions.”

Prepare a flower essence dosage bottle by mixing 2 to 4 drops of Rescue Remedy (or 2 drops each of up to 5 individual remedies) with 1 fluid ounce (2 tablespoons) filtered or spring water in a small glass bottle equipped with an eyedropper or spray top. The standard dose is 4 drops of the diluted remedy, which can be added to drinking water, dropped directly onto the nose or into the mouth, massaged into the ears, applied to paw pads, applied to bare skin on the abdomen, or sprayed in the air or directly on the patient. The secret to success with flower remedies is frequent application, so do this as often as possible, several times per day. And dose yourself, too. Anything you do to bring your own energy into balance will help your dog.

Calming essential oils and hydrosols (see “Smell This, You’ll Feel Better,” December 2004, and “Essential Information,” January 2005) are a boon to cancer patients and their families. For an excellent guide to this subject, see Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals by Kristen Leigh Bell.

Whatever protocol you choose for your dog, holistic support therapies can make a world of difference. These gentle, nontoxic, whole-body treatments invite the participation of everyone in the family and promise your dog a more comfortable, happy, active life.

-A long-time contributor to WDJ and author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs & Cats, and other books, CJ Puotinen lives in New York with her husband, a Lab, and a tabby cat.

By CJ Puotinen

Your nagging feeling was right – there really is something wrong with your dog. And it’s not just a pulled muscle or a torn toenail. It’s cancer.

As you struggle to wrap your mind around that diagnosis, the veterinarian describes your options: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, alone or in combination. Or your dog might be eligible to participate in a clinical trial testing a new drug, or you may want to consult an oncology specialist or consider a promising new state-of-the-art treatment. There are no guarantees that any of these treatments will work, and if the prognosis is especially grim, you may want to say goodbye now. Please decide within 24 hours. This is a medical emergency.

No wonder a Morris Animal Foundation survey found that the number-one fear of American pet owners is cancer.

You struggle to comprehend median survival times, treatment plans, treatment side effects, quality of life issues, and the demands that different protocols will make on your schedule – not to mention your checkbook.

Meanwhile, your faithful companion stares at you with trusting eyes.

“A cancer diagnosis is an incredibly emotional experience,” says Gerald Post, DVM, ACVIM, who has specialized in pet cancer care for 15 years. “There’s so much to consider, and there is a huge element of uncertainty. Even when you use the most accurate statistics for a particular group of animals with a particular type of cancer that is treated in a specific way, there is no way to know how your particular dog, who’s in the treatment room right now, will respond. When it comes to dogs and cancer, there are still many unknowns.”

So how can one make informed decisions?

“You have to consider all the factors,” he says. “At our clinic, we start with the diagnosis and then discuss what the cancer’s biological behavior is, what tests are needed, and what can be done. To answer this last question, we look at conventional therapies that are already widely used and experimental therapies that are ongoing. We include what our experience has taught us about probable outcomes, what the owners want, and how the dog is feeling. All of this information helps narrow the choices so that the owner can consider the most promising options.”

Survival rates
When it comes to cancer, some types are better than others – better meaning that they have a higher survival rate and are easier to treat than other cancers.

“The ideal patient in any oncology practice is one that doesn’t have cancer,” says Dr. Post. “That’s the best situation of all. But among cancer patients, I’d be happy if all of mine were otherwise healthy middle-aged dogs, each with a small (less than 3 centimeters) mast cell tumor on his or her body. These dogs can handle surgery very well, and they are likely to make a full and complete recovery.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum are patients with worst-prognosis cancers. “Whenever a young dog comes in with acute leukemia, or a middle-aged Golden Retriever has just been diagnosed with a ruptured splenic hemangiosarcoma, you can’t help but feel heartsick. These are difficult, difficult cases.”

Dr. Post says that osteosarcoma used to be in that category, “but we’re making progress there. It’s still a horrible disease, and sometimes we do have to amputate a leg, but with chemotherapy, we can increase survival time to a year or sometimes longer. A year is a fairly long time in veterinary oncology, and those 12 months are very precious to the dog’s human family.”

In human medicine, cancer patients are considered cured if they go for five years without the disease. While veterinary medicine doesn’t formally define the term, Dr. Post considers any dog who goes for more than two years without a malignancy to be cured.

Conventional treatments
In conventional medicine, surgery remains the most widely used and most effective treatment for cancers that cause solid tumors. It can be used by itself to remove a tumor, or it can be used in combination with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other treatments to enhance their effectiveness.

In many cases, tumors are removed along with a margin of tissue surrounding the tumor. Radical surgery, such as amputation, has a longer recovery time and more potential complications than minor surgery. However, improvements in anesthesia and innovations such as laser surgery, in which a laser beam replaces scalpels for maximum precision, are making all surgeries safer and more effective.

Radiation therapy damages and then kills rapidly dividing cancer cells. In veterinary oncology, high-energy units similar to X-ray machines deliver radiation as a primary therapy or to clear surgical margins of cancer cells.

Radiation is usually recommended in the treatment of mast cell tumors, soft-tissue sarcomas, squamous cell carcinomas, oral melanomas, brain tumors, nasal tumors, and tumors that have not spread to other parts of the body.

Radiation is delivered in small doses and given several times, often daily, over a period lasting three to four weeks. Small doses decrease this therapy’s most common side effect, which is damage to normal tissue. According to oncologists, this damage, which can be uncomfortable for the patient, is not usually life-threatening and usually disappears after the conclusion of treatment.

A few veterinary clinics implant radioactive beads in difficult-to-treat tumors in a radiation treatment called brachytherapy. Another new technique is tomotherapy, which rotates the beam source around the patient, targeting the tumor from different angles. And some clinics replace radiation with photodynamic or drug-laser therapy, in which an injected drug is activated by laser light.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs that damage and kill cancer cells when administered intravenously or orally in frequent doses alone or in combination with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is usually recommended for cancers that have spread or metastasized to other parts of the body and for tumors that cannot be surgically removed.

Chemotherapy drugs have different mechanisms, such as damaging a cell’s DNA (genetic material) or interfering with cell growth and division. Their side effects vary, though most experts say that dogs have fewer adverse reactions to these drugs than human patients do.

Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are the most common reactions, but in dogs, they tend to be of shorter duration and of a milder nature than the side effects experienced by humans taking chemotherapy. Some chemotherapy drugs can cause kidney damage or bone marrow suppression. Bone marrow produces red and white blood cells. Low white blood levels can make the dog more susceptible to infection. Anemia, a low red blood cell count, is less common in dogs undergoing chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy seldom causes hair loss in dogs, but some breeds (Poodles, Terriers, Bearded Collies, Old English Sheepdogs, and others) seem to be more prone to this side effect. If experienced, canine hair loss is most apparent on the face and tail, especially in Terriers and Poodles.

For some canine patients, chemotherapy is an ongoing, permanent protocol; they receive it for as long as they live. For others, treatments are eventually discontinued for as long as the cancer stays in remission.

The problem with cancer is that no matter which of these treatment plans you adopt, it can – and usually does – come back. Worse, when it returns, it usually spreads or metastasizes, moving from the original site to other parts of the body.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are not only used to treat cancer in hopes of achieving a cure, but also used alone or in combination to relieve pain or discomfort, slow tumor growth, or otherwise improve the patient’s quality of life. Palliative treatments are those that reduce the symptoms of a disease without addressing the disease itself. In humans as well as canines, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are often palliative rather than curative.

New treatments
Experimental, high-tech therapies touted as breakthroughs in human cancer care are being adapted for use with dogs. One is the stem-cell transplant.

In January 2004, Seattle residents Darrell and Nina Hallett learned that their Golden Retriever, Comet, had lymphoma. They took him to Bellingham Veterinary & Critical Care in Bellingham, Washington, where his spleen was removed and he was put on chemotherapy. Comet did not respond well and within a few weeks was so ill that his treatments were stopped.

Comet’s veterinarians, Edmund Sullivan, DVM, and Theresa Westfall, DVM, conferred with scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Westfall were aware that hundreds of experimental bone-marrow and stem-cell transplants had been conducted on dogs at the Fred Hutchinson Center as researchers perfected techniques now used in human cancer treatment.

In addition, there were reports of the treatments being used with great success outside the Center. Several years ago, a stem-cell transplant was successfully performed at the University of Massachusetts on a dog with lymphoma; in the 1980s, a Virginia veterinarian did bone-marrow transplants (which include stem cells) on a dozen dogs, three of whom survived for at least three years.

With help from Comet’s breeder, 40 of his relatives in five U.S. states and four countries were tested, and three were found to be perfect matches. The largest, a dog in Florida, was chosen because larger dogs yield more stem cells.

The June 2004 transplant was conducted at the Hutchinson Center, where a special machine separated stem cells from the donor’s blood. Comet was given total body radiation to suppress his immune system and allow engrafment of the donor stem cells. His donor’s stem cells were then delivered intravenously.

Dr. Sullivan brought Comet from the Center to his Bellingham clinic for two weeks of protective isolation, and his owners had a glass window installed so Comet could see the rest of the clinic. Two weeks after that, the stem cells began to reject their host, causing sores on Comet’s muzzle. After an anti-rejection drug cleared that condition, Comet had no further problems.

Today, two years after Comet’s initial diagnosis and 18 months after his stem-cell transplant, he is thriving. Dr. Sullivan looks forward to performing stem-cell transplants as appropriate patients and donors appear.

Another Golden Retriever, an 18-month-old female pup named Navy, made medical history when her owner, Marion Haber, treated Navy’s cancer with anti-angiogenic therapy, a medical strategy that is still new to humans. Haber had worked as a research fellow at the Angiogenesis Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Massachusetts that promotes research on angiogenesis and its control.

“Angiogenesis” is the growth of new blood vessels that tumors (and other tissues) create to supply the oxygen and nutrients that will allow them to grow and spread. Anti-angiogenic therapy starves tumors and prevents their growth by cutting off this blood supply with drugs.

The study of angiogenesis has produced a new diagnostic tool as well, for if a blood test reveals elevated angiogenic growth factors, the cause is likely to be a tumor.

In September 2000, Haber, then a student at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Boston (she is now a veterinarian), discovered a tumor in Navy’s chest while practicing examinations on the dog. A surgeon removed the tumor, extra tissue, and five ribs, which were replaced with three prosthetics.

A few weeks later, a tumor appeared on Navy’s leg. Knowing her pup’s situation was desperate, Haber rejected amputation and radiation therapy and turned instead to angiogenesis.

Navy’s treatment, now known as the “Navy protocol,” combined three drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Celebrex, tamoxifen (sold as Nolvadex), and doxycycline – with a goal of inhibiting blood vessel cell proliferation and invasion. Navy received her first multi-targeted drug cocktail on Christmas Day 2000. By early March 2001, her veterinary oncologist could find no trace of cancer, and Navy experienced no adverse side effects. As angiogenesis pioneer Judah Folkman told reporters at the time, “That’s a remarkable achievement.”

While Navy’s recovery was dramatic, it may not have been representative. When anti-angiogenic drug trials for human cancer patients were conducted in the 1990s, everyone wanted the new “miracle drugs,” and their popularity (in clinical trials at least) soared. News reports inflated the public’s expectations, leading to disappointment. Instead of being touted as a cure, anti-angiogenic drugs are now described as a treatment option that helps stabilize cancer as a chronic manageable disease.

According to the Angiogenesis Foundation, anti-angiogenic drugs show promise in the treatment of canine brain, lung, mammary gland, mast cell, oral, bone, prostate, soft tissue, and lymph system cancers. The Foundation works with veterinarians and zoo managers to treat dogs and other animals. Anti-angiogenic drugs are used alone or in combination with conventional chemotherapy or radiation therapy. While other dogs have received the Navy Protocol, Navy remains its most dramatic success story.

Clinical trials
Just as human cancer patients participate in clinical trials that test new protocols, so do dogs with cancer.

Dr. Post is chairman and founder of the Animal Cancer Foundation, a resource for veterinary oncologists. “I’m encouraged by the continuing progress being made in conventional therapies,” he says, “but I’m always on the lookout for novel therapies that are being developed by biotechnology firms. If you’re a mouse or a rat and you get cancer, we can cure you, but if you’re a person, it’s a different story. The model in which tumors are induced in laboratory rats and mice just doesn’t apply to human health.

“Dogs and people develop cancer spontaneously, they share the same environmental risk factors, and they are more closely related to each other than to rats and mice. It makes sense to use their tumors to test novel therapies that can help our animals and at the same time reveal something about how experimental therapies are likely to work in people.”

According to the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Comparative Oncology Program (COP), another organization that promotes clinical trials that test experimental therapies in dogs with cancer, the types of canine cancer that could produce results for humans include osteosarcoma, breast and prostate cancer, melanoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, head and neck carcinoma, and soft-tissue sarcoma.

Clinical trials recruit and enroll carefully defined patients, such as “dogs with suspected or confirmed transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder with measurable disease” or “dogs with suspected or confirmed appendicular osteosarcoma with no prior treatment with radiation therapy, systemic chemotherapy, or bisphosphonates, no complicating disease(s) that would limit survival, no pathologic fracture of affected limb or advanced metastatic disease, and informed client consent.”

The trials are usually paid for by pharmaceutical companies or other sponsors and conducted at veterinary teaching hospitals or research centers.

Cancer’s high cost
Any illness can be expensive, but cancer has to be the most costly disease that affects our dogs. Some owners have maxed out their credit cards, borrowed from friends and family, and taken second mortgages just to pay the vet bills.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, Americans spent $7 billion on veterinary care in 1991 and an estimated $19 billion in 2001. Increasingly sophisticated equipment is one reason for the increasing cost. Some veterinary clinics have their own linear accelerators, which reduce radiation therapy side effects by pinpointing tumor sites precisely, along with spiral computed tomography (CT) scanners for diagnostic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, and other technologies formerly available only to human patients.

Canine cancer treatments range from a few hundred dollars for the simplest procedures to $20,000 or more for cases that involve long-term therapy and multiple protocols. In most clinics, chemotherapy costs, which vary according to the patient’s size, range from $500 and up for palliative care to more than $5,000 for three to six months of treatment.

Because most clinical trials are funded by their sponsors, the owners of participating dogs are charged only a minimal fee, such as an initial evaluation. But not everyone is eligible or wants to participate in a fully funded clinical trial, and that leaves most owners who choose to pursue conventional care facing painful financial decisions.

Comet’s stem-cell transplant cost his owners $45,000. Spending the money on Comet, they told the Seattle Times last year, was “infinitely better” than using it for the kitchen remodel they had planned.

Navy’s treatment cost her owner $2,000, part of which was paid for by donations from fellow classmates at Tufts.

Fund-raising efforts are one way to pay the vet bills if you’re on a budget. Another is pet health insurance, which was once considered a novelty but is catching on. According to an American Animal Hospital Association survey, 1 percent of pet owners now carry pet health insurance, with the average premium costing slightly less than $150 per year.

Like their counterparts in human medicine, though, pet policies vary. Some companies provide only accident coverage, while others offer options such as minimum coverage, vaccination, and routine care coverage, or more expensive coverage that covers office visits, surgeries, hospitalization, prescriptions, diagnostic tests, X-rays, lab fees, teeth cleanings, and checkups.

Cancer “riders,” if available, can extend the animal’s treatment for that illness. Most policies – again, like their human counterparts – are more likely to cover conventional treatments than holistic or alternative ones.

Insurance companies usually exclude previously existing conditions, and some exclude congenital problems and hereditary defects. Some plans require policyholders to use only veterinarians in their system. Most plans have a maximum age limit for new patients, some charge more for certain breeds, and at least one company adds a surcharge for coverage in New York City.

A growing number of veterinary clinics offer their own wellness packages, which include discounted prices for routine care, or they may be linked to a specific insurance company or plan.

In general, pet insurance policy buyers should expect to deal with co-payments, deductibles, reimbursement benefit schedules, documentation, forms that have to be signed by the veterinarian, forms that bounce back, fine print, payout limits that may not be clearly explained, and other frustrations. Compare policies, talk to people who already have coverage, and ask your vet’s office to help you weigh your dog’s health risks. If you decide to buy health insurance, be sure the company is licensed in your state.

Quality of life
A treatment may extend a dog’s life, but if that life is defined by loss of mobility, anxiety, depression, pain, and suffering, is the treatment worth pursuing? At what point do quantity of life and quality of life fall irrevocably out of balance?

To help vets and pet owners answer these questions, the Animal Medical Center in New York City developed a “performance scale” that assesses quality of life. It considers alertness/mental status, appetite, weight/body condition, activity/exercise tolerance, and elimination. As one would expect, dogs who score close to normal in all five categories tolerate treatments well and do better overall than low-scoring dogs.

Some veterinary oncologists ask owners to define, before treatment begins, their hopes, goals, and expectations as a way to begin the discussion about what will work, what won’t, and whether the client’s expectations are realistic. This is an excellent exercise – one you can begin today.

If your dog had cancer, what side effects would be worth working through and which would not? As you learn more about cancer treatments, you will undoubtedly see some that you might consider and some that you definitely wouldn’t. But the more you understand about this illness and its treatment, the more prepared you will be to make decisions on your companion’s behalf.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Canine Cancer Resources and Hope”

-A long-time contributor to WDJ and author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs & Cats, and other books, CJ Puotinen lives in New York with her husband, a Lab, and a tabby cat.