The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (128 page)

VIIM.org:
The Veterinary Institute of Integrative Medicine is a veterinary association similar to AHVMA. Their searchable index is handy for locating an alternative vet in your region.

OncuraPartners.com
: Oncura Partners is a site that provides oncology consultation and treatments for veterinarians.

Environmental Protection agency:
The agency’s website,
www.epa.gov
, has a great deal of information about known carcinogens. It’s well organized and worth exploring. Specifically, find out about the safety of your drinking water at
www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/faq.html
or by calling 1-800- 426-4791. You can find out if you’re near a superfund site by visiting
www.epa.gov/superfund/sites
. You can also call the Right to Know Hotline: 1-800-424-9346

Department of Health:
Each state has a department of health, which will have information about possible carcinogens found in your area.

Magic Bullet Fund:
For dogs with cancer whose treatment may extend life a year or more:
www.themagicbulletfund.org

Angels for animals:
General financial help:
www.angels4animals.org

United animal Nations Lifeline:
General financial help:
www.uan.org

Canine Cancer awareness:
Help for dogs in need of cancer treatment:
www.caninecancerawareness.org

Cody’s Club:
Financial help for dogs in need of radiation treatment: codysclub.bravehost.com

Riedel & Cody Fund:
Provides an online community site where you can raise funds, apply for a grant, and network with others.
www.cancerpets.org

Help-a-Pet:
General financial help:
www.help-a-pet.org/apply.html

In Memory of Magic:
General financial help:
www.imom.org

Pet Fund:
Non-emergency financial help:
www.thepetfund.com

Pigger’s Pals:
Financial help for owners seeking oncologists or surgical specialist services:
www.piggerspals.org

AAHA Helping Pets Fund:
General help for sick pets if your veterinarian is a member of AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association):
www.aahahelpingpets.org

Helping Harley Working Dog Cancer Treatment grants:
For working dogs with cancer (service dogs, assistance dogs, etc.):
www.grants.landofpuregold.com

OSLF Fund for orthopedic Cases:
Financial help for pets needing amputations or treatment for help in movement:
www.oslf.org

Labrador Lifeline:
Financial help for labs:
www.labradorlifeline.org

Save Us Pets:
Financial help for pets in New Jersey:
www.saveuspets.org

Animal Cancer Therapy Subsidization Society:
For pets with cancer in Alberta, Canada:
www.actssalberta.org/application/

Greedy or Needy:
A make-a-wish site:
www.greedyorneedy.com

CareCredit:
a healthcare credit card accepted by some veterinarians. Find out more at CareCredit.com

“How can I prevent cancer in my healthy dog?” is a very common question guardians ask after they finish this book. If your dog with cancer has a healthy brother or sister, or if you plan on having another dog in the future, you might wonder this, too.

Cancer prevention is an entirely different topic from cancer treatment, and is beyond the scope of this book. While it might seem logical to think that the dog cancer diet is good for healthy dogs, too, or that the supplements I recommend should be used to prevent cancer, this is not necessarily true. My recommendations in this book are designed to counteract cancer’s tremendous force, not to keep an otherwise healthy dog from getting cancer.

On the other hand, we do know that certain lifestyle choices can make a dog’s body a more hostile environment for cancer initiation and progression. Let’s look at a few common-sense steps you can take:

• Seven or eight hours of sleep every night in a dark sleeping environment.
  
• Avoid obesity; ask your vet for help determining your dog’s ideal body condition and weight, and then take steps to get him there.
  
• Isolation and depression have strong links to cancer in humans; spend time with your dog and enhance his joys of life any way you can.
  
• Increase healthy exercise.
  
• Add the brightly colored vegetables listed in
  Chapter 14
  to your dog’s diet.
  
• Lowering the amounts of red meat in your dog’s diet in favor of leaner white meats and fish may help.
  
• Limit high carbohydrate foods like corn, wheat, and sugar.
  
• Choose dog foods that have not been processed at high temperatures. Some commercial foods I consider to be of better quality include Honest Kitchen, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Halo Spot Stew, Taste of the Wild and Solid Gold.
  
• Avoid carcinogen exposure when you can; use glass or ceramic food and water bowls, avoid pesticides, lawn chemicals, car exhaust and tobacco smoke.
  

When getting a new puppy, consider the following:

• Avoid higher risk bloodlines; it is an unfortunate but unavoidable fact that some of our favorite breeds have such high cancer rates.
  
• Consider holding off on the starting the series of three puppy vaccinations until the eighth, or even tenth, week of life. A booster shot can be given at one year of age, and then not again until three years later: age four. Another booster can be given at age seven. Do not vaccinate for diseases that are not present in your area, and run blood tests (titers) to see if vaccines are needed, if you have any doubts. Starting at age eight, run blood titers on an annual basis, and only give vaccines if they show a need.
  
• Weigh the pros and cons of sterilization carefully with your vet. Consider my general recommendation: spay females sometime between the third and fourth heat, and neuter males sometime between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four months.
  

“Take a breath! There is no wrong decision in this journey. It is really about the relationship between you and you dog. Only the two of you know what the other can endure. Treat every day as if it is your last together and have no regrets. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

- Brad Burkholder, Galt, California

And finally, if you would like to see a full book on the subject of dog longevity, let me and my publisher know by taking a ten second survey at
www.DogCancerVet.com/survey
.

There were many studies, articles and books used in writing this book. Here is a list of the most important, grouped alphabetically by subject matter. Please note that in vivo and clinical use citations were included whenever possible.

I frequently use the National Institute of Health’s online library, PubMed. This site has citation information on more than nineteen million biomedical studies, articles, and books:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
.

Acupuncture and acupressure

Acupuncture: role in comprehensive cancer care – a primer for the oncologist and review of the literature. Cohen AJ, Menter A, Hale L.
Integr Cancer Ther.
2005 Jun;4(2):131-43. Review.

Efficacy of acupuncture in treatment of cancer pain: a systematic review. Peng H, et al.
Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao
. 2010 Jun;8(6):501-9. Chinese.

Analgesic effect of auricular acupuncture for cancer pain: a randomized, blinded, controlled trial. Alimi D, et al.
J Clin Oncol.
2003 Nov 15;21(22):4120-6.

Acupuncture as a treatment modality for the management of cancer pain: the state of the science. Hopkins Hollis AS.
Oncol Nurs Forum.
2010 Sep 1;37(5):E344-8.

Acupuncture-point stimulation for chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting. Ezzo JM, et al.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2006 Apr 19;(2):CD002285. Review.

Acupressure for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a randomized clinical trial. Dibble SL, Luce J, Cooper BA, Israel J, Cohen M, Nussey B, Rugo H.
Oncol Nurs Forum.
2007 Jul;34(4):813-20.

Prolongation of the antiemetic action of P6 acupuncture by acupressure in patients having cancer chemotherapy. Dundee JW, Yang J.
J R Soc Med.
1990 Jun;83(6):360-2.

Effect of acupressure on nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy in cancer patients. Gardani G, et al.
Minerva Med.
2006 Oct;97(5):391-4.

A progress study of 100 cancer patients treated by acupressure for chemotherapy-induced vomiting after failure with the pharmacological approach. Gardani G, et al.
Minerva Med
. 2007 Dec;98(6):665-8.

Effect of acupressure on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in gynecologic cancer patients in Turkey. Taspinar A, Sirin A.
Eur J Oncol Nurs.
2010 Feb;14(1):49-54. Epub 2009 Sep 11.

Antioxidants and Pro-Oxidants (also see maintenance multivitamin section)

Antioxidant supplements for preventing gastrointestinal cancers. Bjelakovic G, et. al.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
. 2008 Jul 16;(3):CD004183. Review.