Fantastic fungus and dog cancer..medicinal mushrooms!?
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: April 13th, 2021
Yes, you read that right. Certain kinds of mushrooms have immune boosting and anti-cancer effects. Some examples of these mushrooms include Shitake (yes, the same one we eat in Chinese restaurants), Maitake, Reishi, Cordyceps, Coriolus, Agaricus and Cordyceps. The good folks over at Aloha Medicinals have known about this forever. I spoke with Dr. John Holliday who spearheads their research a while back to get the lowdown on this very interesting area. Subsequently, I began using their products on my patients.
And I found they work. They extend life, slow progression, and keep life quality high in dog cancer patients beyond traditional care expectations.
They do this in three main ways. First, they are immune enhancing. Second, they stimulate the immune system. Lastly, they help with the toxic side effects of chemo and radiation.
Coriolus contains two interesting compounds that have attracted major interest in China, PSK and PSP. PSK has made it all the way to stage 3 clinical trials (out of 4). Taken together, PSK and PSP improved survival times significantly for cancers of the lung, stomach, ovary, breast, colon, rectum, the nasal-throat area, and cervix. In addition, they improved life quality, decreased pain, boosted the immune system, and decreased side effects of chemo and radiation. Here is the link. These compounds are very exciting and are found in Aloha Medicinal products, as well as other medicinal mushroom blends.
An extract of Maitake taken by mouth was shown to help human patients live longer and suffer less cancer symptoms in a study out of Japan. Patients with cancer of the liver, breast and lung showed the most improvement, while those with leukemia, stomach cancer, and brain cancer showed minimal improvement. This paper also showed that the immune system was more active in the patients receiving the Maitake extract.
Cordyceps extract did slow the growth of tumors in mice, and was able to protect mice from some of the side effects from the chemo drug taxol in another study. In particular, the mice were able to regenerate their white blood cell counts, as white blood cell suppression is a frequent side effect seen with chemo. Cordyceps was also able to mitigate the effects of radiation toxicity in mice in a further study.
Immune suppression is a big part of cancer progression, and these mushrooms help overcome this problem via immune stimulation.Coriolus, Shitake, Maitake, Reishi, Cordyceps, Agaricus and others contain a carbohydrates in the beta-glucan family. Beta-glucans stimulate white blood cells (lymphocytes including T cells and NK cells, and macrophages) through several mechanisms.
Shitake extract taken orally was shown to increase red and white blood cell formation following radiation in mice. This may have positive effects for chemo agents that cause anemia and low white counts (which many do).
A clinical study is published in the Aloha Medicinals website, showing the benefit of a blend of different medicinal mushrooms in late stage cancer patients. Although they have an vested interest, it is still useful to consider.
I believe these mushrooms (K-9 Immunity, available through Aloha Medicinals), along with their boosting supplements (Transfer Factor) should be considered for a part of the full-spectrum care plan for dogs afflicted with cancer. According to Dr. Holliday, who is collecting large amounts of data on their supplement, he is possibly most impressed with the effects of these products for dogs with osteosarcoma.
Most of the whole mushrooms have an antioxidant effect, which may interfere with chemo and radiation. The use of these mushrooms should be timed after consultation with your vet or oncologist. Additionally, like any supplement taken orally, digestive upset is possible. They should probably be avoided in dogs with immune mediated diseases or other inflammatory disorders. Please discuss this with your vet or oncologist.
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
I have been giving my dogs Shitake Mushrooms. They are the one’s we buy at the local Japanese Market. I hope this is alrightMy mom has shoked them in water. I tell her to also give the water, for that also has the nutrients. Is vwhat I’m doinging for my cancer girl alright? We are still planning to take her with us to Portland Oragon this summer. Hopfully things will be alright. We contacted a cancer Organization up in Portland the other day.
Sincerly, Michelle DeLaChelle
Hi Dr. DD,
My 12 years old Daschund was just diagnosed with the anal sac adenocarcinoma. It was small and discreet. It was resected, but unfortunately the margins were not clear (surgeon expected it to be clean). His other work-up did not show the metastases. His labs are normal. The surgery was done on 4/20/11 (very well known NYC hospital), but the pathology report says that the date the specimen was received was on 4/11 (it is unclear if it was April 11th or April 2011; the surgeon is investigating it with the pathology center at this time). The pathology report provides no macroscopic description (no dimensions so it is hard to tell if it was my dogs tissue). I am suspicious about the results, but the vet tells me that this is most likely his report). Most likely is not good enough to me considering 18 radiation treatments under general anesthesia. I am out of my mind. I consider another surgery for more margins, but my surgeon does not recommend it because of possible complications. I was told by the oncologist that he has an excellent chance with radiation. I bought your book, reading through it. Any experience with this type of tumor? Any advice?
Hi Dr. D!
I heard that some oncologists agree that mushroom extracts can be used in conjunction with chemo, and some say that it interferes. I was going to start my dog, post amputation, but pre chemo on AHCC 500mg a day (55lb dog).
What are your thoughts on this?
And as far as choosing a mushroom therapy, what would you recommend for primary osteosarcoma? We choose AHCC as a well respected nutritionist we know recommended it.
I also read that some of these chinese mushrooms are also good for allergies too! Thank Dog my baby does not have cancer but she does suffer from allergies. Is there a capsule you would recommened to supplement instead of having to find all these mushrooms esp. cordyceps?
Hi Dr. D,
My lab Lucky has mast cell tumors. We are currently following your cancer diet along with new chapter tumeric and new chapter host defense. We just started the apocaps, krill oil and the digestive enzymes. Prior to all of this we were giving him Cellular Forte’ Max. Stopped this as we thought it might be helping the cancer. He has one tumor removed and then several came up on the inside and groin of his leg. Should we do the K-9 immunity too? Would you recommend transfer factor too? Just confused as to how much we should be giving him. He is fine, no signs of disease as far as his actions. Walks with us 3 miles in the morning and walks for about 30 minutes in the evening. Has a good appetite. We have cut all sugars and carbs from his diet and provide filtered water to drink. He is 7 and is the love of our lives.
John & Robert, I’m with you guys. I can’t tell if K9 Immunity and other related canine cancer supplements are a scam or not. I have searched and searched, but have found no hard evidence that it’s at all effective. Yet all of these supplements cost a fortune. My veterinary oncologist told me ‘don’t waste your money’. But, when weighing the money vs my dog’s life, I chose my dog’s life and went for it anyway. In August, I ended up pulling my dog off all of the supplements that she was on because she was breaking out in ‘drug eruptions’. She had ulcerated sores all over her lips, down her chin, and neck to her armpit. It was horrible. We’re still not sure exactly what was causing them. But, she hasn’t experienced anymore of these outbreaks since we stopped all of the supplements. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on June 2nd. We did confirm recently through ultrasound that the cancer has now metastasized to her kidneys. But, her quality of life continues to be good. Who knows if pulling her off the supplements allowed the cancer to spread sooner? Or, was it already spreading despite the supplements and chemo? In any case, her quality of life sure has been a lot better since we stopped the supplements.
It sure would be nice to make the decision to invest in these supplements with more evidence to support the decision. The problem is that we all make an emotionally charged decision to buy them, we never really know if they are working or not, eventually we lose our beloved pet, we have no idea if the supplement actually made a difference or not and when we do eventually lose our pet, we’re grieving that loss and are so drained from the whole experience that we certainly don’t want to prolong the whole experience even further by continuing to attempt to figure out if the supplement was effective or report back to anyone who may be interested on these forums. Even if we did have the energy to report back, what would we report back? Truly, we have no idea if it made a difference or not. So, we let go and move on. . . . and everyday more dogs are diagnosed with cancer and there’s a whole new flock of emotionally charged human caretakers who are canine cancer newbies searching the web hoping to find a miracle cure. Each day one of us leaves this market, we’re replaced by a teary-eyed new customer willing to give these supplements a try with the hope that they will help their pet. Yeah, this market is a goldmine with no accountability for product effectiveness. I agree that it’s VERY sketchy.
I second the comment above by John. I would like some information about this K-9 Immunity. Being involved in web development, I know how easy it is to leave good comments everywhere on the major sites. Viral marketing for this type of product is not hard since its so specialized. Does anyone know of any links to unbiased studies of K-9 Immunity?
Like John, I feel some of the “user comments” are suspect when it comes to K-9 Immunity. My dog was just diagnosed with a high grade II MCT. It has not spread and it has been removed, but the margins were not clean so he starts radiation as soon as the stitches come out.
Hi!
As always, the best policy is to go to the source. I would suggest calling customer support and asking for literature supporting claims and arm yourself with the data you need!
Best,
D
so whats the update doc? its hard finding any real information from people about K 9 immunity. my dog is diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. i already ordered this but after my vets told me not to take this, realizing the marketing schemes that all look similar on all the websites, YOUR strong recommendation for this, and my intuition sensing that it would be a perfect way to make money ( make a cancer patient’s owner pay >$100 for miracle capsules, b/c the dog’s owner is an emotioanl breakdown hoping this system will work), its making this seem VERY sketchy. Not to mention ZosoGuru’s comment about this so called “doctor” true self. I have seen many money schemes including cell phone messaging subscriptions schemes who should be put in jail. If this doctor is trying to make money off of people’s well being which would be very intelligent and cold hearted, I think I would be sick. It would piss me off more than finding out my dog had cancer.
I also think if there are so many proven successes from this treatment of K 9 Immunity, K 9 Total Factor or w/e, SPEAK UP PEOPLE> tell us if this system worked out for you or if it was all bunk, because there are people here who have limited time with the rapidness of cancer on their dogs that need ADVICE. there is not enough ADVICE on this, as it was hard to even find a site like this that doesn’t have comments that seem to have been created by the “doctor” or his personels making his websites perpetuating this lucrative business.
Dr. Dressler:
My dog is 9 years old and had her rear leg amputated due to cancer. About 18 months ago, I noticed a growth at the hock area. Xrays were done on the hock and I was told it did not look good. Chest Xrays were also done and they were clean. Biopsy was done and no cancer the vet just debulked the growth because it could not be totally removed. No other treatment was given except antibiotics and my dog healed and was fine. I noticed the growth coming back in the fall of 09. I took her to another vet and had the growth looked at. Xrays of the hock were done again and it was suggested that a biopsy be done. Chest Xrays done also and clean again. I then took her to a specialist who said it could be treated with meds, fused or possibly amputated depending on how the biopsy came back. My dog was not using the leg and holding it up. Unfortunately the biopsy came back sarcoma. With that news and that fact that she was in pain and not using the leg, we opted for amputation. All her senior blood work came back good. She has recovered and adapted very well she has totally amazed everybody with her recovery so it is hard to believe what is going on. It was suggested that we do a biopsy to find out what kind of cancer was in the hock and it came back histiocystic sarcoma. Ultrasound was then done and it was clean. My vet said the best treatment at this point for her is the chemo drug Lomustine. Wanting the best for her and at the same time not knowing what is the best for her. We decided on the Lomustine and she has had her first treatment and is due for her second any day now. She has really been doing well. You would never think she even had this awful cancer. One weekend she was not too hungry, and she went for her bloodwork and low WBC 6/8 was 2.3 then on 6/16 2.7 she was put on antibiotics because of the first results and now going back on antibiotics for another week then more bloodwork. I was told that many of the supplements, etc., can interfere with her current treatment and I am concerned and I feel that I need to help her even more but I am afraid of what to expect next in dealing with this cancer. No one believes that there is anything going on with her because she appears healthy and normal except that now is a tripawd. I only hope she stays this way for a very long time. Well that is Silk’s story any suggestion we would be happy for. Thank you for your time.
Cathy and Silk
Dr. Dressler:
My dog was diagnosed with lymphoma last March. She went through the traditional chemo protocol for five months, where she went into remission. We were told she’d have about 12-15 months before the lymphoma surfaced again. This March it came back, and now she is on two cancer pills once a month. Would the agaricus mushroom help her?