Articles by Demian Dressler, DVM
Lipoma and Liposarcoma in the Dog: Fatty Tumors
Is that soft squishy lump on your dog something to worry about? It depends.
Read MoreLuteolin and Dog Cancer, Continued
A look at the cutting edge, new bioflavoniod luteolin, its application in cancer treatment, and a source.
Read MoreMast Cells and Luteolin in Cancer Treatment, Part 1
Here’s a post I have been promising for a while now. Let’s look at Luteolin, a practically anonymous, food-derived agent with numerous possible uses in cancer treatment. Nobody has heard of Luteolin. That is because the research being done in its potential anti-cancer application is really new. What is it anyway? Luteolin is a bioflavonoid…
Read MoreAn Antibiotic for Dog Cancer
Antibiotics are normally used to treat infections, but not many know that there are anti-tumor antibiotics. One of the cheapest, safest, and most easily obtained through a vet? Doxycycline. Now, doxycycline is not a dream antibiotic. It actually has fairly limited use as an antibiotic. Some use it for dental infections, but it is most…
Read MoreIs The Cause of Cancer Really Not Known?
Conventional vets (and I count myself among this group) suggest that the cause of cancer is not known. Well, this statement rests on a faulty premise, because there is no single cause of cancer. Cancer is the product of many separate steps that all must occur before the disease happens. So of course the cause…
Read MoreChemotherapy toxicity in dog cancer: Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC)
Chemotherapy agents are used to help slow the growth of tumors, improve life quality, and decrease tumor spread in dogs. Although the doses used are less than in humans, toxicity of chemo drugs is still a concern. The big problem is that things that decrease toxicity of the chemo drugs often will decrease the effectiveness…
Read MoreThe Toxicity of Potent Dog Chemo Drug Doxorubicin
Is your dog on doxorubicin? Here’s what you need to know about this potent, common chemotherapy agent.
Read MoreNew treatment for Dogs with Melanoma
Chalk up a win for the Animal Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering. These two medical facilities have teamed up with Merial, one of the major companies producing drugs for dogs. They came up with a winner: a vaccination for dogs that have malignant melanoma, a type of cancer of the skin or mouth. This…
Read MoreDog Cancer Words You Should Know: Grade and Stage
I think it is important to clear up some words about dog cancer, and cancer in general. It helps to define what you are talking about with the vet or oncologist so you can get the best info to make your decisions. As your dog’s primary health advocate, you will be called upon to make…
Read MoreThings You Need To Know About Radiation for Dog Cancer
This is a continuation of the previous blog topic, radiation therapy in dog cancer. We looked at some benefits of radiation previously, both in terms of life quality and lifespan. This time, I would like to look at some of the downsides. I am not interested in painting a darker picture than is necessary. This…
Read MoreRadiation therapy and dog cancer?
Radiation is a big gun in dog cancer therapy. There are many out there that would not even consider it….to hardcore, too scary. And honestly, many times they might be correct. But in some cases radiation should be at least considered. For many it is out of the question. No nearby cancer referral center, no…
Read MorePrejudice in viewpoints on Dog Cancer Care
One of the things I realized in my quest for defining what I’ve coined a “full spectrum approach” to treating cancer is personal bias. I am not talking about racial or sexual discrimination of course. Rather, something I realized that we all carry within us, and I include myself in this, is the presence of…
Read MoreCanine Cancer Surgery: Dog Owners…Check on the pain control!
I have been focusing a bit on osteosarcoma, since this is a common cancer. This info applies to any big surgery involving cancer in dogs though. I thought that a few bits of vet-only knowledge would be nice for dog owners. That way you can discuss the important topic of pain control at the time…
Read MoreCanine Osteosarcoma: Amputation and Life Quality
If your dog’s leg is amputated, how does it affect them? Dr. D looks at amputation and life quality for dogs with osteosarcoma.
Read MoreMy Dog Has Osteosarcoma: Should I Allow Amputation?
Is amputation a good idea for dogs with osteosarcoma? Dr. Dressler looks at this decision from two perspectives. In this article: life expectancy.
Read MoreVitamin C for Canine Cancer Patients? Part 2
Well, it’s been 2 days since the lead-in entry on Vitamin C….which may (or may not) be a long time to wait 🙂 Anyway, here you go: As I had indicated, it turns out that if one were to take vitamin C, at huge doses by mouth, the blood levels you get are puny. When…
Read MoreVitamin C for Canine Cancer Patients?
Many have heard of the Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. After winning the prize in chemistry in 1954, he went off on this tangent and decided to be the major proponent of vitamin C for health. Lots of people became pretty excited, and decided to see if Vitamin C did anything to cancer cells in…
Read MoreWhat about Ozone Therapy and Dog Cancer?
Ozone therapy is one of those things that people ask about sometimes. Kind of an odd bird, ozone. What’s the deal with ozone therapy and dog cancer? First of all, what is ozone anyway? Ozone is a gas that can be administered after it is dissolved in liquid, most commonly either IV or as an…
Read MoreDog Cancer Surgery: They Didn’t Get It All Out
Sound familiar? Did this happen to anyone out there? Removal of all the cancer cells from the body during surgery is pretty important. How can we tell? The most important thing to do is get that biopsy report. Some don’t want the extra cost. “Just get it out” is a line I have heard from…
Read MoreDog cancer: What is Micrometastasis and Why Do We Care?
I get a lot of inquiries that relate to whether a cancer is gone after it is removed, or what will be the outcome. Sometimes these are tough to answer, and the reason is micrometastasis. Micrometastsis occurs when a cancer spreads from a site, but the spread is not detectable by the usual means available. …
Read MoreDog Cancer and Food…what’s the Carbo Problem?
Everybody loves sugar. Late night snacks, movies, late afternoon….kids and grown-ups alike….and dogs like their carbs in dog food and in dog treats, which of course are changed in the body to sugars… Cancer in dogs loves sugar too. Especially sugar. Cancers tend to gobble sugar way more than fat or protein. Cancer definitely has…
Read MoreBut I want CLA for my dog with cancer!
Dear friends and fellow dog lovers, Here is the follow up on the CLA post… Just for the record, I don’t care for the stuff. The forms of CLA are all mixed together usually. At some point they will separate the forms of CLA in the mixture, and then we can re-assess. At this time…
Read MoreCan melatonin be used with lymphosarcoma in dogs?
Before we go back to linoleic acid, the last blog topic, this question has been festering in my mind and needs to be addressed. Should be be using melatonin in dogs with lymphosarcoma? This is an interesting question, especially because as I am about to disagree with what is all over the internet….”don’t use melatonin”…
Read MoreConjugated Linoleic Acid and Dog Cancer
I received a question about the use of safflower oil for a type of lyphosarcoma (lymphoma) in dogs. The group of active ingredients in safflower oil is called the Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA). There are other things in safflower oil too that have effects, but this is a biggy. So should we be giving this…
Read MoreDog Cancer and Antioxidants…Time to Clear Up Confusion!
Hi everyone, The use of “antioxidants” is a charged topic in cancer care these days. The holistic set tends to be “pro”, while the western vets and oncologists tend to be “anti”. Let’s take a look from my favorite viewpoint…Full Spectrum care ( where we try to avoid biases that exclude useful things but gear…
Read MoreBladder and prostate cancer: neutering male dogs increases risk
Oh man. This is going to make a lot of people in my field angry. Apologies to classmates and veterinarian friends! I came upon this study from the August, 2007 journal Prostate. Probably not what a lot of us would be reading in our spare time, but I am busy with upcoming info products for…
Read MoreFantastic fungus and dog cancer..medicinal mushrooms!?
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…
Read MoreYour Comments, Please
We are working to make the Dog Cancer News and our blog as helpful as possible. We would love to hear what you have to say. Please provide comments, suggestions, criticism (and even compliments) in the comment area below. We would love to hear what you say and we read all of our comments. Many…
Read MoreEGCG and dog cancer: beyond chemo, radiation and surgery
So you feel that there is more than chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for dogs with cancer? So do I, and we are correct! Here’s just one example: EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). This is a naturally occurring substance found in green tea. EGCG has several anticancer effects that are very real. This substance is in trials at…
Read MoreDoes my dog have cancer? What NOT to rely on!
Hi! Glad to see so many readers these days! Thanks everyone. I have noticed that there are some misconceptions about dog cancer floating around that perhaps could be clarified a little bit. Specifically, there are things that people are looking at to deduce that their dog’s lump is NOT cancer…but the problem is that some…
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