Full Spectrum Cancer Care
If you're facing dog cancer and you feel overwhelmed, there's a good reason for that: it's overwhelming. There is a lot of information to sort through and understand, and it's not always easy to get it from veterinarians. Full Spectrum Cancer Care is an approach pioneered by Dr. Demian Dressler, author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, that includes conventional approaches like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, but also many other strategies from other medical traditions that have been shown to have value for dogs with cancer.
The following articles were written by The Dog Cancer Vet Team to introduce you to some of the most important aspects of his method of understanding and treating dog cancer. We hope you find them helpful.
Start Here
What Is Full Spectrum Cancer Care?
How does Full Spectrum Cancer Care differ from conventional, holistic, or alternative care? It drops the bias and embraces tools from any system of medicine that have been shown to help fight cancer.
Read More
Primary Lung Tumors, part 2
Unlike people where lung cancer is one of the top five cancers and the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide, primary lung cancer is very rare in dogs. Dogs are often diagnosed with lung cancer as in incidental finding during a routine geriatric screen. Lung Cancer Symptoms in Dogs Often dogs have NO clinical signs,…
Read More
Uncommon Tumors: Primary Lung Tumors, Part 1
As a boarded oncologist, I see not only the common cancers in dogs like lymphoma, mast cell tumors, osteosarcomas, hemangiosarcomas, and mammary cancers. But I also see the uncommon ones. Recently I have been seeing more of the uncommon tumors, and what’s even strange to me, I am seeing more that one within a few…
Read More
How to Help Your Dog with Cancer When He Won’t Eat
When your cancer dog won’t eat, it’s really frightening. It makes you think they’re close to the end, right? Don’t panic – try these things to help.
Read More
Spay/neuter and the association with cancer in dogs: part three
Spay Neuter Golden Retriever: Early spay and neuter have several profound long-term effects for one of our favorite breeds.
Read More
Heterocyclic Amines in the News
I’m happy to report a news article highlighting one of the subjects, carcinogenic heterocyclic amines, discussed in the Guide. The Mercola article discussed a publication about finding this substance, PhIP, in dog fur (as an aside, not all dogs have fur, as some have hair, but that is a different story!). PhIP is in a…
Read More
DogCancer.TV: Osteosarcoma – What You Need to Know About Your Dog’s Bone Cancer
Dr. Dressler and Dr. Ettinger discuss the detection, diagnosis, and the Full Spectrum Care Approach to treatment of osteosarcoma in dogs
Read More
Chemotherapy for Osteosarcoma
In my last two posts about osteosarcoma (OSA), we discussed treatments that address the tumor affecting the bone. We discussed amputation, Stereotactic RadioSurgery (SRS) like Cyberknife, palliative radiation, and limb-spare surgery. While these treatments are important for the malignant tumor destroying the bone, metastasis (cancer spread) is inevitable. So even if the primary tumor is…
Read More
Osteosarcoma: when amputation is not an option, part 2
In my last post, I went through some “alternatives-to-amputation,” including palliative radiation and limb-spare surgery. Now we will review stereotactic radiosurgery. Stereotactic RadioSurgery: radiation instead of surgery RadioSurgery is used INSTEAD of surgery, when traditional surgery with a scalpel blade is impossible or would cause unacceptable side effects to the patient (for example, in brain…
Read More
Low Dose Chemotherapy Better for Canine Hemangiosarcoma?
Chemotherapy in dogs is normally given at doses that are as high as possible without causing too many side effects. This is to try to rid the body of as many cancer cells as we can, although some dogs will have occasional side effects related to the use of conventional chemotherapy. For this reason, there…
Read More
Osteosarcoma: when amputation is not an option
In my most recent blog, we discussed amputation for limb osteosarcoma (OSA), the most common local treatment for the primary tumor in the bone. We discussed that amputation is not an easy decision for pet Guardians, even though most older dogs with average, moderate arthritis usually do well on three legs. If my clients are…
Read MoreClinical Trials for Dog Cancer: Pros and Cons
Dog lovers coping with canine cancer often are looking for solutions. When hearing the news that a loved dog has cancer, and the statistics and costs related to chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, many times a guardian will start looking for something else to try, a solution that seems better than what is available. Often the…
Read More
Why Is Diet Ignored In Dog Cancer Care?
Why on earth is diet ignored in dog cancer? This is a huge blind spot in the veterinary profession. We should start looking at this.
Read More
Is Optimism Appropriate in Dog Cancer?
Are we setting ourselves up for disappointment by holding on to optimism when it comes to dog cancer treatments?
Read More
Modified Citrus Pectin, Dogs, and Cancer
Modified citrus pectin, dogs, and cancer: This inexpensive, easy to give food product may offer powerful benefits to dogs with cancer.
Read MoreHow Long to “Watch and Wait”
Last week I told you about two recent cases in which the tumors were too big for surgery by the time they came to me. I also promised to give you some guidelines about how long to wait when your vet says “let’s just monitor this.” Too many lumps and bumps are being monitored for…
Read More