Life Expectancy
How to Make Decisions About Dog Cancer Treatments
Overwhelmed and anxious, and unsure how to make decisions about dog cancer treatments? Read this article to find out how to “think like an entrepreneur” and calculate the risk.
Read Article
The Most Important Question in Dog Cancer
What’s the most important question in dog cancer care? You’ll be surprised at what Dr. Dressler has to say.
Read Article
Why Your Personality Is So Important to Your Dog with Cancer
When treating dog cancer, knowing your personality and priorities helps you make treatment choices that will help your dog AND feel right to you.
Read Article
Is My Dog Too Old For Cancer Treatments?
Age is not a disease, but when your dog is diagnosed with cancer, it can be confusing to know if your dog too old for cancer treatments. Dr. Dressler explains…
Read Article
DogCancer.TV: Life Expectancy vs. Gained Life Expectancy in Dog Cancer Treatments
A quick video in which Dr. Dressler and Dr. Ettinger discuss the distinction between life expectancy and gained life expectancy.
Read Article
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 Article
DogCancer.TV: Which Dog Cancers are Best Treated with Chemotherapy
Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Dressler, co-authors of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, have an in-depth discussion on the utilization of chemotherapy treatments for dog cancers.
Read ArticleBeta Glucan-containing mushrooms in the news again!
Beta glucans are back in the media, this time is the form of a new mushroom extract. This of course will not be surprising to our regular readers or anyone who has read The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, since the use of these compounds are part of the full-spectrum approach to canine cancer. This approach…
Read ArticleAttitude Adjustment in Coping With Canine Cancer
One of the most shocking discoveries for some guardians starting their dog cancer journey is there seem to be few options. These guardians go to the vet or oncologist, and many times return from the visit with a very heavy burden that seems to have little relief. And strangely, it happens to those who ask…
Read ArticleMy Dog is Young…and Has Cancer??
These days cancers in young dogs do not seem to be that rare. And they are especially difficult since it is such a shock. Often we have the perception that things like this do not happen, or should not happen. Yet we are faced with this brutal reality that seems impossible to accept and even…
Read ArticleCritical Question when Weighing Dog Cancer Chemotherapy Options
Many Guardians are faced with difficult decisions when facing a dog cancer diagnosis. One of the toughest is whether to choose a treatment that seems more aggressive than others. A guardian should first get an idea of whether the expectation of the treatment is worse than the treatment. Many times dogs receiving chemotherapy treatment do…
Read ArticleHow Do I know The Right Course of Treatment, part 2
In the last post we looked at the information you need to gather about surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for your dog when deciding on a treatment plan. But as you know, the choices do not stop there. As a Guardian you also need to decide what to do. Since you are your dog’s primary advocate,…
Read ArticleTo Chemo or Not To Chemo?
One of the little known facts about veterinary medicine is that chemotherapy does not cure cancer in dogs, with few exceptions (except transmissible venereal tumor or the very rare lympho or something). I believe that many people are unaware of this fact. So we are left with a treatment modality that has a goal of…
Read ArticleBut Cancer Treatment at My Dog’s Age?
So many guardians post comments on this blog, asking questions that have to do with age and cancer treatment. Let’s look at this topic today. I have an old dog. What is the right choice for cancer treatment? This central question usually can boil down to whether the life quality negative of the treatment is…
Read ArticleUsing Dog Cancer Statistics
The one of the first steps in the plan for helping you with dog cancer in The Guide is data collection. Without data about your dog’s cancer, survival times, life quality during treatment, side effects, costs, nursing care you will be expected to do, your dog’s normal life expectancy and so on, you will be…
Read ArticleWhat is Treatment Plan Analysis?
Imagine you want to spend some time somewhere. Maybe the mountains, maybe the city…it is time for a trip. There are many ways to get there. Perhaps having as much time as possible there is your main goal. Maybe you drive at breakneck speed to get there, wasting no time, and extend your time there…
Read ArticleSigns of Dog Cancer and Decompensation
People are often stunned to find out their dog has cancer. Why? Because cancer seems to hit out of the blue. I often hear “but he’s been fine until the last couple days!” In this article, I’m going to take just a minute to explain why “cancer” seems to happen overnight. (Hint: it’s because of…
Read ArticleThe Most Important Question in Dog Cancer Care
Many dog lovers arrive at The Dog Cancer Blog looking or information. There is a problem though, and I would like to begin to spread the word about the most important question in dog cancer care. Here it is: What type of person are you? To many, this may sound very bizarre, so give me…
Read Article
Survival Times and Dog Cancer
I recently got a comment from a reader who was quite upset with her veterinarian because he didn’t fully explain the survival times he expected with her dog’s cancer. Her dog underwent a splenectomy (spleen removal), presumably for treatment of a hemangiosarcoma (a malignant tumor of the blood vessel walls) of the spleen. This dog…
Read ArticleCarcinogenic Chemo Drugs
One of the biggest ironies I have encountered are carcinogenic chemotherapy drugs. Sound odd to you? Well, I don’t blame you! When I first found out about it I was shocked. Medication used for fighting cancer actually increasing the odds for cancer later? Now, before everyone gets reactionary, we have to temper this topic…
Read ArticleWhat Is Over-Treatment of Dog Cancer?
Decision-making when faced with a dog cancer diagnosis can be tough. Treatment outcome, age, cost, and side effects all can weigh heavily on the mind of a dog lover. During the first decision-making period, so much has to be weighed. The difficult part in this process is that nothing seems to be for sure. Objective…
Read ArticleCan I give supplements with Chemotherapy?
In the world of dog cancer, we find ourselves in a war where we can be under-gunned. I must confess that when I look at this statement, I find myself wondering whether it is healthy. To think about dealing with malignancies as a war? Perhaps this analogy is too violent, too antagonistic, too contrary. The…
Read ArticleChronic Morphine May Worsen Dog Cancer
Well, in this post I want to give the readers some cutting edge new developments in dog cancer pain control. For decades, morphine has been a good old standard in pain control, both in dog and human medicine. Many oncologists and veterinarians involved in treating dogs afflicted with cancer use morphine to help these patients.…
Read ArticleRadiation 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 Article
My 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 Article