This is a Dog with Cancer Month 3 anal sac adenocarcinoma to Lymph Nodes

This is a dog with cancer. I have to keep telling myself that because sometimes I can’t believe it’s true. He still wants to go for a walk everyday, has a huge appetite and is very active.

Timeline:

It’s now at least three months since we can assume the cancer had returned, and two months since we found out it was back.  It’s been nearly one month since I met with the holistic vet and that was a miscommunication between my regular vet me and her. On top of that, Buford had some strange tremors on the homeopathic remedies oddly he is taking another homepathic remedy Dr. Reckeweg’s R17 drops and that does not. Perhaps the base formula is different. This is a strange dog anyhow, he turns pink if he eats pork, so who knows.

It’s been almost two years since Buford first had anal sac adenocarcinoma and his operation to remove the tumor and his anal sacs/glands.  I sent his initial biopsy away for comments and I noticed there was talk of how this cancer could spread to the iliac node.

Article:

I discovered this great article written on the subject by By: Meredith Gauthier, DVM, DACVIM (oncology), Lisa G. Barber, DVM, DACVIM (oncology), Kristine E. Burgess, MS, DVM, DACVIM (oncology) Here which talks about the cancer my dog has. It explains the  anal sac cancer tumor he originally had was common only about 2% of the time, but common in dogs over 10.5 years. This was the exact age when he had the operation to have the cancer removed. It then explains that in  40% to 72 of cases there was recurrence or spread to the iliac node.

In a nutshell it does explain the cancer is invasive, and will spread to other areas even if removed properly. Four our of five dogs lived 20 months on average after original tumor removal and some longer with lymph node removal The longest dogs in the study lived 956 days which is 32 months, not quite three years and that is after surgeries, raditions, chemo, etc.

Lymph node removal is dangerous, many side effects and the fact that 40 to 50 percent of the time, it has or will spread elsewhere anyways. It must be combined with radition and follow up treatment and that just impacts the quality of life of the dog anyhow.  Since Buford is almost 13 I’ve decided that’s not an option.  I’ve decided to try to slow down the spread and keep him comfortable until I have to make that choice to put him down if he starts suffering.

Big Changes

The biggest change in Buford is his sunken in face appearance, which happened with the diet change.

At first seeing the contour of his face upset me a bit, but the diet has changed his fat content. Even though we are upping his fats naturally with chicken, olive oil and pork back fat, there was some initial weight loss with the diet change. This was a dog who was on grains his whole life. Luckily, the sunken in face is the worst part, the rest of him is still nicely filled out and his skin is soft. He smells of celery, kale and fresh veggies and likes to make me yell at him to eat his vegetables.

The second issue we are more concerned about, that he seems to strain or think he has to go to do #2 more than he does. That is possibly happening for the mere fact the lymph is so enlarged it may be pressing on something, making him think he has to go, as this is also outlined in the same article from above and this we have to watch.  His stool will be semi solid one day and somewhat runny the next, it’s never the same. He will be meeting his new vet soon and the only reason we will be taking him to  ensure that along the way he’s not suffering.

Fecal obstipation = word of the day.

Mushroom Caps for Dogs With Cancer Imyunity Magic Mushrooms

magic mushroom from graphicsfairy

Now, all kinds of mushrooms have been used in Asian therapy for centuries and their claims in that civilization is to have healing properties on humans. Modern Medical science here in the states has done studies and found “certain types are helpful to those with cancer”.

Particularly known to help cancer is one mushroom called Coriolus Versicolor, or the Asians call it Yunzhi. It is also sometimes referred to as the Turkey Tail mushroom however I caution against the Turkey Tail mushroom capsules if they do not specifically name the Coriolus Versicolor mushroom on the label Extracting the Polysaccharide Peptide also called PSP compounds of if has proven beneficial and recognized as a supplement to give to cancer patients.

So even though you thought mushrooms were poisonous to dogs, one company has proved to extend the life of dogs.  I had called the folks over at I’Munity to see about their mushroom caps for Buford.   They gave a grant to Penn State to do some research on the caps, and it turns out they had very good results, in fact most of the dogs lived twice as long as anticipated with the cancer.  The main wonder ingredient is Polysaccharide Peptide (PSP)  something found in mushrooms and supposed to be very beneficial in fighting cancer cells.  However, I’Munity’s proprietary blend has been given credit for being one of the best! Buford is about 63 lbs and so they said he would require 7 caps a day. A 60 day cap supply is $95.  This means every 9 days would be $95. Even getting a larger package makes the drug less expensive  for him but still very expensive if you are taking this route.

Let’s also remember they are suggesting 400 mg x 7 caps = 2800 mg of PSP so it is a lot of magic mushrooms going into my dog in order to make a a difference.

So what proof  is there on this magic mushroom ?

Wikipedia claims that PSP is a anti tumor drug.

This website shows the medical studies and results and how effective PSP was on different types of cancer. Read how PSP fought cancer cells.

Here is great information from Cancer.org.

Finding the right type of magic mushrooms: 

Most caps are low dose or contain low amounts, or percentages of PSP meaning you will need several caps a day to really make much difference. Most inexpensive brands claim they are between 100 and 300 mg capsules,  25% and 30%, but it’s the fillers that you must worry about.  I haven’t really looked at the inert ingredients but gere is a 500 mg supplier in Canada,.

Some Things You Should Know

Do your research before opting for the least expensive. You may be doing more harm than good. For instance,  this supplier, has caps which are very inexpensive, but  they also contain Magnesium Stearate which has had it’s own debate whether excess amounts of this actually cause cancer though there have been much debate on the issue but obviously California thinks so.

Also do your studying. This is an example of  the Turkey Tail Mushroom caps , as you can see a lot of filler, magnesium sterates and silica….which worries me, and doesn’t speficially say Colorius mushroom. So I would not personally buy this brand without more clarification.  If I was okay with the extra additives I may opt for this one which says Turkey Tail and has Colorius, so I would pick that out of the two choices—just be careful to get the right kind!

Then if you want the all over body booster, you can get the powders mixed in with all kinds of  ingredients like  this stuff great protein powders and gosh knows what as a dietary supplement. Of course who knows about giving all these things to a dog. He may look like Arnie Schwarzenegger  in no time and of course what worries me is the Carbs and obvious glucose…. I am supposed to keep Buford off some carbs because how they break down into glucose or sugar, which in turn feeds the cancer.

So what did I opt for ?

I went with Mushroom Science Mushroom Science, Coriolus PSP, 400 mg, 90 Vegetarian Capsules.   I got them on sale with free shipping at Super Supplements, and at their sale price it came to about  .26 a serving and even with 7 pills a day, that’s only $1.82 per day.   I also want to tell you that many things are available on Amazon and you can get free super saver shipping if you buy over a certain amount.

My search for magic mushrooms are over.

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Buford’s Health Today is good. He has visibly lost weight on this new diet and last night became very picky with his vegetables. I mixed broccoli, one carrot, kale and collard greens together and he left it.  I am going to try to make a small batch of each separately and see which one it is he does not care for. That will add a bit of prep time onto dinner but he’s worth it.

Vet Mayhem Back to Square One

Hanging in there

WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH CANCER YOU ARE IN A BATTLE WITH TIME.

It’s been a while since I posted because I’ve been in vet mayhem and I truly hope anyone seeking holistic treatments does not go through what I am now. It can cost you time , energy, and of course, lost money. The real problem is impeding with progress during your pet’s treatment. what I’m about to tell you isn’t to slander or slam the vets I’ve been dealing with, I’m not giving any names, I’m just showing you how much of a communication breakdown there can be and what you need is a game plan with your pet who is battling cancer.

TIME IS SO VERY CRUCIAL.

When I made the decision to tell my regular vet I didn’t want any more treatments for Buford as I was taking a holistic approach, he told me not to do anything, that he had someone for me and that was Dr. Wonderful. When he told me her name I had looked up her credentials and her website clearly states her experience which I felt comfortable with and knowing the fact her website clearly states  the fact she can do house calls. So I agreed to meet with her. (I didn’t realize what was or was not entailed in these house calls but I sure thought it better for Buford not to get stressed going to the vet anymore.)

By the way, I should also tell you I found out what the whole blood-shot-what-was-it that she had previously did must be a form of PRP used in Biopuncture, but not widely used , but maybe you heard of it on Dr. Oz.  They had a special about surgeons in New York injecting women’s faces with their own blood for rejuvenation. Sounds vampire-ish but hey, whatever works at this point.  I can only tell you what I saw with my own two eyes and it worked on calming him down in the initial consult. Good thing, considering he’s so very stressed when he sees the building–to the point of being on an EKG machine before.

Frustration Factor #1 : Recently Buford had begun taking the homeopathic remedies that Dr. Wonderful had made for him.  I missed a week because I wasn’t made known they were waiting for me at the vet.  When I had left my consult, Dr. Wonderful indicated she would be working on them for Buford and would be taking her time making the right blends for him.  The regular vet told me they would call when she dropped them off.  Ironically, I had been on the phone with them four times in a week ordering Buford’s records sent to another specialist in Ohio for consult. We’ll call her Dr. Ohio.  By the time I realized they were there, a week had gone by of missed treatments.  I would not have known they were there had Dr. Wonderful not texted asking if I picked them up.  I guess communication breakdowns happened at the front desk but this was frustrating for me. Getting Buford started on them asap was my first goal.

Dr. Wonderful had also mentioned a six week treatment that requires three to five visits, bloodwork, etc.  She also mentioned other biopuncture options. I had to talk to my husband to see what we wanted to do.  He and I had a huge discussion on what to do with Buford. He told me whatever I wanted to do, and handed me the credit card.  I said our dog will be 13, he’s already on borrowed time.  He said, “But if I was dying, I’d let them try new things to see if something would maybe help another dog down the road.”

We (the wonderful hubby and I) came to the conclusion that maybe Buford could be some form of guinea pig in homeopathic treatment or pave the way for others to see how well bassets respond to this treatment. So we were both open to trying new things but both agreed to not change up his regular routine anymore. We’ve already changed his diet, added herbs, and now trying to introduce the homeopathics.

SO MUCH CHANGE. It’s a lot of change to a dog whose set in the same routine for 13 years (and missed his kibbles!). This is a dog who wants to run out into a busy highway rather than going in the front door of his vet’s would have too much stress in a several week treatment or even routine biopuncture visits.  So we opted out of the six week treatment but wanted to do some biopuncture treatments.  Keep in mind, this is all very costly.

In a nutshell, we came to this conclusion as it’s no secret that stress is an accelerator to cancer. If you don’t believe me just read this study Psychological stress and cancer.  

Frustration Factor #2: So we mentioned to Dr. Wonderful about doing the house calls, and her response was that she felt uncomfortable because she had an agreement with my regular vet to see “any patient he referred” there.  I asked if I could get his approval would this be different? (Why does her website say she does them then? )  Again I was not sure what all this entailed. Since I was her first referral, she didn’t want to rock the boat and truth be told, this whole runaround sounds strange but I then suggested having them done at her vets, (which she does the holistic thing every Wednesday woot woot great to hear that).  In other words, anywhere but my vet’s because my goal again is to keep Buford stress free. Neither one was an option agreeable to her.

So as a pet owner I was so very frustrated, because I wondered why did my regular vet even waste my time in the first place?  Then I had the hallelujah-moment and figured maybe it’s about the referral money, and I explained that I would be willing to pay any additional fees for doing so, so that my regular vet still makes his cake. Meanwhile, I figured I would leave a message for my regular vet surely he would agree to let her do house calls, or switch locations, if this was in the best interest of the animal, right?

Wrong……..

Frustration Factor #3: Now while I’m waiting for this call back, Buford starts having an issue with  homeopathic remedies. Not sure why as they are perfectly safe. He is rather strange, he has reactions to pork meat. So who knows?   They have three components. I guess they are called tinctures (like the R17 hes using) because you drop them on the gums of your pet or try to get the in their water, etc.  One component is a Symptom bottle. One is Organ which I assume means Organ support, and one is a Detox bottle. I did not use the Detox because I used an alternative form of detox under consult of Dr Ohio. This detox was a week earlier.  Was it just perhaps the alcohols they are mixed with or what that he’s not agreeing with ? I don’t know.

As soon as I started giving the Symptoms and Organs  to Buford  Saturday, my husband noticed his shaking as if he was tremoring. I had not observed this myself, but jut to be safe, I cut back the dose and only gave him one time Symptom (am) and one time Organ (pm) on Sunday.  He was out eating grass that afternoon, hours after the Symptom and at night when I gave him the Organ about 9pm he started shaking within 10 minutes. I thought maybe he was cold as I live in an old house, covered him up and snuggled him in. He woke me up nudging my arm at 1 in the morning shaking and panting and his ears were red.  He’s never woke me up. I am unsure what the problem was but maybe something in the remedies weren’t agreeing with him. I stopped them and texted Dr. Wonderful who said maybe to stop them for a few days, make sure he’s not having the same tremors, then start the detox.

Frustration Factor #4 : I didn’t get a call back from my regular vet, and then to my surprise I find out he went out of the country for several weeks. He scribbled something in the file for the girls at the front desk to tell me when I called.  I didn’t know this of course until I called him back again.  WHAT?   This is where you ask yourself why you have been loyal to a vet for 26 years. spending thousands upon thousands for anything, no questions asked when you can’t even get a call back.

The response I received  after talking to the front office and then the office manager is  “…Dr. Wonderful doesn’t feel comfortable doing house calls…you can treat the dog in our parking lot ….or she can treat your dog in the car in front of our building….it  isn’t because we aren’t letting her..she claims there is an agreement….all I have is his notes which say she feels more comfortable here…he’ll call you on the 18th…if it was my dog I’d put him through the stress and get him the meds….”  WHAT? today is the 5th.

I’m a business owner. I have email and text.  And I take care of my best clients but that’s just me.  Just to clarify, Dr. Wonderful does NOT have a specific office for treatments, she works part time for a regular vet who allows her to do holistic treatment there every Wednesday. Going there would be an ethical conflict according to her …. Once again I beg, the building stresses my dog out.  Did she read his chart? No.  Maybe then and only then would she have seen that EKG bill I got when they thought hew as having a heart attack.

Okay so here we go:

• I agree to a referral from my vet and she has a website that says she does housecalls but now she doesn’t?
• She is absolutely wonderful and I know she can help my dog.
• I ask for special circumstances from my vet but they would rather Buford be stressed in a parking lot instead of make a special circumstance
• I ask if I can take Buford to another vets where she performs treatment on Wednesdays but that’s not possible
• I ask for my vet to call me back but he goes out of the country for two weeks
• This lady has the power to help my dog but she won’t at this point because I was getting very upset and threatening to write about this!

So WHY AM I WRITING ABOUT THIS ?

To show you that you have to have a game plan when it comes to holistic treatment. Ask questions. Do your homework. Where will your dog be treated and when? Can there be housecalls or whose permission do you need? etc etc etc

Let’s be honest.  Cancer in the lymph nodes is a death sentence. Time is crucial when you are trying to fight cancer, and start your remedies/diet/battle to keep your pet alive and well.  I am the owner who is grasping at straws trying to do the right thing for my dog, and now you people have me back to square one.

Update: A month later, my regular vet called and stated that Dr. Wonderful was free to see me anywhere. He said he would call and talk to her. Then he called me back to say she wouldn’t treat my dog.  I had to call and beg her to reconsider.  It was all a big misunderstanding but if she understood me being the pet owner fighting for Buford’s life.  She’s a holistic doctor/vet with an agreement or ethical responsibility to my regular vet. My regular vet returned my call a month later.  So here we are.

REMEMBER

There is a huge difference between conventional medicine and holistic medicine. You have to really get your ducks in a row and get on the same communication between your regular vet and your holistic vet. There’s so much going on in your dog’s life that you may forget these very important questions because if you don’t ask you will LOST TIME.

WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH CANCER YOU ARE IN A BATTLE WITH TIME.

Speaking of ethics:

“Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.” – Vet Oath

WHAT NOW?

ONE MONTH TREATMENT TIME LOST

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What Am I Doing?

Reading every night about cancer and how to fight it. They can’t give me a month back and now Buford is in limbo. I’m pouring all my energy into something constructive. Finding a way to give Buford back the love he’s given me all these years. I read everything on other countries’ website and medical journals. I’m reading things I can’t understand with scientific terms just ro read and learn.

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Buford’s health today: Good. We have discontinued the tinctures until we learn more about them, and have started some PAAWS vitamins that are bacon flavored and he loves them.  These are AM and PM supplements to help boost his immune system.  I am happy to report his stools are solid and I’ve been making sure to enrich his diet with pork back fat cubes, as suggested by Dr Ohio.  Oddly enough Buford has never tolerated pork well but the fat back once grilled or in olive oil isn’t bothering him.