Treatment Enhancement for Pet Cancer

By Emma Gapas, DVM

Studies have shown that cancer rarely just “strikes out of the blue”.  In reality, there are often long-standing nutritional deficiencies, high levels of oxidative stress (from chemicals, toxins, poor quality food, and pollution), and repeated incidences of mal-absorption of nutrients in the gut that predispose a pet to cancer.  Correcting these conditions early can sometimes help prevent cancer in the first place.

However, if your veterinarian diagnosed your pet as having cancer, he or she should be able to help guide you in your cancer treatment decisions, which will vary based on type of pet, age, type of cancer, and stage of cancer.  Conventional treatments like medication and radiation do often help, but there can be limitations and potential side effects.  Medication and radiation may seriously compromise the nutritional integrity of your pet and may prompt a much higher need for antioxidants and the best diet you can find.  You can’t expect your pet to have a winning battle with cancer if there are all kinds of nutritional deficiencies occurring at the same time manifesting itself though such problems such as obesity, blood sugar imbalances, skin problems, respiratory problems and irritable bowel syndrome. 

In conjunction with conventional cancer treatment methods, there has been a lot of research about enhancing the treatment with nutritional practices.  These methods include.

Method	What this means	Ingredients that may help
Inducing cell differentiation	Keeping cells healthy	Flavonoids, fish oils, boswellic acid, Vitamins A and D3
Inducing cell apoptosis	Destroying tumor cells	Vitamins A, D3, C, E, selenium, Boswellic acid, curcumin, fish oil, flavonoids, garlic
Inhibiting Protein Kinase	Not letting the cancer have an energy source	Fish oil, EPA, DHA, Flavonoids, curcumin
Improving cell communication	Enhancing full body protection	Melatonin, selenium, D3
Inhibiting angiogenesis	Stopping cancer growth	Anthocyanidins, boswellic acid, curcumin, fish oil, garlic melatonin, Vitamins E and C
Inhibiting Cancer cell invasion	Stopping the problem in the first place	Boswellic acid, proanthocyanidins, fish oil, curcumin, quercitin, antioxidants
Inhibiting metastasis	Stopping the spread	Anthocyandins, curcumin, fish oils, garlic, flavonoids, Vitamin E
Enhancing immune function	Increasing immunity to lower risk of cancer and increase ability to fight	Glutamine, antioxidants, melatonin
Protecting	Protecting organs from further stress	Milk thistle, glutamine

Reference:  Steve Marsden, DVM, MSOM, LAC, ND.  “Chinese Herbal Treatment of Cancer.”  The North American Veterinary Conference – 2007, Small Animal-Alternative Medicine, pages 19-32.

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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.