Last month I wrote about 5 possible causes of cancer in dogs and cats but what if you have already received the diagnosis?

There are many remedies for treating pets with cancer.  They might include pharmaceuticals, herbs, supplements, and alternative modalities, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, healing touch, Reiki—and many more.  I would like to list a few supplements that I have found beneficial when treating pets for cancer.  These are but a few of many, and they are not intended to replace any therapy that your pet is getting.

Chinese herbs

All of my cancer patients get Chinese herbal therapy.  Chinese medicine is based on determining the individual pet’s imbalances. Chinese herbs function to address the root imbalances that created the disease we call cancer.  They are also used to help the immune system, reduce symptoms, and increase appetite and overall energy.  Recent research indicated that using traditional Chinese medicine in conjunction with conventional treatment added an additional one year of life to the pet dealing with malignant cancer.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is metabolized in the body into retinoic acid, which in higher dosages is considered a cancer fighter and an antioxidant.  

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is safe for use in the pet and is known for its ability to aid in cell differentiation and apoptosis (ridding itself of dead cells), and also inhibits angiogenesis (blood supply to the tumor).

DHA 

DHA is an essential fatty acid and is considered an anti-cancer supplement.

Ginger and milk thistle

These help support the liver and reduce symptoms.

Coenzyme Q10

Modulates the immune system, reduces some side effects of certain chemotherapy agents, and is a powerful anti-oxidant.

IP6  

Inositol hexaphosphate is very effective for killing cancer cells, inhibits cancer growth, and modulates the immune system.

Medicinal mushrooms

Medicinal mushrooms have been used for years in the treatment of cancer.  They help modulate the immune system and slow cancer growth rate.  Examples are Reishi, Cordyceps, Shiitake, and Turkey Tail.

It’s important to consult your holistic vet to help you with dosages and give you guidance in order to determine which supplements would work best for your pet. For more in-depth examination of holistic versus conventional pet health treatment please see my book, Whole-Pet Healing.

            I, personally, have found that treating cancer from a traditional Chinese veterinary medicine perspective using acupuncture and Chinese herbs has been of great benefit. This modality benefits pets with cancer (with or without conventional medicine) by supporting the immune system, reducing symptoms, and increasing appetite and overall energy.

            Diet modification is also very important.  Most cancers require sugar as its energy source.  Sugar intake comes from feeding dogs and cats starchy carbohydrates.  These carbohydrates are converted to sugar and the sugar feeds the cancer.  Most holistic veterinarians, including myself, recommend a balanced, high-protein, low carbohydrate diet that is fresh and raw.  All pets need to be transitioned to this new diet gradually. I would suggest that you contact your local holistic veterinarian for help in transitioning your pet from processed food to fresh, wholesome food.

The Experience of Cancer

When we gather the understanding of a field of consciousness and the mind as a field of conscious energy, we can begin to piece together a solution to unknowingly sending harm to our external environment and our pets.  Here in the west, we have evolved into beings with very developed intellectual or ego-minds.  Our minds are protective in nature, and they are quick to react with conditioned patterns.  When something is perceived as negative or harmful, our minds quickly go on the defense and begin to rationalize a plan meant to eliminate the problem.  This can be very beneficial when we are walking in the woods and a bear jumps out from behind a tree.  However, this conditioned reaction does not serve us well when dealing with cancer.

Imagine that for several weeks you notice a lump on the underside of your dog’s neck.  You decide to watch the lump in hopes that it will go away on its own.  In time, you realize that it has not gotten smaller and you decide to take your dog to the vet.  Your vet examines your dog, does some laboratory tests, and calls you back into the office a few days later.  She sits you down at her desk and tells you that your dog has lymphoma, a malignant cancer.

The word cancer activates a response in your mind.  Most likely, your body will react with a release of adrenalin much like what happened when you were walking through the woods and the bear jumped out.  The body doesn’t know that there is no immediate danger.  Your mind starts generating thoughts about your pet suffering and dying, and this keeps you in this fearful, reactionary state.

After hearing this scary news, your mind wants to resolve this problem as soon as possible, both for your dog and yourself.  Your mind tells you the most effective way to do this is to attack the cancer, the same fight or flight response that would happen with the bear.  Unfortunately, this conditioned response is about to lead you down a pathway that will likely cause you great suffering and very little chance of a favorable outcome.

Everything, including thoughts and feelings, is energetic in nature.  Stressful thoughts and feelings—like fear, anger, worry, and panic—are very dense, harmful energy patterns. They are a result of a fearful internal reaction and can only lead to a fearful response.  When our minds are reacting from the ego’s perspective, the fearful thoughts and feelings will prevent us from making wise decisions.  The ego-mind is developed by us based on our beliefs, perspectives, and experiences.  This source of information is always changing, flimsy at best, and certainly incapable of guiding us through this apparent crisis.  Our minds will get trapped in a vicious cycle of first thinking one direction is the best, then changing our minds, then changing them back again, never feeling like we have a clear idea of how to proceed.   

The negative energy that is created, as a result of the knee-jerk, repetitive reaction of the ego-mind to a perceived threat, will interact with the energetic body of a pet who is strongly bonded to you. This will not only interfere with your pet’s body’s ability to heal, but it will place an unnecessary emotional burden on the pet.  At that point, you are unintentionally harming, more than helping, your pet.

The first step that needs to be made to stop this conditioned response, that only leads to suffering and delayed healing, is to back away from the harmful thoughts and feelings that are arising. When you back away and look at the thoughts and emotions, without them pulling you into their energetic trap, you will notice that there is a space between you and the thoughts.  This space is where you want to stay.  This is where you align yourself with pure consciousness and this is where healing is found.

When you are no longer under the control of your harmful thoughts and emotions, you will find a peaceful place within that space.  From that place you are naturally open to what needs to be done for your pet.  It is no longer about you and your response.  You are now in alignment with the pet’s needs and you will be directed in your choices and decisions. You will find yourself allowing life to do what it needs to do, and you will be in a position to cooperate to the fullest with what life presents to you.  You will no longer be attacking the cancer, and the cancer will no longer be responding to your attacks. Universal laws tell us that what you attack, you only make stronger.

Be forewarned, aligning yourself with an attitude of allowing cancer to be, may cause the ego-mind to react, and it may tell you that you are giving up.  That is not the case. You will still take steps to address the cancer, but now you will be guided by loving energy instead of fear.  There will be ease of movement instead of resistance—and there will be no suffering.

Approximately six million dogs and cats may still be diagnosed with cancer next year, but some of us can learn to move beyond the conditioned ego-mind response and find a place of peace from which to facilitate healing. When we allow our greatest fears, and yes, our beloved pet having cancer is one of them, to be transformed, we align ourselves with universal consciousness. And maybe, more importantly, we find that when we face these fears head-on, with confidence, we come out on the other side having learned something greater about ourselves.  This is how we evolve, and this is one of the greatest opportunities that we have during this human experience, and it’s afforded by our beloved pet.  Love your pet, love yourself, and all will be well.

For more in-depth examination of holistic versus conventional pet health treatment please see my book, Whole-Pet Healing.