See you tomorrow!

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Time: 3:00pm PST (4:00 MT, 6:00 Eastern)
Duration: 30 min.
Call In Number: (310) 388-9739*

Tune In Here: Metronomic Chemotherapy for Canine Cancer
Share Link: bit.ly/ttr020812

*You do not need to call to hear the show. Listen live here and join us in the chat room or call (310) 388-9739 with your questions. If you can’t listen live, a podcast will be available after the broadcast.

Learn How to Fight Dog Cancer with Metronomic Chemotherapy

Dr. Biller’s research primarily focuses on the interactions between the anti-tumor immune response and metronomic chemotherapy. One of her most recent studies was for the  Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) during which she evaluated metronomic chemotherapy treatment on dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas.

For this study, Dr. Biller wanted to learn more specifics on how to treat dogs using metronomic chemotherapy protocols. She says:

“Even though veterinarians have been using metronomic chemotherapy on patients, we have been guessing on important factors like what drugs we should use, what dose is needed and at what intervals we should treat the patient. We hope to determine some of those factors.”

Join us in the Tripawds Live Chat during the show! We will be taking your calls and questions for Dr. Biller.

Recommended Reading:

Tripawds News Blog: A Look at Colorado State University’s Animal Cancer Center

Tripawds News Blog: Morris Animal Foundation Studies Metronomic Chemotherapy

Tripawds Discussion Forums: Tips and Resources: Jerry’s Metronomic Chemotherapy Experience

DISCLAIMER: Information provided at Tripawd Talk Radio and Tripawds.com is not a substitute for medical care by a qualified veterinary professional. Always seek the advice of a licensed veterinarian prior to making any medical decisions about your dog’s health. Tripawds.com is not responsible or liable, for any damages resulting from the use (or misuse) of information contained in or implied herein.

Mark your calendar now for a special Tripawd Talk Radio show about the latest metronomic chemotherapy breakthroughs for cancer dogs, with the world-renowned Dr. Barbara Biller, Veterinarian and Assistant Professor of Oncology at Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center.

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Time: 3:00pm PST (4:00 MT, 6:00 Eastern)
Duration: 30 min.
Call In Number: (310) 388-9739*

Tune In Here: Metronomic Chemotherapy for Canine Cancer
Share Link: bit.ly/ttr020812

*You do not need to call to hear the show. Listen live here and join us in the chat room or call (310) 388-9739 with your questions. If you can’t listen live, a podcast will be available after the broadcast.

Dr. Biller Shares Metronomic Chemo Research News

We are so thrilled to have Dr. Biller join us! The primary focus of her research is on the interactions between the anti-tumor immune response and metronomic chemotherapy. We learned about Dr. Biller’s work when we read about her study for Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), for which she evaluated metronomic chemotherapy treatment on dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas.

During the study, it was Dr. Biller’s mission to learn more specifics on how to treat dogs using metronomic chemotherapy protocols. She says:

“Even though veterinarians have been using metronomic chemotherapy on patients, we have been guessing on important factors like what drugs we should use, what dose is needed and at what intervals we should treat the patient. We hope to determine some of those factors.”

Dr. Biller is also involved in a number of collaborative studies with investigators at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Garden State Cancer Center evaluating immunotherapies in dogs with lymphoma and brain tumors.

Join us in the Tripawds Live Chat during the show! We will be taking your calls and questions for Dr. Biller.

Recommended Reading:

Tripawds News Blog: A Look at Colorado State University’s Animal Cancer Center

Tripawds News Blog: Morris Animal Foundation Studies Metronomic Chemotherapy

Tripawds Discussion Forums: Tips and Resources: Jerry’s Metronomic Chemotherapy Experience

DISCLAIMER: Information provided at Tripawd Talk Radio and Tripawds.com is not a substitute for medical care by a qualified veterinary professional. Always seek the advice of a licensed veterinarian prior to making any medical decisions about your dog’s health. Tripawds.com is not responsible or liable, for any damages resulting from the use (or misuse) of information contained in or implied herein.

Yesterday, our paths came full circle when we caught up with him at the San Antonio Texas 2 Million Dogs Walk.

Puppy Up, Texas Style!

Luke was at the San Antonio walk because these enthusiastic Texans raised more money for the cause than any other city in America. As the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas, and this event was no exception.

With dozens of vendors, hundreds of attendees and more dogs than humans, this fun-filled day was packed with good times for everyone.

In looking back at the afternoon, Luke told us “The energy and excitement were at levels I rarely see. Every aspect of it felt really good!”

When reflecting on the time span between his journey across America and the exceptional turnout at the San Antonio walk, Luke says “The trail magic continues to follow us after the walk, and I really felt that today.”

Last year, there were 12 walks across the country to help 2 Million Dogs raise money for comparative oncology studies. This year, the number of walks exploded to 27. Next year the organization is aiming for even more.

In addition to meeting up with Luke and 2 Million Dogs’ Executive Director Ginger Morgan, Tripawds Spokesdawg Wyatt Ray got to meet some really heroic pups!

Among them was Colonel, a Tripawds member who was looking for a home earlier this year and found it as a therapy dog with Penny’s From Heaven, a project pairing highly trained canines with returning wounded soldiers and civillians in hospital, rehabilitation and hospice settings.

We’ll tell you more about Colonel’s work in a future post, but meanwhile lots of other Tripawds were present, including a greyhound osteosarcoma survivor and a rescue pup named Galileo who’s now living the good life with some very special people.

What’s Next for 2 Million Dogs?

Everyone who’s helped raise funds for 2 Million Dogs will soon see the results of their hard work. Luke and Ginger report that the group is close to picking a comparative oncology study to fund, hopefully by the end of this year.

After dozens of conversations with promising researchers from  around the nation, Luke says that he’s confident that the study selected will be “a game changer” in canine cancer research. “We want to fund studies that have a ghost of a chance of truly having an impact,” he told us.

Over the last two years the organization has done their due diligence to find the right study. Instead of focusing on novel therapeutic studies, such as chemotherapy drug outcomes for a specific breed, 2 Million Dogs is focused on prevention, diagnosis and studies that are working toward finding a cure. This means that the studies they are honing in on will cost more than most studies and take longer to fund.

Next year the impact of the 2 Million Dogs mission will take shape as the money raised from all “Puppy Up” walks gets applied toward these studies that will work toward eradicating canine and human cancers, once and for all.

Stay tuned for a big announcement from 2 Million Dogs about their study selection, which should happen by the end of this year.

Today we learned that thanks to Tripawd Kess and her Mom Tombi, Rio will be Grand Marshall of the parade!

Meet Rio and Team Tripawds at 10:00 am at:

Roegner Park
601 Oravetz Rd
Auburn, WA 98092

Rio’s Mom Micki organized Team Tripawds for this annual walk and celebration in honor of canine cancer heroes.

Rio’s team raised over $500 for this event, which will help fund comparative oncology studies to eradicate cancer in dogs and people. Although the team has met their fund raising goal, it’s not too late to chip in to help this impawtant cause.

2 Million Dogs Walks are being held throughout the nation this weekend. Check this page for a city near your home. See you there!

Join Team Captain Rio for a fun afternoon of celebrating our heroic Tripawds and quadpawds, honoring our angel dogs and banding together to help find a cure to end canine cancer. All proceeds go to the 2 Million Dogs organization which is committed to discovering the common links between canine and human cancers and the causes of these cancers through comparative oncology research.

We hope you can be there but if you can’t, please consider making a gift of any amount through the 2 Million Dogs Team Tripawds web page. Or, look for a walk near you and start your own Team Tripawds!

If you’re walking, be sure to show your Tripawd Pride by wearing your Team Tripawds shirt, available in our Tripawds Gift Shop!

Veterinary Oncology Q&A with Dr. Johnny Chretin

Date: Sunday, 10/23/2012
Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern (3:30 Pacific)
Length: 30 min

Special Guest: Dr. Johnny Chretin, DVM, DACVIM

Call-in Number: (310) 388-9739
Share: bit.ly/ttr102311 (Link to this topic.)

Join us for our second informative canine cancer interview with veterinary oncologist Dr. Johnny Chretin, DVM, DACVIM from VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital.

As head of VCA’s busiest animal oncology clinic in the country, Dr. Chretin and his staff provide breakthrough treatments for all types of cancers, including a bone marrow transplant program for dogs with lymphoma!d

Listen as we discuss the presentation and diagnosis of cancer in dogs such as osteosarcoma and the various treatment protocols available. Then call in with your questions or chat live during the show!

Reply to this topic with questions and we will try to get them answered. Please keep your questions brief and specific.

We will post an audio archive of this program here after the show.

Dr. Chretin on Tripawds:

• Don’t miss our previous Tripawd Talk Oncology Interview with Dr. Chretin.
• Check out our interviews with Dr. Chretin about impawtant veterinary oncology topics.

Metronomics has been around for years, but is finally gaining acceptance by veterinarians as groups like Morris Animal Foundation release studies showing how metronomics can help dogs with soft tissue scarcomas. In their 2010 study, Morris researchers:

” . . . studied whether metronomic dosing of the drug cyclophosphamide is safe and effective in treating dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas. Thirteen dogs were enrolled in the study and all but two (which experienced tumor growth and were removed to pursue other treatment options) successfully completed the treatment protocol. They identified the dosage of cyclophosphamide that resulted in a significant decrease in the number of small blood vessels within tumors, which suggests that this approach slows tumor growth by decreasing blood supply to tumors.

Because metronomic chemotherapy is associated with a far smaller incidence of side effects compared with conventional chemotherapy, is easier to administer and is less expensive, it is a very attractive treatment option for owners of dogs with cancer.”      (see Morris Animal Foundation’s report)

Metronnomics Explained

Tripawds favorite veterinarian, Dr. Pam Wiltzius, shared her knowledge about metronomics in this Discussion Forum post:

It is only recently that oncologists have started using it as part of metronomic chemotherapy.  The main side effects are on the GI tract although some dogs can have low white cell counts but this should be unlikely at low doses.

I just finished researching metronomics for Sammy and here is what I found.  Most oncologists prefer meloxicam (Metacam) as the NSAID due to it’s wide safety range but a few still prefer piroxicam. There are 5 different chemo drugs that are being tried but the only one with research behind it (so far) for this use is Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide).

The main side effect is on the bladder with some dogs getting infections and some getting sterile hemorrhagic cystitis (bleeding and pain without infection).  This is rare and usually reversible by stopping the drug. Some oncologists give a low daily dose of a diuretic (Lasix) to try and prevent this but most don’t since diuretics can affect the kidneys. My holistic vet recommends cranberry capsules as a way to prevent a UTI. . .

The other drugs used are Palladia (main limitation is cost), CCNU (possible side effects on liver so not good for your dog), Leukeran (chlorambucil), and Alkeran (melphalan).  The latter two are safe but not much info yet on efficacy but there are oncologists trying these.

Metronomics are so new that no one is sure yet what is the best protocol.  Some dogs might do well on 1 drug and others may not. It is hard to evaluate results since some dogs live a long time with amputation alone and no chemo so are these drugs really doing anything? I think it is worth a try!

When I was on metronomics in 2008, it was still a new practice that many veterinarians hadn’t heard about. We’re glad to see it catching on, thanks to funding from groups like Morris and practitioners like Dr. Wiltzius who are enthusiastically exploring this protocol for their canine bone cancer patients.

Are you on metronomic chemotherapy? Or were you? If so, what was your experience?

Recommended Reading:

Tripawds Discussion Forums: Tips and Resources: Metronomic Therapy for Canine Osteosarcoma Metastasis: Jerry’s Experience

Tripawds News Blog: Dr. Rosenberg’s Thoughts on Metronomics and Supplements

Tripawds Downloads Blog: Metronomic Protocol: A Primer for Pawrents

Dr. Dressler’s Dog Cancer Blog: Low Dose Chemotherapy and Cancer

Two members on opposite sides of the U.S. also share our fondness for Morris, and will show their love by walking in Morris’ Cure Canine Cancer Campaign’s upcoming K9 Cancer Walks in Knoxville, Tennessee and Los Gatos in Northern California.

As the oldest animal health research and advocacy group in the world, Morris’ Cure Canine Cancer Campaign is making amazing progress to prevent, treat and, ultimately, cure canine cancer.

Hop with ET Gayle in Knoxville, Tennessee

Tripawd member and bone cancer survivor extraordinaire ET Gayle and sister Charon are walking on Sunday, September 18 at Concord Park in Knoxville. Wooo hoo!

This dynamic duo is just $330 shy of meeting their fundraising goal of $1,000! Help them get there today.

Walk with this pawesome team in pawson or give any amount to help Morris continue making their remarkable strides in finding the causes and cures for canine cancers.

Join Tripawd Chloe in Los Gatos, California on October 9

One year bone cancer survivor (and counting!)  Tripawd girldog Chloe will hop with her momma Nicole on Sunday, October 9 in Los Gatos.

They are currently looking for teammates, especially so they can get a new Team Tripawds t-shirt made, so join the discussion forum topic about the Los Gatos walk and let ‘em know you’ll be there!

Let’s give a big SHOUT OUT to these pawsome members who are going the extra mile to raise money for Morris Animal Foundation’s Cure Canine Cancer Campaign!

Won’t you join them?

The Van Andel Institute, a biomedical research facility based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is seeking small blood samples of Great Pyrenees dogs with osteosarcoma for their  Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium.

It’s so easy to make a difference!

Dr. Roe Froman, DVM and Senior Veterinary Research Scientist at Van Andel explains:

“If owners prefer not to take their dog in to have a blood draw (at their vet’s office), we can also send them a salivary DNA collection kit.  The kits are very easy to use, owners can do them at home, and include prepaid return mailers.”

Your Tripawd Can Help Fight Canine Cancer

Known as the CHCC, this team  is utilizing Van Andel’s newest genetic resources and technologies to screen, test, diagnose and treat hereditary canine cancers, which will eventually help them gain insight into the ways that specific cancers affect both dogs and people. Researchers are currently studying five types of cancers that affect both dogs and people:

1. Osteosarcoma
2. Hemangiosarcoma
3. Lymphoma
4. Malignant histiocytosis
5. Melanoma (oral or digital)

Blood samples from other dogs affected by cancer are also wanted. Dr. Froman says “We are requesting samples from owners and veterinarians from affected dogs.  We can use both fresh (NOT formalinized) tumor samples, as well as blood samples.  The tumor cells are grown in the lab, and they are extremely useful for studying the biochemical pathways of the cancers, as well as the underlying DNA of the tumors.

In the case of the osteosarcoma dogs, a blood sample from a dog whose already undergone amputation (again, with a confirmed histo diagnosis), would be very useful.”

For more information about how your Tripawd can participate in this important project, please visit the Van Andel Institute’s Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium website.

Can holistic treatments fight cancer in dogs?

Dr. Chretin is an advocate of holistic treatments and doesn’t discourage pawrents from pursuing this type of care, as long as pawrents are talking to a qualified practitioner and remain aware that holistic care cannot replace what western medicine does.

“Any good holistic practitioner is going to tell an owner what they can offer, not replace what western medicine does.”

Holistic care is not going to replace chemotherapy, or surgery, and if pawrents are talking to a practitioner who says their methods can replace these things, go somewhere else.

But for any pawrent who asks about combining holistic care with western medicine, Dr. Chretin says “I tell them ‘absolutely!’ Odds are you’re not going to hurt (the dog) and if they’re willing, I say more power to you!”

 At VCA Animal Hospital West L.A., Dr. Chretin works in conjunction with on-site holistic practitioners who treat his patients, which keeps the lines of communication open so both doctors know exactly how a patient is being treated. About 30 percent of Dr. Chretin’s patients are also being treated with holistic medicine.

 The jury is still out as to whether or not holistic care actually improves quality of life and fights cancer, but Dr. Chretin says “I think it’s a matter of time before we have a landslide of studies that say “yeah, that is the way to go. It’s not going to be across the board . . . I don’t know where it’s going to take off to, but there is something to it.”

Watch Dr. Chretin Discuss His View on Holistic Therapy

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dr. Chretin has treated enough cases (like Reno, in the following video) to know that sometimes holistic care can make a difference, although nobody knows for sure. Still, he cautions pawrents to keep in mind that in his experience, probably less than half the holistic treatments available can actually do something for dogs with cancer.

 Dr. Chretin’s Team Helps Reno Beat the Odds

One of Dr. Chretin’s many long-term success stories is Reno, a three-year survivor of osteosarcoma who’s lived with lung mets for the last two years.

Earlier this year, Reno told us about his experience with chemotherapy, metronomic protocol and mushroom therapy.

In the following video, his dad explains what the family went through when Reno was diagnosed, why he pursued amputation and chemotherapy at VCA Animal Hospital West Los Angeles Oncology Center and how Reno and the family are coping with life on three legs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thank You Dr. Chretin and VCA Animal Hospital

This is the last in our series of video interviews with Dr. Chretin at VCA Animal Hospital West Los Angeles. Check out more of Dr. Chretin’s informative advice about canine bone cancers, such as:

• Cisplatin and Doxorubicin Side Effects in Dogs
• Canine Chondrosarcoma and Chemotherapy
• Bone Cancer Tumors and Treatment Options for Dogs

Tripwds sends sincere thanks to Dr. Chretin and his helpful staff for allowing us to bring this impawtant information to you!

Recommended Reading

• Learn about holistic and alternative medicine at the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine..
• Find a holistic vet at the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association website directory.
•  Tripawds Nutrition Blog