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to do chemo or natural supplements?
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Member Since:
7 December 2012
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7 December 2012 - 2:02 pm
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We just unfortunately joined the tripawds group.  Alaskan malamute 7 years old, but in otherwise good shape. Just happened this Tuesday Dec 4th..

 

Now the question is to proceed with chemo or chemo with natural supplements or just natural supplements?

 

I have a science and biotech background and I feel the pull to go the science driven route but then on the other hand the use of natural supplements and Chinese herbs also has their advantages.. (they are just not profitable enough to be studied)

 

I would love to hear any opinions on this issue..

 

Sue

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San Diego, CA
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7 December 2012 - 4:11 pm
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Like I said in my PM, there is no one right answer.

I guess that's why I ultimately tried what I called our "halflistic" approach (not wholly holistic...). I wanted to try to get the best of both worlds. The only thing that really concerned me about that was having to delay starting the artemisinin until after we stopped the IV chemo/Palladia. 

You just have to read as much as you can, get input from folks here (like I said in my PM, we've seen dogs do great both ways, or not great both ways...) and factor in what you think you pup can handle. If (what's your pup's name?) he/she doesn't like going to the vet, then going the holistic route might be easier on him/her.

Good luck - it's a hard decision to make.

Jackie, Angel Abby's mom

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

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7 December 2012 - 4:36 pm
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Thanks for your quick reply... Yes I am coming to the same conclusion.. no right answer and it will ultimately depend on our gut.  Our dogs name is Tiffany, she is a 7 almost 8 year old malamute.   We live near Fort Collins so we were fortunate to be able to go to CSU for her amputation..  They of course are recommending chemo.. a six admin of carboplatin.

 

We are going to meet with a traditional/holistic vet on Tuesday to see if she has any insight into using both. I too was looking at the artemisinin but I also was looking at the apocaps ..but not sure as that product seems to be almost too actively marketed so not sure if it is marketing hype or if it is a product that could be really helpful.. also wondering if you can combine the K9 immunity products since if we decide chemo.. since chemo reduces neutophils one would think the combo would be synergistic.

 

Thanks for your comment and I will report back once I gather more information.

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San Diego, CA
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7 December 2012 - 4:45 pm
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OK, that's too science-speaky for me... but I did talk to my onc about doing the fish oil and the K9 Immunity and the other supplements at the same time as chemo. I honestly don't remember the scientific part of the answer he gave me (cuz unfortunately that stuff does not stick in my head) but I do remember him saying he would never let me give anything to my pup that he thought would undo the work he was doing with her w/ the chemo. And, he said in his very cute southern accent, "Hell, if it was my dog I'd have her on everything but rollerskates!"

We never did the Apocaps . My onc was not a fan of them. It was honestly the only supplement I ever asked him about that he said not to bother. I also saw a discussion of them on another cancer site where one woman had figured out how to give her pup basically the same thing for much cheaper - she was giving two supplements instead... but I can't remember what they were. I'm pretty sure Berte's Immune Blend was one, but I don't remember the other thing.

Keep us posted on how Tiffany is doing!

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

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8 December 2012 - 10:40 am
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Hi Sue, welcome to Tripawds. Sorry that you had to join our club but we are here to help. How is your Mal's recovery going? What's his/her name?

You live near Fort Collins? Cool! We have a cabin in Red Feather and will be back there in spring, it would be great to meet you and your pup! And yep, we are total CSU fans, they've done great work on our Tripawds Spokespup Wyatt Ray for a couple of health situations.

Well, chemo is such a personal decision, and either way there are no right or wrong decisions, and no guarantee about what will or won't work. We opted out of chemo, and I beat the osteosarcoma odds for two years! Of course that's considered a rare event but we have seen it happen here a lot at Tripawds, so if you decide not to do it remember it doesn't make you a bad person.

Before looking into any kind of supplements I recommend getting a hold of the Dog Cancer Survival Guide. It's an awesome resource that takes a "full spectrum approach" toward treating canine cancer. Dr. Dressler is the researcher/creator of Apocaps but he doesn't market it heavily in the book (however he does explain why Apocaps is less expensive, more effective, and less of an ordeal than attempting to give your dog that exact blend of supplements yourself). We really feel the book is an honest, objective and science-based look at how blending all types of treatments, from alternative to traditional, can help. 

Who is your holistic vet in Fort Collins? We'd love to know so we can keep him or her in mind if our Wyatt ever needs one while we're there.

Thanks again for joining, let us know how we can help.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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26 March 2013 - 7:57 am
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sue01 said
We just unfortunately joined the tripawds group.  Alaskan malamute 7 years old, but in otherwise good shape. Just happened this Tuesday Dec 4th..

 

Now the question is to proceed with chemo or chemo with natural supplements or just natural supplements?

 

I have a science and biotech background and I feel the pull to go the science driven route but then on the other hand the use of natural supplements and Chinese herbs also has their advantages.. (they are just not profitable enough to be studied)

 

I would love to hear any opinions on this issue..

 

Sue

I have my Dane on the Palladia & I also do the herbs...............with that said she does have Mast Cell which this is the second time she has had it. I have been on the herbs since Sept and the Chemo since Dec.........all herb lumps are gone an she is doing so great.tons of energy & her coat is perfect.........she has also had Dermatitus.I think the herbs do a wonder job gives them energy............But I also chose to do the Palladia oral chemo drug. If your worried that your pet won't have a life on Chemo it is not at all the same for them as us they don't even act like they are on it. at least most don't...........I go to a hospital that most all the animal go in for the treatment and come out with tons of energy. Good luck to you.

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