There are few up to speed clinicians these days that will argue acupuncture is hocus pocus in cancer medicine. If they do, the rest of us will point to this paper, and this one, and this one..and those are just a few.
Now, Western clinicians are accepting that acupuncture does good things for pain, nausea, and well-being in cancer patients.
Since I have always advocated an approach that capitalizes on all weapons, including diet, supplements (like the one I put together), lifestyle, quality of life, and every other possible edge to help dogs in need, I think we should really look at acupuncture for veterinary patients.
But an interesting question is floating around these days and I thought I could put my two cents in.
Could acupuncture make cancer worse?
Ouch. Why would anyone say that? Well, the argument is that acupuncture helps to stimulate blood flow. And yes, that is true, as you can see here. So is that bad?
Well, here’s the argument that suggests it is bad: if we stimulate blood flow in the body, that stimulates tumor spread. In other words, more metastasis and happier tumors because the blood is flowing all over, supporting tumor growth and seeding new cancer cells everywhere.
Folks, I’ve got to say, I disagree. True, at some point later I might adopt a new viewpoint based on new data, but for now I am going to argue against it.
Here is my position:
1. We know that tumor blood flow is disorganized. We do not know that blood flow within tumors responds to the signals from acupuncture. So that’s an assumption that we don’t know is true. Assumptions can lead to incorrect arguments.
2. We know that increased blood flow can be caused by acupuncture. But we don’t know that this means a higher rate of metastasis or tumor growth as we are not certain that it means more oxygen in the tumor itself. At this stage that is guessing and conjecture, nothing more. So again, an assumption that we don’t know is true.
3. We do know that increased blood flow results in more oxygen delivery to normal body parts (like the neighborhood around the tumor), as long as the body is able to take in more oxygen, and the heart can pump it around normally.
Now, the thing that seems to have been forgotten is that there are these little white cells around tumors that burrow tiny tunnels, or spaces, around the tumors. These white cells gobble out holes so the tumors can expand and grow into them, and recruit blood vessels from the body to help feed the tumor.
These little guys are called Tumor Associated Macrophages (TAM’s). As it turns out, more TAM’s are reliable pointers to a worse prognosis. Here is a great paper on the topic.
So what does this mean? And this key… it means that more blood flow would make more oxygen around tumors (in the tissue adjacent to the tumor) and less TAM’s, which would mean a better prognosis. Since acupuncture creates more blood flow, it could be argued that this blood flow would be beneficial for cancer patients, not harmful.
Since acupuncture seems to help, and the argument that it worsens cancer seems as bullet proof as a slice of sponge cake, I would not turn away from this potentially useful tool.
What do you think?
If you like this kind of thinking, you will love The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
As always, get input from your oncologist and veterinary acupuncture practitioner to see if acupuncture is suitable for your unique dog.
Best to all,
Dr D
Most, if not all of the readers of the Dog Cancer Blog have an interest in being happy.
Why not? Dealing with a dog cancer diagnosis can be the most challenging and daunting task faced in some one’s life. During this time it can be quite a struggle to be happy. The sadness, frustration and sinking feelings can overwhelm anyone.
On a basic level, you are reading this post because you would like to be more happy. Whether looking for data to help your dog or for any other reason, the bottom line is goal is happiness accrual. I could write about hemangiosarcoma, lymphosarcoma, or mast cell tumors.
But on a much deeper level, really the currency we are most interested in is happiness.
So let’s look at this subject in more detail, since it is, for all of us, centrally important. And for someone in the trenches of dog cancer, it is a topic that can be overshadowed by medication, prognosis, and quality of life considerations.
Many of us feel that happiness during the time we are helping a canine family member during cancer is not appropriate. It can feel like a betrayal to our loved dog. Be happy when our four legged companion is in a fight for life? Are you kidding?
No, it really seems like it is in poor taste to be laughing and smiling when your most loyal, trusted companion is struggling with a killing disease. How dare I suggest this? What is wrong with me? Am I totally insensitive and devoid of respect for the bond between beings?
Well, hang on a minute. Let’s back up and contemplate this. It is really wrong? How much does your ongoing sadness actually help your dog? How much does chronic sadness help you?
Dale Carnegie pointed out that some people will cling to emotions for prolonged periods, in some cases incapacitating themselves and those around them for years.
When is an acceptance and release of the sadness allowed?
Nobody is saying that one should not experience the trauma and sadness that is a natural reaction to one of life’s most overwhelming experiences. But, once the anguish has been experienced, how long are we to carry it around? That is the key point.
How long are we to hang on to the sadness?
Can we let it go even while our dear one is still in the fight for life?
I would like to reiterate a question: how much does your ongoing sadness help your dog?
Does it make you more competent? Does it make you more resourceful? Does it create an effect in your dog that is healing, restoring, calming, and reassuring?
I think after considering this question deliberately, the answer will surface. The answer is, of course, no.
Again, experience what is there in whatever way is natural for you. But will you allow chronic sadness to be a second disease that you and your dog must face together?
Perhaps allowing ourselves to more quickly experience happiness again, even while on the path of canine cancer, could help everyone involved, especially our dogs.
For more on techniques to increase feelings of happiness even while enduring canine cancer, you may be interested in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
Best to all,
Dr D
Homeopathy in dog cancer is a mixed bag, but may be useful for certain cancers.
Homeopathy is the administration of very diluted amounts of substances that have effects on the body that mimic the symptoms of the disease being treated. There is much debate on whether there is enough active ingredient in these dilute preparations to even do anything, but it seems there is some evidence that the answer is yes.
The most interesting use of homeopathy in cancer medicine is for brain cancer, by far. In a real clinical study at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Treatment Center in Houston, a number of human brain cancer patients were treated with a homeopathic remedy called ruta 6. One type of brain cancer, gliomas, appeared very sensitive to the effects of the homeopathic remedy.
The ruta-6 was combined with another agent ( Ca3(PO4)2 ) and used to treat these glioma patients. Out of 7 patients treated, 6 of them had complete regression. This is quite an achievement.
To read the abstract, click here. One reason this is a remarkable result is that brain cancer, in particular in veterinary medicine, is so difficult to treat. Very, very few have access to the facilities needed to diagnose and treat brain tumors in the dog.
Ruta 6 is made from the common rue, otherwise known as the “herb of grace”. This is a shrub that is used both in medicine and also as a cooking herb. However, please note that this plant is not the same as the homeopathic remedy, and extracts can cause some potent effects including causing abortions. Read more here.
Take note that homeopathic remedies should only be administered to your dog by a licensed vet familiar with their use.
In some in vitro (literally, “in glass”, or in test tubes, as opposed to living bodies) studies showed that homeopathic remedies were able to cause cancer cells to commit suicide.
In this study, homeopathy was found to slow the rate of growth of prostate cancer cells that were implanted in lab rats. There was no effects on cancer cells that were exposed to any of the five homeopathic remedies. It seems that the remedies were able to alter the rats physiology enough to increase their bodies’ ability to fight the tumors a bit.
However, the evidence for using homeopathy across the board for cancer does not exist. Take a look at these tidbits.
Another study, which was a systematic review of a lot of other studies, found no real evidence for the remedies helping cancer patients. Yet another showed no benefit of ruta 6 in extending the life of lab animals with solid tumors.
What is the bottom line? If your dog is suspected of having a brain tumor, contact a vet with knowledge of homeopathy and consider ruta 6. Also, if your dog has prostate cancer, you may be well served getting homeopathic intervention. Since options are usually limited in these cases and side effects pretty limited, homeopathy is one possibility that could (maybe) make a difference. (See the last post on contacting an “alternative” vet.)
For more on dog cancer treatments that you may have not heard of before, see The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
Best to all,
Dr D
Hope.
Even looking at the word on a computer screen can cause an odd mix of feelings. This is especially true if you are coping with a canine cancer diagnosis.
If there was ever a double-edged sword, hope is it. On one hand, allowing yourself to feel hope can turbocharge your abilities and motivation. On the other hand, hope can entrap you in a fantasy attachment to a fake reality that does not happen.
How is one supposed to steer through these muddy waters?
Just for a minute, let’s turn our attention to some background on the subject of hope.
The Greek myth of Pandora describes her curiously opening a jar which releases all of the evils of mankind into the world. However, the myth points out that hope was left in the jar.
It is interesting that hope was found in the jar of evils in the first place ( by the way, Pandora’s ” jar” was turned into a “box” long after the ancient Greeks were gone).
Hope is evil? Well, hope might be seen as creating the torture of disappointed dreams. Perhaps you are familiar with this torture in your path through dog cancer.
On the other hand, the Greek’s hope was left inside Padora’s jar, not being released at all. Perhaps this means that the hope we have in the world is not evil after all (with the evil one contained in Pandora’s jar). Maybe our hope powers accomplishment. Hope could be used to fuel a pursuit for better treatments, attention to detail, diet, life quality enrichment, supplements, and all of the steps in the Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
How to avoid the evil hope left in Pandora’s jar? How to avoid the torture of disappointed fantasy dreams? How to allow yourself to hope for a good outcome for your dog while avoiding blindness to reality?
Here is the key. People who doggedly (sorry about the pun) hit their head against immovable objects usually have their reason for it. Those who insist in living in fantasy worlds (which produces about as much real-life change as hitting your head against bricks) are usually avoiding some pain or fear.
This next bit is amazing. By taking some time (minutes, hours, days, or whatever is needed) to intentionally experience the pain and fear, we will automatically shift, becoming more present and capable. It is like a circuit breaker pops. A useful way to actually do this (as opposed to reading about it on this blog post, which will have little effect), is to write down this question:
“What bad things might happen to me if my dog has cancer?”
Then write down all the answers you can for as long as you can. Don’t lose focus, keep at it, and keep at it some more! Pay attention to all aspects, including both the external world and internal experiences.
By allowing ourselves to stop avoiding, we stop creating false hope. I believe false hope is the one left in Pandora’s box, because we got the real one here on Earth!
May real hope be used to restore your power, competence, resilience, creativity, and your ability to manage the tempest of dog cancer.
Thinking of you,
Dr D
Is medical science ignorant?
This is quite a loaded question. When you are coping with a canine cancer diagnosis, it may feel at times like the answer is yes. Let’s take a closer look at the fog surrounding dog cancer causes and the dollar that keeps you in the dark.
A spot-on word that is not used much is “agnotology“. This is the deliberate creation of ignorance in an effort to control people. Agnotology has been used in Nazi Germany, the diamond industry, military weapon development, and in another industry that has killed many…big tobacco.
What does this have to do with dog cancer?
Most are now aware, despite the tobacco industry’s efforts, that second-hand smoke causes health problems in people. Many do not know that the same is true in dogs. Whether intentionally created or not, there is a veil of ignorance in this area.
So let’s do one of the first steps in attacking canine cancer: information gathering.
It would seem that maybe dogs are indeed exposed to second hand smoke, right? But wait. Don’t dogs have an amazing sense of smell? Wouldn’t a dog just move away from second-hand cigarette smoke?
The answer is no. They simply endure it, without protest.
But what’s the evidence of this? Do they really inhale?
To answer this question, let’s look at what is arguably the most addictive substance in our society: nicotine.
If nicotine is inhaled, it is broken down in a dog’s body into a substance called cotinine. It turns out that cotinine is found in the urine of dogs who live in homes with smokers. This tells us that they are indeed inhaling the smoke.
The more smoking, the more cotinine found in the dogs. Older dogs and dogs with longer noses ended up with more smoke markers in their bodies than other dogs do. Here is the paper.
But is there a link between second hand smoke and dog cancer?
A study found that nasal cancers in dogs, in particular older dogs with longer muzzles, occur much more frequently in dogs that live with smokers. Breeds with longer muzzles are called dolichocephalic breeds. Some examples are the Collie, Dachshund, Greyhound, Borzoi and so on.
Nasal cancer in dogs affects the nose itself, or the nasal sinuses. The most common are the sarcomas and carcinomas. They are generally very tough cancers to deal with, since many of them cannot be removed with surgery.
People have a way of excluding other living things when considering consequences of actions. Second hand tobacco smoke is a prime example. Dogs share our environments, just like other family members, neighbors, and the community at large.
They are exposed to all of the hazardous effects of modern living: diet, stress, and the ever-present carcinogens found all around us.
It’s time we started expanding our viewpoint and protecting them too. For those who wish to learn more, check out The Dog Cancer Survival Guide.
Best to all,
Dr. D
