The present conventional theory of cancer is that both humans and pets are continually producing cancer cells in their body, however, a healthy body will have an efficient immune system which is on constant alert for the development of  cancerous cells and will quickly destroy these cells before they can form as cancerous mass,  more commonly referred to  as a tumor.   Unfortunately,  if we are not in the best of health and our immune system is not receiving the raw materials it needs to fight off emerging threats , the cancer cells will get a foot hold and grow into a tumor that may become life threatening.

Any time you notice a lump or swelling on your pet have it promptly checked out by your veterinarian.    Although veterinarians can often make a good guess as to whether the lump is benign or malignant he or she can never be certain without first obtaining a biopsy sample that is then sent to the veterinary pathologist for a definite diagnosis.   The biopsy may be obtained with a needle, key punch device, biopsy forceps or  by excising the whole growth or a portion with a scalpel blade.    When the biopsy is taken with a needle and syringe it is called “an aspiration biopsy”.   Although  aspiration biopsies are perhaps the most common approach to identifying malignancy  they do provide more chance for misdiagnosis because of the small size of the sample.    Any new growth should be biopsied even if it looks like a benign fatty tumor.    Benign fatty tumors (lipomas) can not be  distinguished from malignant mast cell tumors by physical exam alone.    At a recent oncology seminar I attended the speaker made the following very important point:   “Do not wait to see if a mass continues to grow before  biopsying it to determine whether it is malignant.”

Of course there are many cancer growths which can not be seen because they involve internal organs.   Cancers like hemangiosarcomas of the spleen, may get huge before they produce obvious outward symptoms.  Below are what many veterinary sources consider to be possible signs of cancer.:    weight loss for no apparent reason, loss of normal appetite, bleeding from a body opening like the nostril,  a foul odor from the mouth, difficulty eating and swallowing,  difficulty breathing,  non healing wounds,  lameness that persists.

So what can we do to protect ourselves and our pets from cancer and how can we treat them once they are diagnosed with cancer?   Think holistic, holistic, holistic.   Keeping our pets bodies in optimal health by providing them a healthy diet,  healthy environment and life style, and plenty of exercise is the foundation for a strong immune system .   Please visit my website Doc4pets.com for details on how to feed a healthy diet .    As for a healthy environment, this would include minimal exposure to poisonous plants and  chemical toxins on the grass, in the house, and in the garage.   Radon levels in the basement should be checked.   Don’t smoke around your pet.   Second hand smoke has been shown to increase the incidence of cancer in cats.   With regard to a healthy life style,  this  should include plenty of companionship and minimal stress.    Even psychological stress due to isolation can suppress a pet’s immune system and make him or her more susceptible to cancer.   So try not to leave your dog alone in the house for extended periods.   Spend quality time with your pet.  Exercise can be  in the form of jogging, fetching, hiking or competitive sports  such as “fly ball”training or chasing a laser light.   Take your pet to a holistic veterinarian who can serve as  your partner and coach in helping you reduce your pets toxin load, and in supporting his or her immune system.

Conventional treatment of pets diagnosed with cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.   Alternative / holistic  approaches include organic rare meat diets, liver support and detoxification,  antioxidants therapy, herbal  formulas, acupuncture, and immune stimulants,  oxygen therapy,  Neoplasene therapy and life style enhancement.

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth, invasion and destruction of surrounding tissues.  Some cancer remains a localized problem but others spread (metastasize) to other locations via the blood and lymphatics.    Cancer affects people and pets of all ages.   The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer is “oncology”.   Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genes of these abnormal cells.   These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, and infectious agents (viruses) to name a few.  Other causes of cancer may result from random errors in gene replication or are inheritied and present in all cells since birth.    Conventionally cancer diagnosis is made by the microscopic exam of a biopsy specimen although the initial indications of malignancy may come from radiographic abnormalities.   The progression of many cancers can be slowed down and in rare instances disappear.    The prognosis depends on the type of cancer, the location of the cancer and stage of the cancer.     Upon confirming the diagnosis, cancer is usually treated conventionally with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.

The following is information on the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer:

Squamous Cell Carcinoma – Cancer that occurs in the mouth, underneath the tongue or along the gums of the middle-aged and older cats. Common signs of squamous cell carcinoma in cats includes difficulty eating, interest in food but not wanting to eat, drooling and odor from the mouth. Osteosarcoma – Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone tumor in dogs. Osteosarcoma beings in the bone but can spread throughout the bloodstream very early in the course of the disease (metastasis).   The most common areas for this cancer to appear are the wrist, shoulder, knee and hip. The first sign of bone cancer is lameness due to pain from the cancer.   Swelling often occurs at the tumor site. Transitional Cell Carcinoma – Tumors usually form at the bladder opening and can cause blockage and  painful urinartion. Pets often strain while trying to urinate. Transitional Cell Carcinoma can be difficult to diagnose because many of the symptoms such as straining to urinate, blood in the urine or frequent urination are often due to a urinary tract infection. This can delay the discovery of the cancer, especially since antibiotics can often result in some improvement of symptoms. Thus, at the time of diagnosis, bladder cancer can be fairly far advanced and have spread to other parts of the body.    Adenocarcinoma – Anal sac adenocarcinomas are tumors araising from the apocrine glands present on either side of the rectum. These tumors can range greatly in size from a very small mass that can be found only after a rectal examination or a large mass protruding from the rectum. While the tumor appears locally, it is quite common for them to metastasize,  often to the lymph nodes inbetween the spine and colon. Symptoms vary depending upon the gender of the pet and can include increased thirst, weakness, persistent licking at the site, difficulty defecating, decreased appetite.

The incidence of cancer is increasing in both humans and animals     Certain cancers are more prevalent in in certain breeds ie.  Golden retrievers with lymposarcoma, boxers with mastocytoma,  Great Danes with osteosarcoma, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers with hemangiosarcoma.  Irresponsible  breeding to achieve  nothing more than looks at the expense of health is probably the cause for such breed predispositions.   If you are thinking of purchasing a new pup check out the breed to find out what health issues the breed is proned to.

When a pet or   person is diagnosed with cancer the  question that needs to be asked is, “Why did it happen?”   The present thinking is that we are all developing cancer cells all the time.   If our body is healthy and its immune system is efficient then these renegade cancer cells will be identified and destroyed before a solid tumor results.     When a tumor develops, at some level the immune system failed to perform effectively.    So the question is where and why did the failure occur.   As the overall causes of cancer first you have genetics.   Second you have the affects of diet and thirdly the effects of a toxic environment and life style (which includes psychological stress).

Cancer is not something you or your pet contract it is something that often happens to you slowly, in a step by by step progression.  The unfortunate fact is that cancer  is the all too often  the end result of living in a toxic world.   Environmental  toxins occur as excessive sunlight, chronic electromagnetic field exposure, geopathic stress, sick building syndrome, ionizing radiation, nuclear radiation, pesticide/herbicide residues, industrial toxins, polluted water, chlorinated water, fluoridated water, household cleaners and even possibly vaccines.   Food toxins occur as pesticides, parasitacides, antibiotics, hormone, texturizers, flavor enhancers,  food colorings, and allergens.

Anything that produces a damage to the intestinal lining can results in a leaky gut syndrome where bad bacteria, bacterial toxins,  yeast, and large grain protein molecules  are able to enter the liver’s hepatic circulation and eventually exhaust the livers ability to detoxify.    When toxins enter the body they challenge both the immune system and the detoxification system.     Toxins, which  often act as free radicals  stimulate:   1) the immune system to produce a protective  inflammatory response  and  2) the antioxidants defense system to neutralize the free radicals.     If the immune system is too busy dealing with a heavy toxic load  it may become so overwhelmed that it does not have the time or man power to protect the body from spontaneously occurring cancer cell.   Also, toxins and free radicals can damage cellular DNA and be the cause of many of the spontaneously occurring cancer cells .

Under more optimal environmental circumstances where toxins are not so abundant,  mutated cancer cells are quickly recognized by the immune system such that the cancerous cell’s uncontrollable growth  elicits an immune response which will send  macrophages (phagocytic white blood cells) to the region for cellular phagocytosis and removal of the mutated cells (Walters, 1993).

Besides a toxic environment, nutritional deficiencies may also predispose the body to cancer.   If the raw materials the immune system and the detoxification process requires to do its job are not present then the cancer may not be discovered and or destroyed.    The cells will then grow into a malignant mass.

It starts to become apparent that cancer must be considered a whole body, systemic disease rather than a   localized phenomena.    Conventional medicine treats cancer as a localized disease and recommends  the “cut, slash, and burn” approach to cancer therapy.   That is they treat cancer more as a localized disease that must be either surgically cut out, slashed out by irradiation, or burned out by chemical destruction.   Most conventional oncologists do not emphasize the importance of  the elimination of food and environmental toxins or enhancing overall nutrition.   He or she rarely recommends nutraceuticals to  stimulate the immune system,  support the liver, encourage detoxification,  and remove destructive free radicals.

On the contrary, holistic cancer therapy begins by  emphasing optimal general nutrition consisting of  homemade diets made up of  a wide variety of fresh  organic meats and veggies,  trace minerals,  omega fatty acids.   To this foundation of great general nutrition, the holistic approach adds nutraceuticals providing digestive enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, mega vitamin and trace mineral therapy, whole food concentrated antioxidants,  immune stimulants,  detoxification and liver support.    Next the  holistic approach commonly adds nutriceuticals that help to change “the biological terrain” to  one that is inhospitable for the  growth of cancer.    Cancer loves sugar and acidity,  but hates oxygen and an alkaline environment.   By changing the bioterrain to one that discourages cancer growth we hope  to prevent  both local growth and metastasis to other sites.   Trace minerals encourage an alkaline bioterrain where stabilized oxygen supplements, dimethylglycine,  and Megahydrate support a highly oxygenated terrain,  both of which discourage the progression of cancer.

Perhaps the most important organ to support in a cancer patient is the liver since it is the major organ of detoxification.    The more overwhelmed and exhaused the liver is the more toxic the body becomes.   The more toxic the body the poorer is its overhall immune system function.   Therefore supporting the livers detoxification capactiy will help cleanse the body and encourgage a better functioning immune system.   Herbs like milk thistle and nutrients like MSM,  n acetylcysteine, alpha lipoic acid, dimethyglycine, SAM-E and selenium all help the liver to better detox the body by stimulating the production of glutathione and glutathione peroxidase which is the most important  antioxidant of the liver.

Nutrients, herbs, and homeopathics that support the immune system include  medicinal mushroom, astragalus, zinc, iodine, selenium thyroid hormones,  thymus extracts, beta glucans, essential carbohydrates, and systemic enzymes etc.

Next there are a number of specific nutrients and herbs that block the progression of cancer at various stages of development.  Resveratrol  is an example.  Finally there are specific herbs and nutrients,  that are lethal to cancer.   These include IV vitamin C, Laetrile, Artemesinin, and hydrogen peroxide.

The big difference between conventional cancer therapy and  the above nutritional, nutraceutical,  and   mega nutrient holistic cancer therapy is that the later does not: damage healthy cells,  produce destructive free radicals, or suppress the immune system.   Since we know that the immune system is instrumental in removing cancerous cells ,  anything that damages its effectiveness would be unwanted.  A final note is that even when the holistic approach does not cure cancer at least it does no harm.   So keeping thinking holistic, holistic, holistic!

There is no one, holistic “right way” to treat  a  cancer patient in humans or pets .   The treatment will depend not only on the type of cancer  but also on the individual patient and caregiver.   It will also depend on how long the cancer has been present and what medical treatment has already been prescribes.   Some cases are so advanced that I don’t recommend much treatment other than nutritional therapy.    In such cases it is usually best to focus on and enjoy the time you have left  together with the patient rather than complicating the patients life with stressful supplement regiments.       No matter what stage of cancer the patient is in they can  benefit from an improved diet loaded with vitamin/antioxidants like Vitamin A, C, and E and the mineral selenium.   Blood cleansing herbs and detoxifiers are usually in order.    So think holistic, holistic, holistic!

Categories of holistic anti cancer supplements

1) Holistic supplements which enhance cellular immunity

Astragalus, Echinacea, Aloe mucopolysaccharides, Omega3, carotenoids,

mushroom and yeast extracts,  Green tea polyphenols,  reduced glutathione,

vitamin C

2) Holistic supplements which minimize oxidative stress and destroy free radicals

Resveratrol, reduced glutathione, green tea, quercitin , curcumin,  megahydrate,

Selenium, vitamin C and E, Lipoic acid, hydrogen peroxide,

3)  Holistic supplements which support the liver and detoxification process .

 Reduced glutathione, N acetylcysteine, Curcumin, Resveratrol, SAM-E, E, milk  Thistle,

4)  Holistic supplements that normalize the clock of the  cell cycle

Resveratrol, , tocotrienols, curcumin, green tea polyphenols, vitamin D,

CoQ10,   reduced glutathione, Quercitin

5)  Holistic supplements that enhance cancer cell differentiation

Vit D3,  caratenoids,  Ganoderma,  Quercitin

6)  Holistic supplements that encourage apoptosis

Green tea polyphenols,  quercitin, CoQ10,  Ganoderma,  Curcumin

7)  Holistic supplements that are anti angiogenic ( inhibit new blood vessel proliferation) supplements

Omega3, Green tea polyphenols,  Aloe Vera, shark cartilage,

8)  Holistic supplements that kill malignant cells by stimulating intercellular production

of  H202

Vitamin C, Artemesinin, H202,

9)   Holistic supplements that create an inhospitable biologic terrain for cancer cells to

live in.  They increase alkalinity, oxygenation, 

Megahydrate, Ultimate pH Balance,  H202, NaHC03 & honey

10)   Holistic supplements blocking cancer cell initiation, promotion and progression

Resveratrol,  Selenium,  garlic, catechins and polyphenols from green tea,

Cruciferous vegetables (Brassica),  quercitin, Ascorbic acid, omega 3 fatty

Acids, vitamin E, proanthocyanidins

11)  Miscellaneous holistic supplements

Glucosinolates from cruciferous veggies, sprouts, cabbage,

homeopathic therapy

The following are a list of terms with definition that are important to know when you are reading or researching cancer:

Tumor:   A swelling, lump, or mass.

Neoplasm:   An abnormal proliferation of genetically altered cell.  A mass formed by an abnormal proliferation of genetically altered cells.  Synonymous with the word tumor

Malignant Neoplasm:  Synonymous with cancer.

Benign Neoplasm/tumor:  A tumor that stops growing by itself, does not invade other tissues and does not spread to other tissue (metastasize).

Pre malignant tumor:  A neoplasm that is not invasive but has the potential to progress to cance

Stage of cancer:   a number on a scale of 4 developed by the oncologists to describe the degree of invasion of the body by the tumor.

Carcinoma: Malignant tumor derived from epithelial cells

Sarcoma:  Malignant tumor derived from connective tissue

Lymphoma and Leukemia:  Malignancies derived from hematopoietic (blood forming) cells.

Blastoma:   A tumor which resembles an immature or embryonic tissue

Symptoms of cancer may be divided into 3 groups:

1)  Local symptoms= lumps, bumps, or swelling, bleeding, pain,  ulcerations

2) Symptoms of metastasis= enlarged lymph nodes, cough, enlarged liver, bone

pain, fracture of affected bones, neurological symptom

3)  Systemic symptoms = weight loss, poor appetite, fatigue, anemia

The general scenario of cancer development occurs this way

1. “Induction” of genetic instability
2.  Abnormal “Expression” of genes:  too many cancer promoting genes and too few cancer inhibiting  genes
3. Abnormal “Signal Transduction”:  Signals that come from outside the cell and go to the nucleus stimulate proliferation of malignant cells
4. Abnormal “cell to cell communication”:  In cancer cells the mechanisms controlling communication with other cells doesn’t work
5. Induction of “Angiogenesis”:  growth of new capillaries
6. “Invasion and metastaisis”: spread via lymph and blood
7. “Immune  evasion”: cancer cells learn to shield themselves from the immune system

Basic Premises about cancer

1. Failure of immune surveillance to detect cancer due to:
   1. nutritional deficiencies causing hypofunction;   dietary toxins
   2. GI and liver damage which allows toxin into body resulting in immune stress
   3. Exhausted by environmental stress
   4. Exhausted by psychologic or physical stress

2.    Cancer loves sugar

3.    Cancer hates oxygen

4.   Cancer loves an acidic environment.  Toxins are acidic.  Free radicals are acidic

5.   Cancer loves iron

6.   Oncovirus damage DNA

7.   Free radicals damage DNA therefore antioxidants can help prevent cancer.

8.   Cancer is a  result of an energy blockage that orginates in the etheric field — eastern concept

9.   Unlike healthy cells cancer cells can not make the enzyme catalase which is needed to destroy intercellular toxic hydrogen peroxide.   Vitamin C therapy stimulates intercellular hydrogen peroxide.

10.   The liver is the most important organ to support when treating cancer because it is the major organ of detoxification.

A few more remarks on common canine cancers:

Hemangiosarcoma – Most commonly found in the spleen, liver and heart and the prognosis is determined by the location of the disease. The cancer arises from the blood vessels and results in the production of abnormal blood vessels that can be weak and prone to leaking. As the cancer progresses, the cancerous vessels can rupture and results in blood loss. As the spleen is the organ most commonly affected by this type of cancer, rupture can lead to blood loss into the abdomen. This is an emergency situation and can result in weakness and collapse. Many pets with hemangiosarcoma often require a splenectomy.

Mast Cell Tumors – Mast cell tumors are among the most common tumors in dogs and are the most common type of skin cancer found in dogs. The most common location to find mast cell tumors is, by far, the skin, followed by the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Both normal and cancerous mast cells contain chemicals that can be released into surrounding tissues. When these chemicals (particularly histamine) are released into the normal surrounding body tissues, side effects can include digestive problems (for ex: bleeding ulcers), skin rashes, shortness of breath and other symptoms. Mast cell tumors vary greatly in their size, shape, appearance and texture. The only way to definitely identify them is with a biopsy and pathology report.

Lymphoma – is cancer of the lymphatic tissue. The lymph system is a core part of the body’s immune system. The lymphatic system is an extensive drainage network that defends the body against infections. It is comprised of a network of lymphatic vessels that carry lymph (a clear, watery fluid that contains protein, salts, glucose and other substances) throughout the body. The lymphatic system also serves as a low pressure drainage system that collects interstitial fluid throughout the body and returns it to the bloodstream. The most common sign of lymphoma is a painless enlargement of the lymph nodes.

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Woodside Animal Clinic is a unique, very personal,  one doctor practice where, for over 35 years, Dr. Simon has been healing dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles with both conventional and alternative medicine.  Dr.  Simon is the author  of 4 pet care books and he writes a monthly pet care column in the Mirror newspaper.   He is a past president of the Oakland County Veterinary Medical Association and a past board member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.

Woodside Animal Clinic  sees pets from all over the greater Detroit Michigan area including Royal Oak, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Warren, Centerline, Clawson,  Troy, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Livonia, Plymouth, Commerce, Ann Arbor, Ortonville, Waterford, Union Lake,  Rochester,  Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Utica,   Romeo,  Windsor, and Toledo.

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Almost every dog and cat food sold in pet stores and grocery stores is made primarily of grain and, therefore, termed a “cereal or grain based diet”.  Although these “grain based diets” are capable of keeping pets looking “apparently healthy” and free of nutritional deficiencies, they are very far from the ideal diet a dog or cat needs in order to be in a state of  “optimal health”.    Why dogs and cats should be fed a “meat based” rather than a “grain based” diet is the main subject of this paper.

First, let us look at the dog and cat’s dietary history.  Both have evolved from ancestors that were primarily carnivorous and consumed the prey they caught and killed.  Both dogs and cats have relatively simple, short digestive tracts that are far better suited for digesting meat than grain or plant material.   They both have carnivorous dentition with teeth shaped to tear and pull off flesh and to crack and pulverize bones.   Their teeth have no flat, grinding surfaces capable of cracking open grain, as do the herbivorous animals like the cow and horse.   Dogs and cats also lack enzymes necessary to digest plant material and liberate the nutrients within.  Keep in mind that because most of the prey of the ancestors of dogs and cats were herbivorous and because these carnivores would eat the entire carcass including the stomach, intestines and all their contents they would end up eating “predigested” plant material on a regular basis.   So even though dogs and cats are primarily carnivores they should not be fed exclusively meat, but should also be provided lesser amounts of plant material that has been sufficiently cooked or, better yet, fed raw after being pulverized in a blender or juicer in order to make the plant nutrients more accessible for digestion and absorption.

The more grain present in a dog’s or cat’s diet (even when cooked) the more undigested (partially digested) macro-molecules of grain protein will be found in the upper small intestine.   These unacceptably large protein molecules are viewed by the pet’s immune systems as foreign invaders that should not be there and therefore as a threat to the body.   Consequently, the immune tissue present in the intestinal wall, is stimulated to send out immune cells to destroy these large, partially digested grain protein molecules.  During the act of destroying this foreign protein, injury occurs to the surrounding intestinal lining.   As a result of chronic stimulation of the intestinal immune system, by a grain-based diet, progressive damage is done to the lining of the digestive tract until a problem known as “leaky gut syndrome” results.   A leaky gut allows  infectious and toxic foreign material, including yeast, bacteria, bacterial toxins and poorly digested grain protein molecules to pass out of the gut and into the blood stream where they may ultimately contribute to  the development of allergies, arthritis, immune system suppression, autoimmune disease, and cancer..

We consider a meat based diet to be one where more than 40% of the diet is meat (when measured on a dry weight basis).   These diets provide a source of protein that is much easier for carnivore’s to digest when compared with grain based diets.  Because meat based diets contain grain to a much lesser extent than a grain based diet, the likelihood of a leaky gut syndrome developing and producing disease is greatly minimized.  An additional  advantage of a meat-based diet is that meat provides a nearly complete essential amino acid profile.  To come close to such a complete amino acid profile using plants or grains, in place of meat, would require careful combining of two or more complementary grains, vegetables or legumes.

To determine whether a commercial diet is a meat-based diet begin by checking the ingredient list and see if two of the first three ingredients are meat.  If so then it is  possible that the diet may contain more meat than grain.   However, because manufacturers can be very “creative” and misleading when they develop their ingredient list, it is hard to know from the ingredient list alone whether the diet is truly meat based.  Very few manufacturers can actually claim that when calculated on a dry matter basis their food contains more than 20% meat, even when 2 of the first 3 ingredients are meat.

 What are your choices ?  One choice is to buy a commercial diet that lists meat as the first two ingredients and to this diet add additional fresh meat.  You could also buy a commercial diet that is truly meat based (at least 40% meat by dry weight) and to this diet add fresh meat.   Finally, you could provide a completely home made diet of cooked but preferably raw or rare food.   This home made diet should contain a minimum of 40% meat and dairy, 30% or more steamed vegetables and fruit, and no more than 30%  whole grain.  The greater variety of foods you supply,  from week to week or month to month, the better.  The fresher the food and the more organically grown ingredients in it the healthier the food is for your pets.   The best vegetables to use are the dark green, dark orange and yellow varieties, especially the cruciferous / brassica vegetables (i.e. brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli).  The vegetables should be lightly steamed or better yet pulverized in a blender or juicer to aid in digestion and the grains should be cooked.  Always add some bone meal to a raw meat / raw vegetable diet to insure that enough calcium is present to provide a healthy calcium phosphorous ratio.  Egg shells softened in vinegar are another way to supply calcium.

 When selecting a commercial diet, in addition to making sure it is meat based, there are a number of other important criteria to check out.  For example, what ever grain is present should be “whole grain” rather than “grain fractions or grain by products.”   The fat in the food should be  preserved with natural vitamin E rather than artificial chemical preservatives (ie ethoxyquin).  Chemical flavoring agents, coloring dyes, and texturizures should also be absent.  The quality of the ingredients in the diet is not easily determined from the package information and it may necessitate calling the manufacture and asking their nutritionist certain important questions.  Questions you may want to ask are:  What is the source of the meat and grain in the diet?   —Are they organically grown and are they of a quality fit for human consumption ?   Is the meat “USDA Inspected”?   Was the carcass from where the meat was taken “USDA Approved”?   What form, if any, of meat by-products are included in the diet?   Is the grain tested for the presence of  “mycotoxins”?    What are the quality controls the manufacturer practices ?

 Just as meat based diets are healthier than grain based diets, a raw meat, raw vegetable diet is more nutritious than a cooked meat, cooked vegetable diet.  You may wonder why this is true and you may also have some questions about the safety of feeding uncooked meat, so let me explain.  The  use of  fresh raw meat provides fat, amino acids, and vitamins and minerals in a state undamaged by cooking and is, consequently, much more nutritious.   A raw meat diet also provides beneficial bacteria and active enzymes both of which are destroyed by cooking.   Feeding a raw meat diet provides a much fresher diet that is very low in rancid fat and damaging  free radicals.  Feeding a raw meat, raw vegetable diet even once a week or as a daily addition to a high quality commercial diet, helps keep the bowels healthy by providing natural digestive enzymes and beneficial bacteria which allows a weakened or imbalanced immune system to be revitalized.  If you are concerned that uncooked meat will be a source of  dangerous bacteria and bacterial toxins you should know that a cat or a dog’s stomach is far more acidic than our own and kills most dangerous bacteria that attempt to pass through.   This is why wild dogs and cats can eat several day old carcasses and not suffer any ill effects.  Parasites such as worms or toxoplasmosis are other legitimate concerns.   However, in most cases the  animal’s immune system will see to it that such threats do not develop into a clinical disease.   I do not recommend you feed raw pork because of the prevalence of parasites.   I also do not recommend feeding raw chicken or turkey because of the high prevalence of Salmonellosis in poultry.  Upon returning home the raw meat should be immediately divided into daily portions, put in plastic bags and placed in the freezer.   It has been claimed that freezing meat for 30 days or more will kill most bacteria and parasites.   Searing the raw meat or soaking it in grapefruit seed extract for 30 minutes  is a further precaution you can take to avoid the possibility of bacterial dangers.  If the idea of feeding raw meat is simply unappealing and or the risk of bacterial contamination is unacceptable you may want to consider cooking the meat but leaving it extremely rare.   Remember, feeding a raw meat, parboiled or grated vegetable diet does not require much more work than feeding a commercial diet because there is very little or no cooking involved.  If you do nothing more than adding, to your pets diet, left over meat and vegetables from your table there will be no cooking or preparation time .      Although the benefits of feeding raw meat, far out way any serious dangers posed by bacteria and parasites, these dangers may be unacceptable to the most conservative and cautious pet owners.  For these people I recommend feeding commercial meat based diet (no raw meat) and adding only raw vegetables that have been parboiled, steamed, grated, or preferably macerated in a blender.   For public health concerns, remember to wear plastic gloves whenever you are handling raw meat.   We recommend that you do not feed raw meat if you can not accept the chance that such a feeding practice could, on rare occassions,   result  in a  pet contracting  a serious bacterial or parasitic disease.

If you are going to prepare an all-natural diet from scratch you should know that vegetables and grains can be parboiled together for just a few minutes.   Use root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and beets as well as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and garlic in the late fall and early spring.   Use kale, collard and mustard greens, various green and yellow beans and asparagus in late spring and early fall.  Lettuce and garlic are available all year round.

Creating variety in your pet’s diet is an important concept to keep in mind.  Do not feed the same raw meats or vegetables every day.  On the contrary, gradually change the type of meat and vegetables you feed weekly or monthly.  The greater the variety of foods you feed the greater the overall quality of  nutrients you will provide.  Creating variety is also important when using commercial diets, however, you must move gradually from one to the other.  Feed a commercial diet that is chicken based one month and then move to a beef or lamb based diet the next month.  Varying the types of meat, vegetables, and grains not only increases the overall nutrition but also may help to prevent the development of food associated allergies. 

 If you decide to feed a predominantly commercial diets it would be wise to add a comprehensive B vitamin supplement, a chelated trace mineral supplement, a plant based digestive enzyme supplement, an essential fatty acid supplement, a probiotic (good bacteria) supplement and an anti-oxidant supplement.   To a predominantly fresh raw muscle meat steamed vegetable diet it would be wise to, once weekly, add some organ meat (i.e. calves liver).  You would also be well advised to add bone meal, raw soup bones, trace mineral supplements, and anti-oxidants.

When choosing a commercial pet diet here is a summary of  things to consider:

         The first 2 ingredients listed on the package should be meat rather than grain or  vegetables.

         The meat and grain should, ideally, be of a quality fit for human consumption and

         should come from USDA inspected carcasses.

         Of course,  organically grown meat and grain would be ideal.

        No “meat by-products” should present in the ingredient list unless you can be sure

        of exactly what these by-products are.

       “Whole grains” rather than “grain fractions” or grain by-products should be in the  

         ingredient list.

         No artificial chemicals should be used for flavor, coloring, preservation or

         texturizing.   The package should state that the food  is preserved with natural .

        vitamin E and that ethoxyquin should not be on the ingredient list.  

        Of course, if you could find a commercial diet using organically grown meat and

        vegetables then that would eliminate any concerns regarding the presence of   

        antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides.

         The food should be as fresh as possible.  Check the manufacture’s package code

         indicating either the manufacturing date or the expiration date of each package. 

        You may need to call the manufacturer for an explanation of the code. 

         The food should be supplemented with:  vitamins, chelated minerals, essential fatty

         acids, digestive enzymes, iodine and friendly  bacteria.

         The food should contain as few ingredients as possible that have a reputation for

         being allergenic:  i.e. wheat, dairy, corn and soy

         You should call the manufacture and find out what quality control measures are

         taken to prevent contamination of  stored grain.

         The package should state that it is complete and balanced for all life stages and that

         it meets or exceeds the nutritional  requirements as established by AAFCO and the

         National Academy of Science.

         Any steps  that the manufacturer has taken to help the packaging prevent oxidation

         and rancidity is greatly preferred.

         Change commercial diets monthly to provide a variety of meats and grains.  Do so  

         slowly over a 10-day period.   

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Woodside Animal Clinic is a unique, very personal,  one doctor practice where, for over 35 years, Dr. Simon has been healing dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles with both conventional and alternative medicine.  Dr.  Simon is the author  of 4 pet care books and he writes a monthly pet care column in the Mirror newspaper.    He is a past president of the Oakland County Veterinary Medical Association and has served on the executive board of both the Southeastern Michigan Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.

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Some factors that may influence the onset of cancer include genetic defects, toxic exposure, chronic inflammation, mal nutrition, poor detoxification, radiation exposure,  .   However, underneath it all the bottom line is that cancer develops  when the pet’s immune system is unable to respond vigorously enough to eliminate the diseased cells.  So let us take a look at what we can do to prevent cancer in our pets by supporting their   immune system.   Apart from hereditary defects which we have no  control over there are a number of  steps we may take to help our pet’s immune system do its job more effectively.

Let us start out by discussing how to nutritional support of our pet’s immune system.  We must feed our pets a complete and balanced diet, a diet that provides a host of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids in adequate quantities and proper proportions.  A deficiency in any of these can weaken the immune system and allow cancer cells to get a foot hold.  Because poor farming practices have left the soil deficient in important trace minerals and because poor manufacturing practices  destroy health giving nutrients,   pet owners must    fortify their pet’s diet with  supplements that include trace minerals, essential  fatty acids,  B vitamins, digestive enzymes, antioxidants and beneficial bacteria. 

Next, the diets we feed our pets are frequently out of balance when it comes to Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.   There are far too many inflammatory Omega 6’s in our pet’s diet and proportionately too few Omega 3’s.   The consequence of this imbalance is that our pet’s immune system cannot effectively control inflammation and this may eventually  lead to cancer.    Dog and cat diets are usually deficient in  antioxidants which function to reduce  the build up of toxic free radicals that can cause  inflammation and lead to cancer.    Supplementing our pet’s diet with omega 3 fatty acids and an abundance of antioxidants will go along way in supporting their immune system.

Food and environmental toxins are becoming more and more of a stress to our pet’s immune system.  Many pet foods contain an abundance of toxins in the form of chemical preservatives, texturizures, coloring agents, favoring agents, and pesticides to name just a few.   These food toxins further stress an immune system that is already working hard to remove many other environmental toxins.    Next,  feeding carnivorous animals like dogs and cats a grain based diet that they can not properly digest often leads to an inflammatory condition of the bowel that holistic veterinarians refer to as “leaky gut syndrome.”   The leaky gut lets toxins, which would normally  remain in the bowel, leak out into the blood stream where they put an extra work load on  liver detoxification and the immune system.     The high heat processing and prolonged warehousing of commercial diets can cause fats to become toxic.   Feeding our pets a commercial diet that uses natural ingredients rather than artificial chemical that are meat based with few grains, that are processed under low heat and that are stored for only a short time in warehouses will reduce stress on the immune system.

 Of course poor nutrition is not the only predisposing cause of cancer.   Reducing environmental toxins such as radon, lawn pesticides, intestinal parasites, and cigarette smoke will help reduce stress on the pet’s immune system.   Using non toxic house hold cleaning products will also reduce the immune systems toxic load.   

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Dr. Simon is the owner of the Woodside Animal Clinic in Royal Oak Michigan where he has been healingdogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, rodents, and iguanas with both alternative and conventional medicine for over 30 years.   He is the author of 4 pet care books and writes a monthly column is the Mirror newspaper.

Woodside Animal Clinic  sees pets from all over the greater Detroit area including Royal Oak, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Warren, Centerline, Clawson,  Troy, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Livonia, Plymouth, Commerce, Ann Arbor, Ortonville, Waterford, Union Lake,  Rochester,  Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Utica,   Romeo,  Windsor, and Toledo.

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If your pet has a recurrent or chronic disease that has not responded to the best efforts of conventional medicine why not give alternative medicine chance to show what it can do.   Recurrent ear infection, skin allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, and osteo arthritis are just a few of the many chronic diseases that have conventionally required continual drug therapy to suppress symptoms which have been reducing the pets quality of life.  These drugs may be temporarily successful at reducing symptoms but their long term use often results in side effects that may make use of these drugs of questionable value.

Because alternative medicine takes a more holistic view point in its quest for healing it may  focus on an organ system that appears to have no relationship to the symptoms that are being addressed.   Since alternative medicine sees  all organ systems as connected  its therapy is often geared to using modalities that affect the organism as a whole rather than a drug geared to treat a symptom or the organ system where the symptoms occur.

 When alternative medicine feels it must directly address symptoms the use of herbs, homeopathic remedies, specific nutrients, and plant produced hormones will accomplish the task with minimal side effects.    Keep in mind that many of our most celebrated drugs were originally isolated from plants but then were concentrated and/or synthesized in laboratories.   The extraction of active ingredient from the plant and the isolation of it from the other synergistic balancing chemicals found in the intact herb is what makes a drug more likely to produce side effects.  Because drug production isolates and concentrates what it  believes to be the “active ingredient” it looses the safety net that is present when using the whole herb with its less concentrated, better balanced mix of chemicals.

 Alternative health care professionals believe that the pet owner should play an integral part in the healing of their pet.  The practitioner believes that a partnership with the pet owner is necessary for the most rapid and successful healing to occur.  In order for the pet owner to serve as an effective member of this healing partnership they must thoroughly understand their pets problem and the plan for healing.   Consequently the holistic practition must schedule longer appointments to allow for client education and to answer all the pet owners questions. 

 Alternative vets believe that inflammation resulting from nutritional and environmental toxicity in combination with nutritional deficiencies is one of the very basic causes for ill health.   Minimizing toxin intake and maximizing toxin excretion is the foundation for health and healing.  

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  Dr. Simon is the owner of the Woodside Animal Clinic in Royal Oak Michigan where he has been treating dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, rodents, and iguanas with both alternative and conventional medicine for over 30 years.  Dr. Simon is the author of 4 pet care books and writes a monthly column for the Mirror newspaper.

Woodside services the Oakland  and Wayne County  area including the cities of  Berkley, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Southfield, Birmingham, Troy, Warren, Clawson, Sterling Heights and Farmington Hills. 

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