Our approach to animal cancer care
For over 10 years now I have been treating my patients with holistic veterinary medicine including Acupuncture, Chinese and Western herbals, Food Therapy, Chiropractic, Tui-Na and Homeopathy. Most of my patients have an conventional veterinarian they are concurrently working with for diagnostics and pharmaceuticals as needed. Some pet owners have chosen not to pursue any allopathic treatments, such as chemotherapy and/or radiation, and elected to use my more “natural” modalities for palliative care that aim to strengthen the immune system so the body can heal itself. Others have elected to my holistic treatments as a complementary approach and have found a reduction of side effects, an overall better response and coping mechanism for the conservative treatments, and most important an improved quality of life. To me it is important that we look at the whole picture therefore my first consultations are around 1 – 15 hours long. We discuss the surroundings, the exercise according to the ability of the patient, the feeding and how to improve it and of course the line of treatment the owner wants to pursue. The diagnosis ‘Cancer’ is daunting so we take time to answer your questions as well as we can and support you all the way. It is important to remember that holistic veterinary treatments are individualized and treat the entire body, not just the presenting complaints.
Not all pets have the same recommendations for diet, supplements, and acupuncture. The reason I have success in treating cancer using holistic therapies, is that they are tailored to the individual instead of using a generalized protocol for type of cancer. As an example three dogs with the same tumor might have three very different treatment plans. The reason for this is that I look at the whole picture, take in account their constitution, character, medical history, environmental exposure diet and so on.
It is important to remember that there are some really great herbs that can actually augment chemotherapy but some that can impair. Please use caution in starting supplements without direct veterinary guidance from a veterinarian who is comfortable or specializes in this. It is important to have a tailored treatment plan to utilise the treatments to their full potential and not counteract.
Cancer diagnostic services for dogs and cats
At Chirovet we work together with the conventional vets for the diagnostics of cancer. Blood tests, Biopsies, Ultrasounds, MRI and Radiographs will be performed with your conventional veterinary practice. At our practice we use Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities such as Pulse and Tongue diagnostic to evaluate additive important information about the patients constitution. This information will aid and guide to find the best individual treatment.
Cancer treatment services for dogs and cats
This is extremely important to make sure you are giving appropriate therapy for your pet’s specific type of cancer. It is almost impossible to weed through the plethora of recommendations provided by a Google search. Remember, you can do harm with supplements. Just because they are natural, does not mean they are helpful or even safe.
At your first appointment we go through the whole medical and non-medical history, your findings, characteristics of your pet, feeding and exercise routines including the whole environment. We will select herbal formulas, supplements, food and exercises tailored to your animal’s needs. Holistic treatments are individualized and treat the entire body, not just the presenting symptoms. They look at and treat the root of the problem not only the complaint itself. It is important to remember this whether you use holistic therapies on their own or as a complementary modality.
Herbal Remedies stimulate and modulate the immune system to decrease abnormal growing cells, healing endorphins are released which will as well significantly decrease pain and inflammation by removing blockages. All these mechanisms will cause a cascade of positive events and stimulate and target the killing of cancer cells without compromising the body by giving harmful toxins.
Looking at the diet is another very important tool in fighting cancer- all kibble diets – no matter how high-quality or expensive – are heavily processed. This is something that needs addressing and we choose balanced diet depending on the individual case.
How we work with animal cancer patients and their owners
The diagnosis cancer means usually a very emotional time for owners. At Chirovet we try to explain the steps of our treatment plan in order for the owner to understand what we are doing and trying to achieve. We discuss what we expect to happen with the individual treatment and are always there for our owners. It is important that we can support the patient and their family throughout this time. Usually the patients are seen on a weekly or two weekly bases to start with until we know how the patient reacts to the treatment plan and what we need to adjust or improve. The intervals will be spaced out as soon as the patient is stable in their treatment.
How we work with referring vets when handling confirmed animal oncology cases
In order to give our clients the best service possible we like to work hand in hand with everyone that has to do with the patient. We request the medical history of the conventional treating veterinarians and discuss treatment with them if necessary so everyone can bring their specialised knowledge to use. Further we will speak with trainers, nutritionists and behaviourists, if necessary all to the benefit of adding information so we can choose the best individual treatment plan.
Pet Oncology Conditions Treated
We estimate that one in four dogs develops neoplasia in its life. We use a minimalistic, gentle approach of acupuncture and Herbal medicine to treat cancer. This can be use in addition to conventional approaches. Many of our holistic treatments are less expensive than the pharmaceutical route and will be covered by most insurance companies if applied by a qualified practitioner.
We use a combination of Food Therapy, Traditional Chinese Herbal Formulas, Acupuncture and Mistletoe Therapy. Mistletoe has a tumor inhibiting effect and modulates and improves the immune system. Particularly Mast cell tumors and soft tissue sarcomas and carcinomas respond well to this.
With the holistic approach of our practice almost all patients improve. We can see this in their energy levels, appetite and vitality.
There is a noticeably improved quality of life in almost all patients treated with this approach. Appetite, weight and vitality can all be improved. Almost 90% of cases who are treated with Mistletoe in our practice, live an average of eight months longer than the longest prediction by their vet.