Holistic Vet Clinic, medicines and hope

Monday, 11:00am - Appointment with holistic veterinarian, Dr. Bob Ulrich. I told him the situation, he examined Koda, and said he could feel the tumor - guessing it was about 4 inches wide. Then he talked to me about cancer and how nasty it is - particularly hemangiosarcoma - which Dr. Franklin (internal specialist) thought Koda most likely has.

It was rather fascinating to learn about how cancer grows, what it needs from a host to live and thrive, "cell communication", free radicals, cell receptor sites, and then how science has figured out how to stunt it and starve it, etc. First, diet is really important and recommended what he calls a "cancer diet" - which is high in protein and fat, but very low in carbs, or grain free. Cancer likes carbs and prefers them as an energy source. So we want to starve the cancer. Because Koda is already on a "raw" meat diet with veggies, we are on the right track. Dr. Ulrich urged me to add steamed broccoli and kale because those veggies are particularly good for fighting cancer. The cheddar & string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and chicken jerky treats are all approved. While we want a "clean diet", we also want to keep Koda from losing weight, so we want to feed him lots of extra calories from foods he enjoys.

He advised me to stop all heartworm meds, flea treatments, the doxycycline for his gingivitis, and even the Rimadyl. Just use the Tramadol for pain. We want to clear Koda's system of as many chemicals as possible right now.

Next, he went down a list of EIGHT different holistic supplements, medicines, and herbs he was recommending for Koda. It was mind-boggling (I'm not even going to name them all here). Each one does a different thing - like scramble the cancer cell's communication, block receptor sites, kill off blood vessels around the tumor, stimulate his natural immune system to make more T-cells, make cancer cells more visible to his system so it would attack them, etc. One that they highly recommend is called Vet-Immune Tabs, a potent immune enhancing combination of "Transfer Factor" (increases natural killer cells), 11 power mushrooms, IP-6, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, probiotics, essential fatty acids, MSM, choline, glucosamine, penne canniculus, boswellic acid, super oxide dismutase, tumeric.

I like the idea of arming a body's natural immune system to fight the cancer.

I took home $500's worth of herbal medicines. (Ouch! Not cheap!) It's was quite overwhelming, looking at all the pills, capsules, powders and tinctures that I need to get into Koda. I have a matrix chart and it will just take time to get adept to giving the correct dosages for morning and evening.

Once home I offered the tablets that were supposed to taste like treats to Koda. He spit them out. Ugh. He's so picky! So I ground them up, mixed with water, and shot them down his throat with a syringe and P's help. Not fun for Koda. But it might be the only way to get them down quickly. It's just a lot of work and Koda hates getting them.

At least now I feel like I can actually DO something. Lori, at the Holistic Vet, said her dog had metastasized hemangiosarcoma and she used the holistic meds and was able to extend her life for 16 months! And only in the last month did she really decline. So there is hope! This is going to be more than a marathon... if we can stunt the cancer and keep Koda with us for another year - it will be like an ultra. Looking at all the meds and how all-consuming his care will be, I am really feeling like the care-taker of a terminally ill cancer patient. Your mindset changes.

That evening, we bought a mortar & pestle to make grinding all the medicines easier. And it really helped. I'm not even going to mess around with trying to hide the pills or capsules in food. It's "easier" to just grind them up, add warm water and use a couple big syringes to quickly squirt it down Koda's throat. He doesn't like it, but isn't sputtering, coughing, or vomiting - so I think this method will just become routine. It takes both P and I to administer the syringes right now. But maybe it will get easier and one of us can handle it later.

Koda ate really well today and was in a good mood. More smiles and tail wags. He ate all of his 1/4 chubb of raw food, WITH the Fractional Pectin mixed in. Fractional Pectin blocks the attachment of cancer cells to healthy tissues at new locations. Basically makes it harder for cancer to spread. I tasted the powder to see if it would taint the flavor of his raw meat, but I couldn't taste anything - so in it went. Tramadol-filled cheddar chunk, chicken jerky, string cheese. All good. After his evening syringe meds, he was rewarded with more string cheese and chicken jerky. Gotta keep feeding him lots as long as he has an appetite.

Emotionally, I'm doing much better. I feel like I am doing something for Koda. I am helping him fight the cancer. We aren't just sitting around waiting for him to deteriorate and die. We are equipping his body with things it can use to fight the caner. I'm also strengthened by the fact that P is really on-board and is a partner in us trying to help Koda. It will take both of us. It's a lot of work. But we may discover a deepening in our relationship through this season with Koda.