Kathleen Berard, Animal Communicator, Holistic Animal Care Consultant

*Immune System: Problems and Support*	*Allergies/Eyes, Ears and Skin*	*Bloat*
*Cancer*	*First Aid*	*Incontinence*
*Miscellaneous*	*Natural Pest Control*	Heartworms and Other Parasites

The following information is offered for your convenience; it is not intended to be, and should not be taken as, a substitute for proper veterinary examination and evaluation of any medical condition. To locate a holistic or homeopathic veterinarian in your area, please see list of associations and specialists on the Links-Holistic Care page of my site. Kat

I am not an expert on cancer, but I am a medical intuitive with animals, so I have worked with a number of clients who have dealt with cancer in their pets. Please also see my Immune Systems: Problems and Support page (click on the title in the box above) for supplements which are great for boosting the immune system. See also the Cancer Starving Diet page.

Always have a tumor checked by a vet to determine that it's a fatty and not cancerous tumor!! And have them checked periodically as/if they increase in size.

www.charlesloopsdvm.com PLEASE check out this vet's website. Dr. Charles Loops is a homeopathic veterinarian who has had success in treating cancer with nutrition and homeopathy. Well worth reading. Dr. Loops does phone consults if you're not in his area (North Carolina). 919-542-0442

Dr. Wen at Hampton Veterinary Hospital in Speonk, NY (Long Island) will work long distance with the client's regular vet. He's had some amazing success stories! 631-325-1611 :

What Cancer Is For an extensive article on the workings of cancer and its causes, see http://www.cancer-prevention.net/. While written about human cancer, the information will be valuable to you as you research cancer in animals.

Please consider consulting with a homeopathic vet for your animal’s cancer treatment protocol. Remedies are chosen by repertorizing the animal’s whole presenting picture (making note of the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of the being and taking them together to create a full picture to determine the appropriate remedy). Depending on the degree/severity of the cancer at the time you begin using homeopathy as part of your treatment plan, there are homeopathic remedies which can address the compromised immune system, the derangement of cells, and the animal’s originating health reasons (resulting from a compromised immune system) and subsequent inability to overcome the cancer cells naturally. Remedies can also address pain, swelling, lack of appetite, etc.

It is very important to have the appropriate remedies prescribed by a trained homeopathic vet, as using the wrong remedy could have a very serious negative impact on the animal. Per Dr. Sanchez-Penalver, “when you give a homeopathic remedy, there are different things that can occur: a cure, a partial cure, a palliation, a suppression, or no effect. Aggravations can be curative or noncurative. There's much more to it than ‘it works or it doesn't work’; it's difficult medicine! I urge you to read chapter 3, ‘The Nature of Cure’ (pp. 47-59), of Dr. Don Hamilton’s book [see Books, below] for a better understanding.” Should you choose the wrong remedy on your own, you can elicit changes in the symptom picture that are not a cure, which can make it more difficult for a homeopath to determine what remedy is appropriate. Dr. Sanchez-Penalver says that seeing “no further symptoms doesn't necessarily mean a cure, it can also mean a suppression of symptoms as happens with the use of drugs [medications including anesthetics, cortisone, etc.], or a partial cure if certain symptoms disappear but others remain.”

For a good overview of homeopathy, see Dr. Sanchez-Penalver’s website, http://www.weim.net/homeovet/English/Intro.htm and Dr. Richard Pitcairn’s site at http://www.drpitcairn.com/. To locate an alternative medicine vet in your area, see The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy referral list at http://www.theavh.org/ and/or Dr. Pitcairn's own referral listing at his site. If you cannot find one located in your area, check your Yellow Pages, ask your vet and other vets if they know of a local practitioner, etc. If the answer is no, consider consulting on a second opinion basis with a homeopathic veterinarian such as Dr. Dolores Sanchez-Penalver (http://www.weim.net/homeovet/), or Dr. Don Hamilton. Dr. Hamilton is a homeopathic veterinarian in New Mexico. He is the author of Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals. Dr. Hamilton is available for long-distance phone consultations, and can be reached at 505-666-2091. His book can be purchased through my Books-Holistic Care page.

http://www.weim.net/homeovet/Docs/Guest%20speaker%20-%20Don%20Hamilton%20DVM.doc This document is part of the document library of Dr. Dolores Sanchez-Penalver’s website (www.weim.net/homeovet), containing the discussion between Dr. Don Hamilton and members of a private Holistic Weimaraner list in 2001. A number of questions and answers cover various cancers, vaccine reactions, and how homeopathy can address these issues.

www.charlesloopsdvm.com PLEASE check out this vet's website. Dr. Loops is a homeopathic veterinarian who has had success in treating cancer with nutrition and homeopathy. Well worth reading. Dr. Loops does phone consults if you're not in his area (North Carolina). 919-542-0442

One homeopathic vet I highly recommend is Don Hamilton, DVM, author of Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals. You can order the book through my page www.katberard.com/res_media_books_holi_care.htm. He can be reached at 505-666-2091.

See the American Veterinary Medical Association’s website http://www.avma.org/ for information on the Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force (VAFSTF) established to research the high occurrence rate of soft tissue sarcomas in cats at the injection site. http://www.avma.org/vafstf/default.asp Fifty percent or more are the result of rabies and/or FeLV vaccines. Other injectible drugs may be a trigger as well. Many vets now give vaccinations in a cat’s hip/leg area, to make tumor removal at the injection site much easier should this occur. However, this could quite easily require amputation of the limb. An excellent article regarding vaccinating cats was written by Dr. Don Hamilton, a homeopathic veterinarian in New Mexico, and can be found at http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html. This information is also contained in his book, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals. Another site with information: http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catindex.html.

Soft tissue sarcomas occasionally occur in dogs as well. For more information, see

http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dogindex.html

Information about the effects of vaccination on the immune system can be found on my Vaccination page, at Dr. Dolores Sanchez-Penalver’s site www.weim.net/homeovet, and elsewhere on the Web.

From Vick, Webmistress of http://www.holisticat.com "Fibrosarcoma is a really aggressive cancer, but it is my understanding that it rarely spreads further, so surgery (sometimes involving amputation of an affected limb) is generally the method of choice for dealing with it. . . . I came up with these three posts about dandelion and other more natural therapies:
http://www.escribe.com/pets/holisticat/m28072.html
http://www.escribe.com/pets/holisticat/m28107.html
http://www.escribe.com/pets/holisticat/m28170.html

The focus is on mammary cancer in cats, but maybe some of the suggestions will apply for dogs as well. In one of my favorite reference books (The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook by Alan Keith Tillotson), he talks in depth about cancer, most of which I've distilled and included in the third post above. It's an excellent book, one I'd recommend to everyone. This book is very focused on the natural, but recommends "debulking" tumors before starting complementary therapies. Here's a quote from the book: 'Surgical removal is the best method of debulking tumors whenever possible. After surgery, use herbs that stimulate wound healing for several weeks. Medicines that dissolve tumor masses are essential when the patient has solid tumors, even after surgery, as are immune tonics, to control metastasis.' It also discusses escharotic pastes (like Cansema Salve) but recommends surgery over that. Here's a link to a post with information on mushrooms for cancer from Mr. Tillotson’s book: http://www.escribe.com/pets/holisticat/m27604.html."

Fatty Tumors I have not tried this product myself, but it came highly recommended by another holistic care practitioner. It's called ImmuSun, made by Cell Tech (www.celltech.com). You'll find information at their website about its uses http://www.celltech.com/resources/specsheets/pdf/immusun_spec.pdf (you will need AdobeReader program to view this) and http://www.celltech.com/resources/immusun_faq.asp. Contact the company at 800-800-1300 (open M-F 6a-6p; they also have Spanish speaking service representatives) for specific dosages.

Another piece of information I received but haven't tried: Chromium Picolinate is a fat grabber. Another supplement is Gugulipid which lowers serum lipids and cholesterols.

http://www.naturallyhealthypet.com/herbs.htm See the description of Chickweed on this page, it has been indicated in reducing/dissolving fatty tumors. Chickweed comes as a tincture and in powdered capsule form. I recommend giving both forms at (for an 80 lb dog) half the human adult dose.

Lymphoma in Dogs This came from a post on a chatlist May 2005: "Ed Sullivan at the Bellingham Veterinary Critical Care Center has been extraordinary at "pushing the envelope" on getting treatment for desperately sick animals. Ed has been working with the researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, a world renowned facility for cancer treatment of people. For those of you who haven't heard of "Fred Hutch", Google it and see. People come from all over the world to be treated at FHCRC. About a year ago, Ed and the team at Fred Hutch did a bone marrow transplant on a young golden retriever from San Juan Island named Comet who was suffering from T-Cell lymphoma. This was not experimental in the sense that most of the bone marrow transplant knowledge has been gained through work with dogs. But this is the first time, at least in the US...to the best of anyone's knowledge, that a pet has had a bone marrow transplant for lymphoma. Comet is alive and well today and accompanies his people on a 5 mile run every day. His "one year anniversary" is coming up in a couple of weeks. The point of this recitation is that Ed and his wife Teresa (a veterinary surgeon) are setting up a Veterinary Cancer Treatment Center through their practice in Bellingham. I got this email from Ed a little while ago..... 'As for the envisioned Veterinary Cancer Treatment Center--we are currently looking for cases of high grade lymphoma (any subtype is fair game, T Cell, B Cell, lymphoblastic, etc.), other myelodysplastic conditions (such as immune mediate hemolytic anemia--these conditions are good candidates for bone marrow transplants since they are a dysfunction of the marrow), and humanism's--a very common cancer condition of dogs. The first two groups are known to respond well to bone marrow transplants--there are literally thousands of people who have been treated. The third condition, humanism, is very rare in humans, very common in dogs, and there is no good model for the treatment of them right now. I want to transplant a group of dogs with humanism and see if we can cure this condition. Nancy, Comet is proof that current knowledge is already out there for potentially curing a large percentage of the most common form of cancer in dogs, lymphoma. This breakthrough will change the textbooks, and we all have the privilege of being part of it. Ed' So, for those of you who have or know of a dog with lymphoma, there may be treatment available. Current chemotherapies typically buy you about 6 months at the most.... This will be a tremendous breakthrough. I also understand that Ed is trying to set up funding so that those of us without Bill-Gates-sized bank accounts can afford treatment. You or your vet can call BVCC at 360-734-0720. Cheers, Nancy"

Mesothelioma in Animals (Cancer from Asbestos) From Chris, "I volunteer for a support website called the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center, and I'm interested in potentially sharing some of our resources with your browsers. As you may or may not know, mesothelioma is a rare cancer which is caused only by exposure to asbestos fibers. Recently this disease has been found to also affect dogs and cats. Just as second hand exposure to cigarette smoke can cause respiratory illness, second hand exposure to asbestos can cause the development of mesothelioma in pets. The effects of mesothelioma become noticeable much faster in animals when compared to humans and can cause much pain and discomfort to your loved companion. We offer comprehensive information on the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma to patients and their families, as well as a number of unique resources – including a section specifically for those looking for information regarding mesothelioma in pets. Protecting yourself is the first step to saving your pets life. We promote awareness and provide information on how to prevent exposure and possibility of becoming the source of second hand asbestos." Site is www.MAACenter.org.

Jerold S. Bell, DVM, of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, wrote an article entitled "The Genetics of Canine Cancer" for the October 2003 Tufts' Canine and Feline Breeding and Genetics Conference. I highly recommend that you read this article.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/cancer/rios-page.html#Page Dr. Rodney Page, DVM, MS. Dr. Page is a board certified specialist in Internal Medicine and Oncology. He is the founding director of the Cancer Center. He is the author or co-author of approximately 100 manuscripts and 30 book chapters. His research interests involve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in companion animals. He is specifically interested in selective tumor imaging, determining the mechanisms responsible for resistance to treatment, and characterizing the genetic and immunologic features of cancer in pets.

http://www.cancercure.colostate.edu/ Colorado State University Cancer Center -- excellent information about types of cancer, alternatives for treating, etc.

http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/oncology/ Louisiana State University Cancer Treatment Center

http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/oncology/Canine%20Tumors%20II/index.htm A slide presentation regarding mast cell tumors.

http://www.gcvs.com/ Gulf Coast Veterinary Oncology and Diagnostics. Extensive information, and also an e-mail newsletter ("Tumor Tidbits")

http://www.thensome.com/petcancer.htm Excellent site for Canine and Feline Cancer links and abstracts, as well as nutritional supplements and diet suggestions.

http://members.aol.com/pbl2/cancerfiles.htm Robin’s Canine Cancer Files. Actual cancer case stories; many links to research sites, support groups, etc.

http://www.vetcancerregistry.com/ You can run searches on actual veterinary cancer cases at this site. Click on View Data, accept the terms, and begin your search (by disease type, breed, age, sex, and much more).

http://stopcancer.com/toc.htm While directed at people, this is a fabulous site containing more information than you will ever be able to read regarding alternative care for cancer. It covers everything from pH in the body, to supplements (like Olive Leaf and Cat’s Claw), to foods like flax oil, to some very controversial therapies.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cancer.htm Shirley’s Wellness Café, Holistic Health Care for People and Animals. A free educational website offering alternative and self-help cancer therapy programs for people and animals. Many other illnesses are addressed here as well, and links to other sites are provided for further research. “Learn to achieve natural health for you, your family and your pets with alternative/holistic/complimentary/integrative and preventative methods of healing: homeopathy, herbs, urine therapy, hydrotherapy, raw foods & juices, therapeutic fasts, healing clays, sunlight, thalassotherapy (seawater), nutrition, naturopathy, biomagnetics healing, aromatherapy, reiki healing, flower essences and more.”

http://www.homevet.com/ Dr Jeff Feinman's site (homeopathic veterinarian): For articles regarding various forms of cancer (bone tumors, lymphosarcoma, mast cell tumors, nasal tumors, feline tumors, etc.), chemotherapy, quality of life issues, and more, go to http://www.homevet.com/petcare/petcare.html, scroll down to Cancer Links.

www.b-naturals.com Lew Olsen’s site. Anti-Cancer Diet Recipe and much more information. http://b-naturals.com/Sum1998.php for a review of five theories (books) by different authors regarding nutrition (diet and supplements) for dogs with cancer. She carries wonderful products, especially digestive enzyme supplements and supplements which are helpful when dealing with cancer. These can be found at http://b-naturals.com/default.php?cPath=44&PHPSESSID=5f9149e3d580a22e8213f7e21ebf4bb8. Digestive enzymes are important for proper assimilation of food in a dog dealing with cancer or any other health issue. Improper absorption of or lack of assimilatible nutrients, for whatever reason, is often the beginning of health problems.

http://www.crvetcenter.com Cold River Veterinary Center; alternative healing information regarding cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, heartworms, and more.

http://www.simplyschnauzer.net/sshnhealth.html#Cancer Simply Schnauzer Health. This is one of the most comprehensive sites I’ve seen. It discusses many alternative therapies (from flower essences to acupuncture), many types of illnesses including cancer, has links to other sites related to various topics.

There are many, many more sites out there, so do some searching. One search string you might try is "holistic treatments for canine [feline, etc.] cancer". Everyone has an opinion, some may differ, but there will be a common thread.

Support groups

http://www.haileybell.homestead.com/ This is a wonderful, supportive list. The owner/moderator is a man from Western Canada who is a veterinarian - although no longer practicing. His Doberman was diagnosed with Lymphosarcoma several years ago. He has spent most of his time since then traveling and researching any and all types of treatment. A special diet, supplements and chemotherapy helped his Doberman, she’s still going strong (at 10/02).

http://forums.delphiforums.com/petcancer A forum for people whose pets either have cancer, or have died from cancer. [See first listing under “Cancer Websites” above for information on the moderator.]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineBoneCancer/ This list is for people who want to learn as much as they can about bone cancer in dogs and/or share their personal experiences. Discussions focus on treatment options, including traditional therapies such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and alternative therapies, such as nutritional therapy.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canine_cancer/ Support and information for those dealing with animals having cancer.

*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCancer/ There’s a wealth of knowledge here. The number of canines that are diagnosed with cancer is on the rise. This list is for dog lovers who want to learn as much as they can about this devastating illness and/or share their personal experiences with canine cancer. Discussions focus on the treatment of cancer in dogs. This includes traditional therapies such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and alternative therapies, such as nutritional therapy and holistic medicine. This group can also provide you with information about Artemisinin (Sweet Wormwood, originally used to treat Malaria -- this herb destroys the iron that feeds the cancer cells, so it basically starves them). You can join this list, or search the archives for May, to get the name of the Vet in Washington who is involved in some manner in the study that is being done on this. More information about Artemisinin is found below.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/petcancer/ This group is intended more for people who are interested in looking for supplements and research that support the supplements, as well as breakthroughs or research that may help our companions.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/blacksalveandpetswithcancer/ cancer discussion list that talks about black salve and pets. The list owner has been researching cancer in pets for years. Before the FDA shut down Alpha Omega Labs, the maker of the famous "Cansema", she was working directly with them.

http://www.egroups.com/group/endlesslove Support and information for people who have pets with cancer.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pets4Homeopathy/ A place for sharing information and stories of healing with homeopathy and all alternative healing modalities with our pets. All methods of practice are honored. The moderator believes in clinical, combination remedies. The list is not about debating the methods used for practicing homeopathy. There may be some certified practitioners on the list; they do not claim or pretend to offer medical advice.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-cancer/ Looking for information on cancer in cats? The feline_cancer group maintains a LINKS section to additional sites members have found useful. This is a list for people whose cats either currently have, or have had, cancer. Support, information and tips are encouraged. Both traditional allopathic and alternative treatment methods (for example: homeopathy, herbs, acupuncture) discussed. There are also YAHOO groups for feline lymphoma and feline VAS. Links to great sources of information on feline cancer appear at Woodrow's Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/7995. You do not have to join the list to view Woodrow's site, or those listed below. If you have just learned that your cat has (or may have) cancer, the VERY best site to visit -- even before Woodrow's site -- is http://www.gcvs.com/oncology/pwc/rulesoftheroad.htm. The rest of Dr. Hahn's site as the best place for veterinary cancer information that I've found on the web -- http://www.gcvs.com/oncology/index.htm).

Also see:
http://home.earthlink.net/~ldills/ for information on brain tumors and radiation therapy; http://www.catshots.com/ for information on Vaccine Associated Sarcomas, http://www.geocities.com/feline_squamous_cell_cancer/ presents personal accounts of the care and treatment of cats afflicted with cancer and offers links to related sites.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineCancer-Holistic/ Holistic support for cats with cancer.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bonecancerdogs/ Support for dogs with bone cancer.

This is a short list; you can search the Internet for many more groups and sites if these aren't what you're looking for.

Cancer Starving Diet Click on "Next Page", below, to take you to the cancer starving diet page, which also has suggestions of helpful supplements, tonics and salves.

There is an incredible amount of information available for treating cancer with a holistic approach, much more than just the above. So keep looking, or contact me, if you don't see what you're looking for here. One very important thing: do NOT latch on to that time frame your vet gives you. Many of my clients have had pets live well past the estimated time frame because they incorporated natural care into their animal's cancer treatment regimen such as supplements and homeopathy, and many switched to a raw food or homecooked diet which makes a tremendous difference.

I am a medical intuitive for animals. A communication session will let you know how your pet is feeling and can provide you with information that helps you to assist your animal from a natural care perspective. Bach flower essences can also be very helpful. Please contact me at kat@katberard.com or 210-402-1220 if I can be of assistance.