Natural Pet Health

There are always some cancer cells in the body, which the body can effectively kill on its own if the immune system is strong. Despite this fact pets still develop cancers that need treatment. Cancer in dogs and cats may not be a very common condition but it can be as problematic and fatal as in humans. Pets cannot speak about the discomfort that they are facing and therefore, it is upon the pet owners and veterinarians to use their observation and knowledge to establish prevalence of, say, symptoms of liver cancer in dogs and cats among other health conditions.

Feline cancer can occur in any part of the body. If cancer has been diagnosed in certain specific areas, radiation therapy is one of the treatment options that should be considered.

written by Shawn Messonnier, DVM

(Author, of 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. His new book, The Natural Vet’s Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs, is scheduled for publication in February of 2006. http://www.petcarenaturally.com/

In pets combination products containing multiple ingredients are more often prescribed than individual herbs. However, having an understanding of the individual herbs contained in the product can help the owner understand why the herb was included in the product. In people, St Johns Wort is often used to help control mild depression. In pets the herb is used as part of anti-anxiety formulas.

Symptoms and signs of cancer in pets and humans depend largely upon the organ or the tissue that has developed cancer cells. For example, the symptoms of liver cancer in dogs and cats are far removed from the symptoms of oral cancer. Cats with cancer of the digestive system will show signs of vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia while a lump in the peripheral skin indicates lymph cancer.

Some cancers are highly progressive and spread very fast. The first tool in your hands is to educate yourself and be aware of all the symptoms properly. Timely approach to treatment is the only way to prolong and make life comfortable for your cat.

Cancer is an abnormal growth of malignant cells and can virtually affect any part of the body. The abnormal growth can take various forms like tumors. Tumors are solid masses of cancerous cells that can spread to other parts of the body. Metastasis (spreading) is one of the main reasons that results in disorders in other organs.

Symptoms of cancer in cats vary according to the type of cancer that the animal is suffering from. However, each type of feline cancer has a certain set of symptoms that are easy to observe. These are:

Whichever treatment for cancer in dogs you may opt for, the major aim of all cancer treatments boils down to eliminating cancerous cells by all means. The best cure for cancer in dogs is one that kills cancer cells, does not kill normal cells and at the same time ensures that there are no or manageable side effects. This is not possible in all cases as practically all therapies have drawbacks in one sphere or the other.

The most common therapies for cancer treatment include:

* Surgery, a partial or total excision of a tumor, has limited success ratio in cases where cancer has spread to various organs in the body.
* Chemotherapy, the use of drugs to kill cancer cells, has serious toxic side effects.
* Radiation therapy, the use of high intensity radiation, cannot guarantee that only cancer cells will be targeted.

Breast cancer constitutes almost all of glandular feline cancers and up to 80 to 96% of all malignant tumors in cats. It is also the third most common form of cancer in cats after lymphoid and skin cancers. Although breast cancer in cats is not breed specific, Siamese and Japanese breeds are more vulnerable than others. Obesity too seems to be a high risk factor. Spayed cats, however, carry a significantly reduced risk of developing mammary tumors.

Mammary tumors may either be floating or attached to the skin or the underlying muscles and are commonly found in the front set of mammary glands. Swelling, pain or infection in the glands and fever are among the most common symptoms that may indicate prevalence of mammary tumors.

Just like the human body, your pet’s body too is a complex system of processes that are interdependent upon each other. These processes are controlled by organ systems that control almost each and every function in the body. The endocrine system, for example, is a system of glands that produce endocrine secretions that control the metabolic rate of the body.

Pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, is the master gland of the endocrine system. Pituitary adenomas, a glandular tumor, is one of the less common types of cancer in dogs. Although most of the pituitary tumors are benign, these tumors can increase in size and compress brain tissue. This happens primarily because the space in the skull is limited. As the pituitary tumor increases in size the neurological disturbances affect a dog’s health in many ways. But unless benign tumors reach a particular size they are not treated as dangerous.

The spleen in the body is the storehouse of blood. It also functions as an organ for destroying old red blood cells and holding blood for emergencies. It is an important part of the body’s immune system. Located just below the stomach, in emergencies such as a hemorrhage, it springs into action to provide blood for replenishing the loss. Even though life can be normal without a spleen, its absence, however, predisposes infections.

The spleen constitutes of a red soft surface containing two different types of pulp – white and red. While the red pulp functions as a mechanical filter removing unwanted substances from the blood, the white pulp helps to fight infections.

Recent studies reveal that the food that you feed to your pets has a significant role to play in the development and progress of cancer in dogs as well as feline cancer .

You should feed animal proteins to the dog and avoid proteins sourced from grain and plants. Plant based protein causes more harm than good even to healthy dogs. If your dog is suffering from cancer, plant protein can promote the growth of cancer cells rather than restrict it. Feeding raw meat is a better option as commercial foods may not be prepared properly. Raw beef, chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, goat and pork are natural foods for dogs and they supply the necessary proteins and fats that help in strengthening the immune system.

Cancer is an uncontrolled malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal cell division. Cancer can spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream. Generally speaking, cancer is usually associated with the organ it affects and termed as such. Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in dogs and along with cancer of the mammary glands it forms nearly 58% of all cancers in dogs.

Carcinoma and sarcoma, the two out of the four major types of cancer, are the ones that normally occur in the skin of a dog that need to be differentiated for treatment purposes. Skin cancer usually affects four different types of cells and is divided into four categories as such.