Through the Eyes of a Dog

Hi Everyone,
This is my first blog.  I'm almost 8yrs old and referred to as an American Staffordshire Terrier.  I am writing this blog to educate people on the options available to dogs living with an incurable form of cancer.  Here is a quick look into the life of a dog living with Hemangiosarcoma.

November 25, 2011
It was the morning after Thanksgiving, the only indication my Mom had that something was wrong was that my pee was very dark in color.  My energy was pretty much the same and almost no change in behavior.  I was driven to the hospital in minutes where they discovered that I was anemic and that something major was going on.  After they took x-rays of my abdomen, the people seemed very concerned.  I was then taken to an emergency hospital where they do surgical procedures.  By 9:30pm I was in surgery.  The doctors removed a large mass that had been occupying 1/3 of my abdomen along with my spleen.  The mass had started to bleed into my abdominal cavity the days previous to my surgery which explained how I became anemic and how I was able to pee blood.  If I hadn't gotten the surgery I would have had only hours to live.

The surgery was a success and the doctors were able to remove all visibly affected tissues.  I was  released the next day on good behavior.  I was feeling so much better aside from my new incision that was being held together with about 20 staples.  Six days later, I was ready to return to work with my Mom.  Life was good!

The news came on a Friday, exactly one week after my surgery.  Hemangiosarcoma is what the doctors said I had.  They gave me 3-4 months to live untreated or if I did chemo I might be around for another 6-9 months.  That is how long they figure it takes the disease to take over another organ like the liver or the heart and to develop a new mass.  It is not a painful disease fortunately.

My Mom stayed in bed for days crying.  When she's sad, I'm sad too.  The following Monday we went to a different kind of doctor.  This guy was a naturopathic veterinarian from The Animal Healing Center.  You know they're good when they bust out with the real meat dog treats on the first visit! This guy gave no promises, but he had had good success with other dogs that had been through this and one of them was at 14 months post operation at the time I had my surgery, and that dog is still living strong!   The doctor said every case and every dog is different.  It was enough hope to at least get my Mom to stop crying and start smiling again.  The best part about this doctor is that he told my Mom I couldn't eat kibble anymore.  I must eat human food for the rest of my life.  Preferably organic.  Precisely what I was thinking doc! ;-)

Treatment Plan 12/05/11
Weekly injections of homeopathics at specific acupuncture points.  This is called Auto-Sanguis Injections.
1lb food a day - 75% ground turkey, 25% veggies mix (made by Paws Cafe)
Omegas 2,000mg (helps keep down inflammation)
CoQ10 - 100mg day
Doggy enzymes & probiotics 20 billion (increases my body's natural defenses)
Green Tea extract 100mg 2x day
Curcumin (turmeric root extract)- 250mg 2x day
PURE encapsulations mushroom formula - inc. Maitake, Reishi & Shiitake 1 cap 2x day
Yunnan Baiyao - 1 cap, 2x day ( found where Asian supplements are sold)
Last but not least lots & lots of LOVE :)

I will keep you all posted as to changes with my treatment plan and any new modalities I come across.  Thanks for reading!


Keywords; holistic, natural, alternative, dog hemagiosarcoma,  treatment, cancer in dogs, survive hemangiosarcoma, cures for hemangiosarcoma, herbal treatment