Dog-Sense: For All Dog Owners

Reality or the worst kind of cancer scam?

If your dog has cancer, you need hope balanced with reality in order to make the best cancer treatment choice; chemo, surgery, energy, or herbal…

July 30, 2018

Barbara "BJ" Andrews, Editor-In-Chief, SAAB

If you or someone you love (including your family pet) has cancer, you are looking for help and hope. We are dog owners too so we won’t mislead you by internet click-bait hinting at a cure for cancer. You will find facts here but sadly, they do not include any documented cancer cures. Even so, information is power (and comfort) so keep reading.

Foot, nail and mouth cancers are among the most deadly because such malignancies are among the last to be noticed. Take note of that and check your dog regularly.

April 2018 www.cancer.gov reported “an estimated 1,735,350 new cases of cancer” which validates this ominous prediction that “new cancer cases will rise to 22 million within the next two decades.”  Arguably, the good news is “The number of cancer survivors is expected to increase to 20.3 million by 2026.” That is because there have been advances in care for cancer victims even as the cancer rate goes up.

So, where does that leave your dog? What about that cancer vaccine you heard about?

Oncology veterinarian Robyn Elmslie DVM, DACVIM recently reported “In 2007, Merial released their melanoma vaccine (Oncept) for the prevention of spread of melanoma to the lungs and lymph nodes in dogs with stage 2 and stage 3 melanoma…” It turns out that the immune response also caused “an attack against the dogs own skin cells (melanocytes)" but depigmentation is no big deal in dogs. So what is the actual survival rate after the cancer vaccine? “Administration of the Oncept® vaccine results in a median survival time of approximately 1.5 years…” To most dog owners that sounds good and it is. However it should be noted that dogs with even “microscopic disease" when vaccinated have a shorter survival time, about a year.

TheDogPress.com is about NEWS. This is the part that’s critical to what can become bad news about your best friend – or yourself. See the photo and check your own mouth as well as your dog's mouth. Deadly melanoma often develops in the mouth or the nail bed where it isn’t noticed until it spreads into lymph nodes and lungs. Surgery can be done to remove the tumor itself but that does not stop the spread of cancer cells throughout the body.

As for the cancer vaccine, USDA approved the canine melanoma vaccine nearly a decade ago but as of 2018 there has been no reduction in any form of canine cancer.  From “melanoma cancer vaccines” to “xenogeneic DNA vaccination” and other tantalizing ways to prevent something your dog is statistically unlikely to develop, the veterinary universities and cancer research labs have generated $billions in donations, grants, and federal funding.

There are however many health precautions, immune system boosters, and dietary protocols that can appreciably reduce the odds of you or your dog ever getting cancer.

CANCER DIAGNOSIS:

How often do you actually NOTICE your dog’s toenails? If you show your dog, you grind or clip his nail regularly but look closely for any suspicious changes in each toenail. If you have him groomed, put the groomer on notice.  And what about your own well-kept nails? Do you actually LOOK at your nails while applying polish? When having your nails done professionally does the manicurist check the nail-bed when working on the cuticle? Do they even know what to look for?

CANCER SYMPTOMS:

Do you note gradual changes in your pet’s behavior or health? Is there appetite decline, weight loss, difficulty breathing or going potty? Is there a sore place that doesn’t heal? Does your dog have an unfamiliar or unpleasant odor? Has he shown stiffness, lameness, or changes in the way he moves and you just attributed to getting older? If he were to develop cancer is there anything you can do to ease his suffering and prolong your pet’s life? Read on.

Dr. Elmslie had this to say about the difference between FDA and USDA as regards approval for a cancer vaccine or treatment. Note this was several years ago but not much has changed.

“Though several clinical trials have been performed, culminating in the USDA granting liscensure for the canine melanoma vaccine in 2010… what has been missing thus far is properly performed randomized clinical trials, which are considered the gold standard studies to prove that a treatment or vaccine is effective. These studies are required by the FDA prior to approval of drugs or vaccines.^{{Ref 1 Melanoma}}

USDA (that's who approved the canine melanoma vaccine) does not have the same requirement as FDA so the Merial vaccine was approved based on less convincing trial data. One might assume that "clinical trials" in veterinary vaccines are more about no evidence (lawsuits) of failure than about documenting success rates.

CANINE CANCER VACCINE:

The news went quiet until Dec. 2016 when the promotion began again. Referring to the cancer vaccine, Dr. Skorupski said it was “…the first veterinary cancer vaccine targeted (to) melanoma”, and “…and more than 500 dogs have been enrolled in that trial…"  He proclaimed “VetiVax is a personalized cancer immunotherapy…”

Cancer is either costly or profitable, depending on whether you are paying or collecting. “National expenditures for cancer care in the United States totaled nearly $125 billion in 2010 and could reach $156 billion in 2020.”^{{Ref 2 Cancer Stats}}

As of July 2018 an internet search produced nothing claiming the canine cancer vaccine had cured or even postponed death. The conclusion is inescapable. The canine cancer vaccine has had disappointing results. I wish we could say otherwise but the instant information for ii NetPlaces Network is not into “marketing” anything. The network is known for authentic, annotated, reliable information for dog breeders and pet owners.

When you’ve said the dreaded words “my dog has cancer” you can move forward to think clearly about how to best help him. The canine lifespan is so short that it is imperative to avoid harmful treatment that could further shorten precious time with a beloved pet. The goal is to provide appropriate treatment that may prolong a happy and more comfortable life for your dog.

Two factors in an animal’s favor is that herbal, dietary, medication, and other supportive treatments tend to work better because your dog doesn’t have risk factors such as smoking, drug or alcohol abuse. Also in his favor, you can control lifestyle changes that might be difficult for a human to accept. Take away that plastic bone and but your dog will love you anyway.  Give him a real, raw beef bone and he will love you more!

TheDogPress.com staff and our Science and Advisory Board (SAAB), which includes internationally respected veterinarians, all know that devoted owners suffer more than the dog. You and your veterinarian can make him reasonably comfortable and exploring various Herbs and Ayurveda Medicine and dietary protocol can often delay his demise and make your pet or human friend more comfortable.

offsite opens in window {Ref 1} Melanoma Dog Vaccine Controversy  ~  {Ref 2} Understanding Cancer Statistics

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