# 11 m/o oral squamous cell carcinoma



## isabellajune_ (Jan 23, 2018)

hello all!
6 months ago (my then 5 month old) puppy Ziggy was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma of his maxilla. at that time we had the mass removed and of course cytology, although now there is a small node that has grown (much smaller and much less uncomfortable for him than the last). we have weighed the pros/cons of surgery and chemo- and of course the finances involved for such treatment- and my family has decided to let it run its course and keep him happy and comfy as long as possible. this decision was also made in part by loosing another golden to cancer, chemo and surgery was done and they found the quality of life for that dear pup was not worth it. we don't want that fate for our baby Ziggy. He is doing great and has zero issues so far (aside from also having a mild heart murmur)...

ANYWAY my question is:
does anyone have experience with holistic management with their pup and cancer (preferably cases that involve the same type?

i currently give him fish oil supplements and that seems to reduce inflammation and slow the growth of his mass. but I'm looking into tumeric, supplements, foods, cannabis based therapy, acupuncture... literally everything and ANYTHING to help and do justice by him while maintaining his happy-go-lucky view of life. 

it is very sad and rough at times, but at the end of the day i'm happy we know and we try to give him the best pup life possible, sometimes unfortunate things happen for a reason and as heartbreaking as it is i am happy i'm able to share my life with him, no matter how short it may be at the end. thank you all in advance for any advice/words of wisdom you may bring.

also here's a picture of my boy... because who doesn't love golden pup pictures?!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

He is a gorgeous boy. I am so sorry he has been dealt such a terrible hand, it's just not fair when they are so young.

I don't have any suggestions, but I'm sure others will have some for you, we have a vast amount of experience among the board members here.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

What a sweetie face picture! I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. I don't have any experience or advice but I think you will hear from some who do. He's lucky to have a family who will make his life a happy one for however long they can. I admire your attitude. Best wishes.


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

The Canine herbalist I follow is offering a natural cancer support course that starts in Feb. 
I posted the link in the product recommendation section. 
Something you might be interested in.


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## Red Dogs (Jul 11, 2013)

Just thought I would chime in here for you. My girl Tessa was diagnosed with subcutaneous lymphoma in Oct 2016 at the age of 10 1/2, it's not the same as your Ziggy but it did start out as an oral cancer. Because of her age we decided not to do the chemo end of it, but the oncologist started her on Accutane which is a medication given for severe acne in people. It worked wonders, it totally cleared up the growth on her lip and the inside of her tongue it is not expensive we went to Costco to have it filled. Your Ziggy would be a prime candidate for chemo because of his age, but I do get the expense end of it we have always had pet insurance and it covered all of Tessa's treatments. I would suggest you ask your vet about the Accutance it might be a good option. Tessa never did pass from lymphoma it spread to her liver but we enjoyed an additional 10 months with her. 
I wish you all the best.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

I am so sorry to read the diagnosis you have received for your pup. :crying:

A ketogenic diet in addition to supplements may help to halt and even reverse the cancer. I would recommend that you contact Ketopet Sanctuary ( they have done some remarkable work in canine cancer) to see what they recommend. 

You may also want to consider a consult with a homeopathic DVM. I don't know where you are located, however you may find someone in your area here:
Referrals | Pitcairn Education Programs 
Many homeopathic DVMs will practice via telephone consults. 

Best of luck in fighting this horrible disease....hugs coming your way!


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## yogagirl (Jan 16, 2017)

First, I am so sorry about the diagnosis of your beautiful pup. While I don't have experience with this exact type of cancer, we lost our 12 1/2 year old golden, Bentley, to a brain tumor and adrenal gland tumor. When we received the diagnosis, we opted not to do chemo, radiation or surgery based on the complexity of both tumors and his age. Instead, we gave him the lowest dose of Prednisone and an anti-seizure medicine. We also took him to a holistic vet here in Chicago who recommended a home cooked diet which included reishi mushroom powder, supplements and golden paste (homemade with turmeric). I also applied essential oils topically. We were going to do acupuncture but since it could potentially trigger a seizure, we opted not to do it given his brain tumor. He responded quite well to the approach and had a quality of life for eight months until we lost him.

Wishing you and your pup all the best.

Take care.


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## Neeko13 (Jul 10, 2010)

I'm sorry you are going through this with your pup...Ziggy is a beauty...I'm hoping you get a couple of Wonder ful years of good life w your buddy....good luck....


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## Golden9 (Jun 13, 2016)

So sorry your pup Ziggy is going thru this so young.

We have dealt with cancer both in Goldens and cats thru the years. We found after spending thousands at conventional vets, they were not much help, and could make things worst, so we came to learn to do most our own research and learn from others, find holistic veterinarians, true health cancer experts, as there is so much to learn to both prevent and to treat cancer.
The best help we received was from pet cancer researcher at *LongLivingPets * .com
Sign up for the forum to get some help.
LongLivingPets works for donations only, so always make a good donation that you can afford, as this is so amazing to get so much help with pet cancer.
The holistic treatments are much more affordable then chemical chemo pesticide or radiation. The conventional veterinarians receive big commissions for selling chemo pesticide so they will try to force you to buy it or tell you you don't care about your pets, this is just a sales pitch, as chemo pesticide is the worst thing you can do if you love your pets or family.
Chemo ruins the immune system. One needs to make the immune system more healthy to fight cancer and survive. 
Most amazing help with Laetrile treatment, vitamin B17 in raw apricot seeds.
We found them at ApricotPower .com and there are several online places to get them.
Or you can buy the B17 capsules at apricot power

I now teach my Goldens to love to eat raw apricot seeds each month to help prevent any cancer and eat them myself.

Also more recently you can sign up at TheTruthAboutCancer .com to see the video documentary *The Truth About Pet Cancer,* a must see for anyone with pets.
This video series will show you all the things to avoid, and what to do.
Holistic diet, No carbs, no wheat, no sugar, no grains and absolutely NO pet kibble and no pet can food. Canned food is cooked in very high heat so it kills all the nutrients.
Dry pet kibble is so overly processed that the nutrients are dead.
Real food, organic whole eggs, plain Kefir, frozen or fresh green beans, organic organ meat, etc

Very helpful is to sign up at VitalAnimal .com for Dr Will Falconer he is the most honest veterinarian I have met. He has an amazing website about true pet health.
There are a few holistic vets around the USA that have trained under Dr Will Falconer.
Sign up for his weekly enewsletter to keep up with the amazing true pet health tips.

Another holistic vet who has trained holistic vets around the USA is DrPitcairn .com

HolisticAnimalMedicines .com has some great treatments available.

DrLeonardColdwell .com is an absolute expert on preventing and treating cancer in both pets and people.

EarthClinic is another great place for true health info for pets 

Mercola .com click on Pets for the health pet info.

DogsNaturallyMagazine .com has an actual magazine and a digital magazine, with some very informative articles

My holistic vets both local and long distance, will teach you to avoid vaccines and use nosodes as the safe alternative to vaccines.

Goldens are super sensitive dogs and cannot tolerate vaccines as vaccines contain mercury, cancer cells and numerous chemicals that cause cancer. 
Only honest true vets have shared this with me.

My friend waited over a year to buy a non vaccinated Golden puppy from 4 generations of non vaccinated goldens.

He is so happy to have such a healthy Golden. He has transformed his Goldens lives to holistic food, no vaccines, nosodes as alternatives to vaccines,
no chemo pesticides, no cleaning chemicals in the house or yard, and is constantly learning safe healthy natural alternatives for everything.

It seems like a lot, but everyone with pets needs to start learning. 
Very easy, learn safe alternatives instead of chemicals which cause cancer.

I did everything wrong thru the years and it cost me a fortune in vet bills back then. I have learned so much with the help from the above sites, holistic veterinarians, and so many others who are on a mission to share true health for pets and people.

I only go to a conventional veterinarian for an emergency. 

This is a tough time for you, but start learning and you will find a way to start dealing with this cancer in your Golden pup.
Start with the websites above and learn. Start with signing up with LongLivingPets and go from there, as that will provide support to get you started with saving your Golden's life.

KetoPetSanctuary in Austin has cancer therapy help for pets as they adopt pets with life threatening cancers, and either save them from cancer, or lengthen their lives and improve their health using the Keto Diet for Dogs. 

Keep us posted on Ziggy. Our thoughts are with you as you have so much to learn, but it is possible to survive cancer and some even learn so much about natural health, that they eventually can thrive after cancer.


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