The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (142 page)

¹
Not their real names. Throughout this book I will use real stories from my veterinary practice to illustrate important concepts and ideas. To protect the privacy of my clients and ensure clarity, I combine circumstances and client stories and change names and identifying factors. There are a few exceptions, which I note in the text. Readers of the previous edition of
The Dog Cancer Survival Guide
have also submitted stories about their own dogs, and these stories are clearly marked as “True Tails.”

²
Traditionally, breed names are not capitalized unless there is a proper name (English bulldog, Labrador retriever, etc.). I am breaking this grammatical rule by capitalizing every breed name, because, one, the text flows better that way, and, two, I don’t want readers to think I am favoring some breeds over others.

³
U.S. News & World Reports.

⁴
It is clumsy to refer to dogs as he/she, so I alternate their genders throughout this book. I do the same when referring to veterinarians and other professionals.

⁵
Lassie is not her real name, but the details of her case are all true. Every case I write about in this chapter is an accurate description of what happened during the pilot trial, according to transcripts of interviews with the vets involved. I have only changed the dog names and a few identifying factors, for privacy reasons.

⁶
Knowing I’m from Hawaii, and seeing the name Aloha Medicinals, you may wonder if I have ever been connected with or a ever had financial interest in this company. The answer is no – it is pure coincidence. By the way, Aloha Medicinals is headquartered in Nevada.

⁷
All measurements are standard in the U.S.

⁸
There is evidence that large amounts of garlic (½ teaspoon per pound body weight) causes problems in the red blood cell of dogs. I am not concerned about this for the majority of dogs, because the amount of garlic in this recipe is extremely low compared to the amounts used in the study. However, if your dog has anemia, check with your veterinary professional before giving garlic.

9
The original University of Wisconsin CHOP protocol also included L-asparaginase (Elspar) in the induction (beginning) phase of the protocol. However, a follow-up study found that including this agent did not affect response or survival rates. For this reason, some oncologists do not use Elspar. Personally, I think Elspar can be a good choice because, in my experience, it works well for most dogs with few side effects. I do not use it for every dog, and always decide whether to include Elspar (and any other drug) on a case-by-case basis. Even if I do not include Elspar at induction, I consider using it at relapse.