The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (61 page)

Under 10 lbs
.: ½ g powder, (just under half of a ¼ teaspoon) per day, mixed into food once daily

10.1-35 lbs
.: 1 g per day, (just under ¼ teaspoon) mixed into food once daily

35.1-60 lbs
.: 2 g per day, (just under a ½ teaspoon) mixed into food once daily

60 lbs. and over
: 4 g per day, (just under a teaspoon) mixed into food twice daily

Modified citrus pectin is a food product, included in many common foods, so side effects are very rare; even so, any dietary supplement or change in food can trigger upset stomach (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea).

Doxycycline is a well-known antibiotic, which is why some vets scratch their heads when guardians mention it as a cancer treatment. It has been the subject of several cancer studies over the last decade. In addition to helping the immune system fight infections, doxycycline has been shown to block the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). These enzymes are used by cancer cells to break down normal body tissue and make room for growth, so limiting their activity may help limit tumor growth. In fact, studies using mice show their tumors were reduced by about one-third when they were given doxycycline. Doxycycline has also been shown to help induce apoptosis in cancer cells.

Based on the available literature, doxycycline also may be most useful in helping to slow metastasis, particularly if there is bone involvement. Doxycycline can slow angiogenesis, which makes it harder for tumors to feed themselves or metastasize to distant locations.

There is an in vitro study, showing that doxycycline decreased sensitivity of breast cancer cells to chemotherapy, so be sure to discuss the pros and cons of its use with your veterinarian or oncologist. Doxycycline is a prescription drug, so you have to get it through your vet.

Doxycycline is a nice addition to your Full Spectrum cancer care plan, particularly if there is bone involvement.

HOW TO GIVE DOXYCYCLINE

To give doxycycline as a cancer treatment, give 5 mg per kilogram of body weight, which is roughly 25 mg per 10 pounds of body weight, daily. I recommend giving it with food, to avoid stomach upset.

Using any antibiotic for a long period of time can cause complications later, because while it does kill bad bacteria, survivors can breed more germs resistant to the drug. For this reason, I suggest using doxycycline for no longer than two weeks at a time, with at least two weeks as a break in between cycles.

The most common side effect is digestive upset (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), especially when given on an empty stomach. See
page 140
for detailed instructions on managing these side effects.

If your dog is on antacids, including Pepto Bismol, famotidine or cimetidine, do not give them at the same time as doxycycline, because they may decrease its absorption. Give doxycycline at least two hours before or after antacids.

Calcium can block the absorption of doxycycline, so I recommend avoiding cottage cheese, bones, calcium supplements or any other calcium-rich food when giving doxycycline.

Never give doxycycline to nursing or pregnant dogs. It can retard the development of the fetus’ skeleton, and can be passed in the mother’s milk. Young dogs given doxycycline sometimes experience yellowed teeth.

W
hen cancer strikes, it can bring with it weight loss, muscle weakness and depression, all of which can lower your dog’s quality of life. Luckily, there is a cancer treatment that can help improve all of these factors: eating good food.

Most dogs like food, and many crave a good diet – what I call a Wild Diet – as much as they crave sunshine and a walk outside. A good cancer diet, like the one described in this chapter, can accomplish several important tasks:

• Feed your dog’s healthy cells foods dense with nutrition to keep them strong.
  
• Help restore weight and muscle mass.
  
• Eliminate foods that do not help your dog – or worse, may help the cancer.
  

In
Chapter 8
we enumerated some of the carcinogens found in some commercially prepared dog foods, but carcinogens aren’t the only problem. For example, protein that has been processed loses some bioavailability in the body. The bioavailability of key minerals, such as iron, zinc and calcium, is also significantly affected by the levels of fiber, phytic acid and tannin in foods. These substances can be reduced or altered by milling, fermentation, germination, extrusion and thermal (heat) processing. Vitamins, especially ascorbic acid, thiamin and folic acid, are also highly sensitive to some processing methods.

In this chapter, we’ll explore food a little bit more, including what to include in your dog’s diet, some important supplements that have not been fully discussed yet, how to switch your dog to his new diet, and my step-by-step approach to making a meal for a dog with cancer.

I have two pieces of good news for you. The first is that when you feed your dog according to this recipe, you are helping him immediately. The dog cancer diet is made up exclusively of foods that encourage healthy cells and discourage cancer growth.

The second piece of good news is that your dog is likely to love switching to this diet. It’s composed of human food, and most dogs like to eat tasty, lovingly prepared human food.

Let’s get a quick overview of what dogs used to eat in the wild, because this Wild Diet is the basis for our dog cancer diet.

A dog’s natural diet consists of protein, fat and some vegetables (usually not grains, like corn and wheat). We know this by looking at what dogs and their relatives eat in the wild.

Dogs and their wild cousins (wolves, coyotes, foxes, etc.) eat freshly killed animals, not highly processed kibble. They typically satisfy their wild cravings by hunting prey animals, like deer and rabbits. These prey animals feed on plants and grasses, which are naturally full of vitamins and minerals.

After the wolves take the prey down, their first target is the internal organs. These rich, meaty organs are filled with nutrients, derived from plant material. After devouring the organ meat, wolves tear into the flesh and bones as a second helping.

A dog with cancer often loses weight and becomes physically weak. Feeding him a good cancer diet, based on his wild cravings, may help counter some of those side effects.

In fact, according to human cancer research, including that done by Sir Richard Doll, a British epidemiologist (awarded Knighthood and several other honors for his work with cancer), about one third of cancers can be prevented just by improving the diet.

Some dog lovers believe that feeding their dogs only raw foods – raw meat, raw bones, raw vegetables – is closer to the healthy, “wild diet” I describe above.

I have no objection to a fresh, raw diet for healthy dogs with normal, non-cancerous body cells. After all, based on human studies, cooking food can create carcinogenic compounds, which could actually set the stage for cancer development (see
Chapter 8
).

Given this, it might seem logical to think that feeding raw – which reduces carcinogens – is good for a dog with cancer; it’s not that simple.

In general, dogs suffering from cancer have completely different body chemistry from healthy dogs. They have compromised immune systems, too, so – no matter how counter-intuitive this may sound to “raw foodies” – an all-raw diet is actually not good for dogs with cancer. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First of all, it is fairly difficult for us modern-day humans to replicate a fresh kill in our dog’s food bowl. Even the highest quality meats, veggies and fruits available in the supermarket, health food stores, and farmer’s markets are not as fresh as a deer that has just been brought down by the pack.

Let’s look at meat, for example. You probably have heard of microbes like E. coli (sometimes found in ground red meat). This and other microbes grow over time on the surface of just about any red meat, chicken, pork or fish product, even when it is sealed in plastic and then refrigerated for prolonged periods. The longer the time between killing the animal and eating it, the more likely these foods are to have large populations of surface microbes.