The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (72 page)

Whether you believe in a traditional religion or not, intercessory prayer is a direct request to a higher power to intercede in the situation and to help bring about a good outcome. After researching intercessory prayer, I am sort of intrigued with its potential as a cancer treatment.

One very important (and controversial) study published in the
British Medical Journal
particularly caught my attention. The study attempted to determine whether patients with bloodstream infections (sepsis) were helped by remote, intercessory prayer. In other words, were patients helped if people who did not know them and were not present prayed for their health and recovery?

In July of 2000, over three thousand (human) patients with sepsis were categorized into two groups: the intervention group, which was prayed for, and the control group, which was not. This was a blind, randomized study, which meant that the doctors, patients, and the people offering prayers did not know which patients were being prayed for, and which were not.

The prayer offered was for the well-being and full recovery of the intervention group. No prayers were offered for the control group.

The outcome of the study was that patients in the intervention group had statistically significant shorter hospital stays (although the difference was not large) and their fevers went away faster than those in the control group.

The other detail of that study is quite bizarre: the patients involved were hospitalized years earlier than the prayer was offered – between 1990 and 1996! In other words, intercessory prayer seemed to help the treatment group,
even though it was offered years later.
Plus, the lead scientist was a skeptic, who was actually trying to prove that prayer doesn’t work at all. After analyzing the results, however, the study authors concluded that intercessory prayer “should be considered for use in clinical practice.”

As you can imagine, this study received intense scrutiny and negative feedback from the academic community. Follow up reviews did not support or refute the effects, and the study’s methods were attacked. The fact that it was done in the first place was roundly criticized.

Not everyone prays, and not everyone is comfortable with thinking about prayer. Praying for a different outcome, when the event has already passed, may seem positively silly to most people. I am offering this information so that you can decide for yourself whether you want to pray for your dog. Asking others who pray to do so certainly can’t hurt. When your dog is coping with cancer, every little bit helps.

In addition to feeling pleasurable, massage has been shown, in humans, to elevate cancerfighting natural killer cells, increase circulation, reduce stress, ease constipation, lower blood pressure and relax stiff muscles. In fact, massage has been shown to be so beneficial for cancer patients, that a premier human cancer treatment center, SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York, has incorporated massage into its treatments. Their own trials have shown that massage decreases pain, nausea, depression, anxiety and fatigue by more than 50%. This is a great treatment to add to your Full Spectrum cancer care plan.

Some think massage is not appropriate for cancer patients, likely based on reports of bruising and muscle pain in healthy humans, following massage. Some humans are allergic to massage lubrications, and there have been reports of internal bleeding and dislodging of blood clots, which created blood flow issues. It is clear to me that these events are very rare and/or result from excessive force during massage.

“We found a toy called the Dog Brick which requires brain power, a good nose and not too much physical power and it’s a great interactive game for Daisy, we would hide cookies and she figured out where they were. Great toy for a dog who can’t move too much. She also loved her trips to the holistic vet too for ozone therapy, massage therapy, reiki, and all over energy healing. And lots and lots and lots of prayers. There were 100’s of people praying for Daisy every day. She had touched so many people throughout her life and truly was an amazing dog who had done so much and impacted so many dogs and people during her life.”

- Chris Shoulet, Bethesda, Maryland

The evidence points to massage as being beneficial in reducing cancer-related symptoms in people, and we can safely use it to help our dogs. Just don’t use deep and excessive force. The massage exercise on
page 29
is a good place to start. You can also get professional massage for your dog from a good massage therapist in your area (some even specialize in pet massage). General massage techniques like the lighter strokes in Swedish massage are useful and there are many other types of bodywork and massage therapy that focus on healing through light touch or energy. These have not been studied as much as regular massage; they are worth mentioning because, in humans, they can provide social support, ease loneliness and reduce stress levels.

“Exercise, play, massage, and prayer really helped all of us (dogs and people) to live with and through Casper’s year with lymphoma. Few doctors will go so far as to recommend these healing strategies, yet we know from ages past that they have worked for others. These therapies are at least as important as traditional chemotherapy in managing cancer in dogs.”

- Connie Hardy, Ames, Iowa

“I took Max with me everywhere I went. He came to the office and dazzled my clients with his charm and good looks. If I did errands, he came along and we went for short walks at each stop we made. We visited friends, meditated together, continued training on a low-intensity basis. I continued body work on him and did tons of praying and visualizing.”

- Judith A., Willingboro, New Jersey

The following techniques usually involve very light touch, so they can be used in conjunction with any other treatment.

• Tellington Touch or TTouch
  : Created by Linda Tellington-Jones, a horse trainer, to calm them down, TTouch creates changes in brain patterns by lightly drawing circles all over the body. It may sound strange, but something about the repetitive motions and the attention to all body parts (even the gums) seems to relax and calm animals, including dogs. TTouch has even been shown to be helpful for humans in a controlled study, which measured anxiety, pain, heart rate and blood pressure. In the treated group, both blood pressure and heart rate dropped significantly as a result of the treatment. At the very least, trying TTouch with your dog is an excellent way to be social and loving with each other.
  
• Acupressure
  : Acupressure uses finger pressure to manipulate and restore balance to the Chinese acupuncture energy meridians. Skilled acupressure therapists understand the Chinese medical model and are familiar with the points on the body, which Traditional Chinese Medicine uses to treat everything from asthma to cancer, and it may have some benefit for your dog.
  
• Reiki:
  Reiki is an energy therapy from Japan that involves the laying on of hands. As the patient rests, healing energy called Reiki (which translates to “universal life energy”), is transmitted through the therapist’s hands and into the body. Some patients feel tingling or warmth coming from the hands and most feel a deep peace and contentment throughout the session. Some dogs may respond to Reiki with enthusiasm, deeply relaxing and letting go of tension.
  
• Healing Touch:
  Nurses in human western medicine developed Healing Touch, also known as Therapeutic Touch, to counteract what some felt was the impersonal and clinical approach of modern medicine. According to practitioners, there are energetic fields within and outside of the body. These fields carry the imprint of illnesses, and impact the physical body; by working with the energy “bio-fields,” physical illness can be relieved. Recipients report that it is deeply relaxing and very restorative.