Animed Anti-Cancer Plan
This page has been written to offer help and advice for when your pet has been diagnosed with cancer or you might have found a tumour on your cat or dog which you are suspicious of. Cancer is one of the most feared conditions that affects us and our pets, but what is less well-known is that it is also one of the most treatable conditions that we are involved with.
Surgical excision of tumours is the preferred method of treatment in most instances, and we recommend that all tumours are sent for histopathology so that we can give an accurate diagnosis and therefore prognosis. Having said this, there are things which can be done no matter what type of growth the pet is diagnosed with, which will improve the chances of a complete cure and greatly improve your cat or dog's quality of life and postoperative recovery. The following information is relevant whether or not your pet is receiving chemotherapy.
Weight reduction
Pets that are 20% or more above their ideal bodyweight are 50% more at risk from recurrence of tumours, and overweight pets are more likely to be affected with certain types of cancer in the first place. Anaesthesia of overweight pets presents increased risks due to pressure on the heart and lungs, not to mention the fact that it makes the operation itself more difficult! If your pet is still overweight, we can work out a simple, safe and effective plan to help your pet to reach target weight in a healthy way. It is very important not to just reduce the amount of the normal diet given, since this may lead to nutritional deficiencies, decreasing your pet's resistance to the cancer.
Change of diet
It has been known for a long time in both humans and animals that cancer feeds on sugar. Therefore it is very important to avoid certain carbohydrates. My recommendation is to eliminate rice, wheat and other cereals, pasta, bread and sugar-containing treats (which I hope clients are not giving anyway!) This means that a standard dog or cat food diet may not be the most suitable for your pet at this time. If you are in any doubt with regard to the carbohydrate content of your pet's diet, the ingredients will be listed on the bag or can, usually with the greatest first.
Please ask if you are in any doubt at all. If cereal is the first on the list, this food will be unsuitable. It has also been very recently shown that some cooked starchy foods contain carcinogens. I therefore recommend that the diet is changed to avoid any risk, or aggravation of the existing condition.
Certain amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) have anti cancer properties. Arginine is the one which research has shown to be most effective. Prescription diets rich in arginine are available. Please ask for details.
Antioxidants and phytochemicals are currently receiving much media attention, and rightly so. The importance of these elements in the cancer patient's diet cannot be overemphasised. Antioxidants neutralise and27 March, 2006 are known to cause and perpetuate certain types of cancer. Many commercial feeds have added antioxidants, but it is better that your pet obtains these from fresh raw vegetables, because they will be in a natural form which the body can recognise. Many phytochemicals are also present in fresh raw vegetables. Phytochemicals are substances found in plants which have huge health benefits for animals and people. So far about 12,000 have been isolated, so it is impossible to get them all from a pill unless the pills themselves have been made from fresh raw plants which have not been heated during processing. The best vegetables to feed are raw broccoli, spinach, garlic, kale, courgette, tomatoes and cabbage. Root vegetables such as swede, turnip, parsnip and carrot, although a valuable source of antioxidants, are high in sugar so are not initially recommended. The raw vegetables should replace the carbohydrate in the diet for maximum benefit.