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The best resource we can recommend is the book by Laurie Kaplan:  Help Your Dog Fight Cancer.  Laurie’s dog, Bullet, was diagnosed with lymphoma several years ago and she quickly searched for resources to help her figure out what to do.  There wasn’t much out there at the time.  Her vets encouraged her to write a book about her experience and her research (she was a professional writer already), and the vets contributed a good deal of information in the book. 

What’s nice about Laurie’s book is that she tells you what she did to help Bullet, but also tells you what other options are out there, the types of drugs commonly used, and options for nutritional supplements.  She provides an incredible list of references at the back of the book.  Bullet lived several years in remission and died of other causes at the age of 14.  In our opinion, her book is a must read and the associated website provides information that is very useful:  http://www.helpyourdogfightcancer.com/

Veterinary schools throughout the country have very useful websites, many with online libraries covering a wide variety of topics.  Texas A&M University vet school’s article: Cancer and Your Pets can be found online at: http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/news/PetTalk/PetCancer.html.  The “Pet Talk” link on this site offers other great articles about nutrition, behavior, medical treatments, and other topics.

A great website for information about pet food and an analysis of the ingredients is:  http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

The Veterinary Cancer Society (VCS) has information about clinical trials, including a page of “cancer links” with websites of many great resources about how to keep your pet healthy, information on different types of cancer, and finding a specialist in your area.  The VCS website is: http://www.vetcancersociety.org/

Local Resources

Jack’s local vets at Sierra Vet Hospital have provided invaluable advice.  Drs. Schneider, Rinehimer, and Skogerson have been incredibly helpful and very patient with our never-ending questions and regular vet visits.   We strongly encourage finding a good, accredited vet hospital where at least some of your pet’s chemo treatments can be done locally.

The Small Animal Clinic and Oncology Department at the University of California, Davis, is our home-away-from-home.  You can read all about them on their website: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/. 

Integrative veterinary medicine has been a blessing for Jack, with a holistic approach to his overall health while going through chemotherapy.  Dr. Signe Beebe at the Integrative Veterinary Specialists in Sacramento has provided outstanding nutritional, herbal, and other beneficial advice.  Her website is: http://integrativeveterinarycenter.com.

Nutritional advice is very important for pets with cancer (and any pet with health challenges).  We are lucky to have two great options in our area.  In Reno, we rely on the advice of the folks at Scraps Dog Company & General Store:  www.scrapsdogcompany.com.  

Initial Lifestyle Changes

When Jack was diagnosed, there were four things we did immediately in addition to making vet appointments to consider our treatment options.  These were simple lifestyle changes that we made based on quick research – things that were recommended in several places and were easy to accomplish:

1.  We loosened Jack’s collar and bought him a harness.  It made sense that swollen lymph nodes in a dog’s neck don’t need to be annoyed or constricted with a tight collar.  Because the size of his lymph nodes quickly shrunk on prednisone, we are able to continue to use his collar at the looser setting and agreed that all walks will be “loose leash” with no pulling or tugging on his neck.  Jack and Jenny both wear Silverfoot collars and like them very much.  They are soft nylon, easy to adjust, and have the plastic buckle that keeps them secure.  If and when his lymph nodes swell again, we have the harness ready.

2.  We put him on a low-carb diet.  Several resources and vets talked about the need for a low-carb diet for any dog with cancer, and although the food he was on already was grain-free, the main ingredient was still potato and so the carbs were pretty high.  I was told our “target” amount of carbs was about 20%.  A lot of dog foods will indicate the amount of protein, fat, fiber and moisture, but many do not mention the amount of carbs.  You can call or e-mail the manufacturer to find out.  When we did that, we found out the kibble he was eating was about 43% carbs – WAY too high, so we switched foods.  There are a lot of very high quality, no-grain, low-carb foods available at specialty (mostly local) pet food stores.  Locally, we shop at Scraps or Sierra le Bone.  Specialty pet food stores can offer individualized nutrition advice that you don’t get at the bigger chain stores.

After consultation with Dr. Beebe in Sacramento, Jack was put on a diet of primarily Honest Kitchen dehydrated foods (Embark and Preference), supplemented with Evo canned food in which we put his medications.  He loves it and has done incredibly well on this diet, and to our surprise, Jenny loves it too!  She has always been a picky eater, but she loves the Honest Kitchen food.

3.  We switched to only filtered water.  No more tap water for Jack.  This doesn’t mean he’s drinking Ethos from Starbucks, but he only gets filtered water from our Brita pitcher in the refrigerator.  When we travel, we take a jug with us (and yes, if we run out, we’ve been known to buy a bottle of Ethos to fill the travel bowl…)

4.  We raised Jack's food and water bowls so they are easier to reach without having to eat at floor level.  There are expensive, beautiful raised feeders available at various heights, but we bought a couple of wire shelves (roughtly 6 inches high) at Bed, Bath and Beyond that are made for adding shelf space to your cupboards.  Non-slip shelf lining on top of the shelves makes a very functional and inexpensive "table for one."