The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity

Made Decision Easier
My overwhelming grief when I got the news was clouding my decision making ability when I needed it the most: Chemo or no chemo?It didn’t take much reading at all to learn that CHOP Protacol is a good thing; the right choice, most of the time.Chemo isn’t always cruel and ugly.My dog had 1-2 months; now she may have a year.And she is happy, not sad, that my decision, much more informed thanks to this wonderful book, gives her more time.More time to be with me, and I with her.My grief is never too far from the surface, yet deeply embedded within my heart.This book, which I refer to when I am sad, not when I want to be sad, lifts my spirits like no one can.The best medicine for Indio, besides the chemo, is my strength.The strength to smile when we look into each others eyes, when it’s easier for me to cry.My mask musn’t be transparent; she lives to make me happy, and I can’t let her down.It takes a very good book to pull this off. To fool her; to trick her. To not let her know that anything is making me sad, in pain.For what could be worse than our best friend having cancer must be our best friend with cancer being sad because we are sad.What a shameful way to spend our only counted days together; the last days we will ever share together.This book just does it all. The professional knowledge about cancer and chemo; and the vast array of insights, and some words of encouragement we need for the emotional roller-coaster that we must endure until, and long after, that day is here.That day that has been on our mind no matter what: rain or shine, happy or sad, sick or well. The day that has cast an ugly gloom on the sunniest summers day. Like a filth that you can’t shower away, or a pungent odor that is stuck in your nose, that you must breath in always, no matter what.The day you always wondered how you would handle, and what life would be like afterwards.The grief will be suffocating, nauseating, overwhelming.But that day must come, for it is written in stone.And we must handle it. For our life will go on, when theirs is done.But then we can cry, and we won’t need to hide it, anymore.We can cry as the dagger pierces our heart, and the pain, that we have known for so long, can freely, finally, flow away.And the scar that is left, the memory that is fresh, will ever so slowly become but a tender thought; a passing whisper of something too familiar, a part of our past that we must allow to be, because we can’t say goodbye, that one more time.This is what I’m going through, and I’m having a real tough time.These thoughts and feelings, will be a part of, controlling, me for a year or so.And I wouldn’t be handling it without this book. It takes the bite, the razor sharp edge, the pain and fear, from my foremost mental function, and puts it on a pillow in my back bedroom.I can avoid it for awhile, but from time to time, I must use that room.And rest my head right on that pillow: confront it, talk to it. The thing I don’t like. The thing that wants to control my life.But I can come and go to and from that room when I must, when I can.When I have the time.

A Must Have Guide for All Dog Guardians
When our darling 5-year old dog was diagnosed with bone cancer and given 2 months to live, I frantically started searching for information and help on line, in addition to getting an appointment with a veterinarian oncologist, of course. When I found The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, I purchased it immediately, hoping that I find helpful information and guidance in these hard times for our family and our beloved girl. I then purchased another copy for our daughter who is 3,000 miles away, to help with our decision-making process. All my hopes materialized and then some. We were all confused, overwhelmed with grief,stopped sleeping at night…all the symptoms dog guardians exhibit as Dr. Dressler described in the book, we have experienced. First and foremost, the book helped us tremendously to get a hold of our emotions and focus on helping the dog! It assisted us with putting structure and guidance into our new paradigm of making significant decisions quickly while realizing that our decisions will affect her life and longevity. We also downloaded the Dog Cancer Diet and started cooking food for her and our other dog. We have proceeded with amputating her hind leg with the tumor and she is doing very well as a tripawd. She is starting chemotherapy as well.While we all make choices that fit our personal situation and there is no one-fit-all prescription, the Dog Cancer Survival Guide helped us make our decisions for our dog and assisted tremendously with improving her quality of life. We also purchased the supplements recommended in the book and saw improvements in her mood, mobility, and playfulness within a short period of time. Only time will tell how long our girl will live but thanks to Dr. Dressler’s book, she is alive and well at the moment. Also, thanks to the book, we have a piece of mind knowing that we are doing the best we can for her.This book not only taught us to deal with our dog’s cancer situation, it is a book for all dog guardians to keep on their shelves to help make simple changes and take precautions to prevent cancer in their other dogs, now and in the future. The book is well organized, easy to navigate, and responsibly written to remind us that it’s not a substitute for a vet advice, even though it is written by a vet.Highly recommend!

My dog has just been diagnosed as having cancer and this book is so helpful in approaching the subject and what to do for and with your dog. Apart from the information in the book the main message I got was to be bright and loving to your pet to help her or him through its most awful time. Dogs are very sensitive to moods in their fur parents and react in similar ways. I notice when I am purposedly chirpy and petting her she responds at the moment with a wildly wagging tail and appears to be happy. It does help to prepare for the inevitable end for a beloved pet even though it will be terribly distressing when the time comes. I don’t know when that time is but right now I try to relieve her life and make it the best I can.

My weimaraner was diagnosed with an aggressive form of T-cell Lymphoma (lymphosarcoma) on Dec 11 2014 by the University of Guelph Veterinary Cancer Clinic, and his prognosis was made worse because he also has hypercalcemia (due to the cancer). I knew that I didn’t want to put him through chemo for a number of reasons. (Minimum of $5000 for the possibility of giving him 6-9 months, and having to drive him weekly to another city on and off for 23 weeks, and half the dogs don’t make it to 6 months despite what you’ve just put them through.) They said “If you do nothing, he won’t survive two weeks. If you can’t afford chemo, you can put him on prednisone and that might give him 1 or 2 months”. It’s very off putting to word it that way. I chose not to put him on chemo for a variety of reasons – none of them monetary. Why would I put a dog I love through that when it won’t cure him? They say that chemo doesn’t affect dogs like it does humans, but how on earth can they know that? The side effects of nausea, vomiting, hair loss are all the same, and many dogs will need extra hospital treatment because of the chemo. Leaving him there scared and alone regularly at the hospital was not an option.As much as I hate the thought of not having him around as long as possible, I knew that I’d be doing it for me – not him. My decision was to keep him as healthy as I can for as long as I can. I have to say that I’m disappointed in the mindset of the U of Guelph vet hospital. (A seemingly cutting edge institution in the middle of huge renovations while I was there.) I asked if they offer any other complementary or alternative therapies the blankly stared at me and said no. How can they not know about and suggest any other alternatives? Like this one I stumbled on last week by another university,http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/compound-derived-mushroom-lengthens-survival-time-dogs-cancer-penn-vet-study-findsAnyway, back to the book. After doing some research I found this book online and order it on Jan 30th and received it January 31st. (I was amazed by how fast I got it. It arrived in one day – New Year’s Eve!) And it’s been a godsend. I had already found Dr. Dressler’s cancer diet as a pdf online a few weeks earlier so had already been implementing that, but decided I wanted the rest of the book as well. It’s full of great information about food, and supplements, what to spend your money on and what not to, and why. And although it refers to traditional cancer treatments (chemo) it doesn’t expect or assume that you’re doing chemo. He seems pretty unbiased in that regard. It has given me a lot of useful information, which I’ll use when getting my next dog and how to help it live as long as I possibly can.I highly recommend this book if you want to extend your dog’s life. But be forewarned that following the diet and supplement regime is still a financial undertaking and a LOT of work. No longer can you just throw some kibble in the dog dish and walk away. Lol! Supplements aren’t cheap, and neither is all the meat you’ll have to buy for the high protein low carb diet.I was also able to find a holistic vet nearby which we went to last week. It’s been great to have that support as well. (I have no problem with my regular vet, but his solution to a discovery of cancer was to send us away. I knew that he wouldn’t be of much use and have not been back since.) Anyway, it’s been nice to have the support of this holistic vet (previously a conventional vet) and she has him on some additional Chinese herbs.Anyway, my weimaraner turned 7 yesterday and actually seemed more energetic and happy than he has in months. He still loves his walks in the woods. I know the cancer is still there, but I’m sure the info in this book has helped me keep it at bay. The prednisone and/or cancer is taking a toll on his body though. He’s not nearly as muscular as he used to be, but honestly if you saw him today you’d never know he has terminal cancer or believe the oncology vet’s determination that he should be pretty much dead by now.