I have the pleasure of working with the lovely dogs at Monkey's House Senior Dog Hospice and Sanctuary. They come into rescue with many medical problems, which often includes cancer. Recently, a beautiful lab mix named Violet, came in for a dental cleaning and biopsy of a growth in her mouth. Sadly, the biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma, a rapidly growing aggressive tumor. Treatment recommendations by oncologists included hemi-mandibulectomy (removing half of the lower jaw), chemotherapy, and radiation, with no guarantees the cancer would not spread. Violet is otherwise a very healthy, happy girl.
Cancer is one of the most common reasons dogs and cats are brought to my clinics for alternative and holistic therapies. Many pet parents are not in favor of subjecting their beloved furkids to chemotherapy and radiation, with good reason. There are a few cancers that respond well (lymphoma has a pretty good response rate for some dogs and cats), but most will still take the life of the pet, no matter how much we fight back.
We decided to try a different approach with Violet's tumor. I've had a fairly good track record fighting cancers with an herbal preparation called Neoplasene. Neoplasene is made by Buck Mountain Herbs and is formulated using Bloodroot extract. It is used topically on sarcoids, carcinomas and other malignant or viral tissue. In the past I have seen mammary and skin tumors die and fall off within two weeks of treatment.
Generally the herbal salve is applied onto the diseased tissue, bandaged, and left in place for about twelve hours. The salve is then cleaned from the wound, replacing it with herbal Wound Balm salve to keep the tissue soft and bacteria-free. Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply the salve in the mouth and have it stay in place for twelve hours. Instead, Violet was placed under a light plane of general anesthesia. The salve was packed around the diseased tissue and left in place for thirty minutes. A glove was placed over the tongue and healthy tissues of the lower jaw to protect them from the salve. Bloodroot causes apoptosis, or bursting, of unhealthy cells, but can also be very irritating to other tissues.
Violet came through the procedure with flying colors. We will re-evaluate in one week to see how much tissue dies off. This will allow us to determine how many treatments may be necessary. Pain will be managed without the use of anti-inflammatory medications, as those might decrease the effectiveness of the treatment.
