I have done so much research in diet, genetics, environment and stress..........all playing their role in the trigger of this still horrid disease. We get cancers of the organs, lymph, bone and skin known as Mast Cells, grade 1, 2 or 3, and some other forms which may be less common. This all boils down to the same thing, once they have what do you do? There are just no sure cures for any of the cancers in animals, just as in people, but there are prevention's which we will discuss first and there are some options once it has been confirmed that cancer has been diagnosed which we will discuss secondly.

I tell everyone the same thing, cancer in dogs is no different than cancer in people, you never who or when and what type will strike. There can be genetic links to this, where other litter mates or parents, grand parents etc. may of died from it, or it may have never shown up until now. Diet, stress and environment will always play a larger role than genetics, but we must not bury our heads in the sand with breeding programs should a lot of cancer be surfacing in our breeding lines, and from my experience, especially with the mast cell cancer..

Good diets as close to all natural as possible should be fed to our dogs. This is a huge start to prevention as it keeps the immune system in tip top condition, and keeping dogs away from environmental pollutants and hazards are another. Is it the food, the water, vaccinations, genetics..........no one has these answers. The rest will depend on the animal, its state of mind and its immune system. Hopefully they will live healthy normal lives. With so much under topic such as diet, environment, water, vaccination programs, medication regimes, we have lots to question and point fingers at, but the bottom line is, what is to be, will be.

When an animal has been diagnosed with cancer, next comes the decision what to do and how to go about doing it. Skin cancers such as mast cell, depend on the grade, grade 1 being the easiest to survive and grade 3 the most aggressive. In my eyes all cancers are aggressive, and stress only makes it worse, which in our breed triggers the immune system to suppress and not work as well as it should. It must also decided whether the cancer is showing up in the primary site (the first place it has hit, such as an open sore that does not heal) or has it actually metastasized (in other parts of the body that we do not know about yet) and are we seeing it the its secondary site as it is spreading slowly throughout the body. Such difficult questions for any doctor or breeder to answer, to put our mind at ease that our animal will survive.

Your dog has been diagnosed with cancer. Skin cancer known as mast cell could be any sore that does not heal, any lump that comes up suddenly or any thickening in an area of the skin, there may only be one, or many lumps, and it should be removed if possible and as soon as possible. Stomach or intestinal cancers generally appear as a little vomiting at first, with some weight loss and then more vomiting as the weeks move on. Lymph cancer and other organ cancers generally hit very fast and come with a multitude of symptoms that you just know are out of the normal.

My advice is the same for all. I cannot tell anyone what to do or what to spend to try and save people + pets, but in all honesty, no matter how much money you spend, realistically, the outcome both financially and emotionally can be draining. Please read what I have researched and do what is most suited and comfortable for you.

Basically CANCER in the raw is a cellular tumor or many types of abnormal cellular growth. Malignant neoplasm's are also referred to as carcinomas, sarcomas or lymphomas, depending on cell type. Cancer usually enlarges rapidly, is not encapsulated (surrounded by a capsule) and appears to invade the surrounding site tissues. This way they spread via the blood stream and lymph system to other parts of the body thus being referred to as metastasizing and thus leads to a secondary site (which means the cancer has now parked itself in another part of the body as well as the first place it has appeared). Now a biopsy is performed and sent to a pathologist to determine if cancer and degree of malignancy. Several type of skin cancer affect dogs, sebaceous adenomas, which are usually in older dogs, light colored and less than an inch long, may resemble a cauliflower and may be ulcerated.

Mast cell cancer which is very popular in this breed, and are multinodular growths, open sores that do not heal and metastasize to distant organs. Very quick and aggressive and is also graded from 1-3. Squamous cell carcinoma is flat, hard gray also resembling a cauliflower sore that does not heal. Melanoma is a malignant neoplasm (a mass of new growing tissue) and is usually brown or black and often develops around a mole and spreads quickly. ALL FORMS OF SKIN CANCER SHOULD BE REMOVED IF POSSIBLE.

Intestinal adenocarinomas (stomach and intestinal cancers) are also quite common in this breed, and it is my experience that a dog with this type of cancer will start to vomit occasionally, the dog will still enjoy their diet, however you will start to notice the loss of body weight, as vomiting becomes more frequent, the breath may become foul and they start to go off their diet because they know they cannot keep it down.Lymphosarcoma is the supposedly most common cancer found in dogs and may take on the symptoms above plus there is also tumors involving the lymph system (especially behind jaw, groin area lump enlargements), which drain the intestinal area.

There are other forms of cancer but I have just touched on a couple of common ones, and tried to explain them in easy to understand terminology. With the alarming rise in cancer in people and pets my recommendations are as follows. PREVENTION: As close to all natural diet as possible, with inclusion of fruits and veggies especially broccoli heads. This will keep the immune system in top condition.

THERE IS NO CURE BUT MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANCER and WHAT I WOULD TRY:

When diagnosed with this, I strongly urge the pet owner to first put the pet on all natural food diet, 1000 mg of vitamin C, 180 mg CQ10, lots of broccoli heads, black raspberries and garlic cloves 1-2 day and any of the above I have mentioned should you feel it may help, as education and research on ones own can turn up amazing things. Keeping free from stress and in a calm loving home with family members and familiar surroundings, after all you have nothing to loose and everything to gain even if it is only a couple of more years.

My best advice is to follow what you feel to be the most comfortable advice for you and your pet, consult with others, healers, naturopaths, doctors and make sound decisions based on that. An early fast diagnosis and quick response can be made once you are AWARE of symptoms. Always check you pet over weekly, and be on the lookout for abnormal activities or things on you and your dogs body.