Feeding For Cancer/colitis

[violetmay]

Hi Everyone

My maltese Scruffy is having his spleen (and 8cm attached tumour) removed on Friday. He had an ultrasound that revealed there are no more tumours. He was diagnosed last Friday on a routine trip to the vets for a catrophen injection. Ultrasound was Monday.

My problem is feeding him.

He also has colitis. The colitis became aparrent while waiting for the Friday vet appointment - has a bout of diarrhea right at the floor on the vets (prior to this he seemed OK). They took a sample and said it was colitis. Vet has said that he has to eat chicken/rice/cottage cheese until the colitis is better. He has also been given antibiotics for this problem.

The tumour seems to be limiting his ability to eat. He wont eat rice/cottage cheese at all, and it's only bits of cooked chicken that he is eating now (several times a day).

The chronic diarrhea (almost incontinence) that plagued him over the weekend is gone and he hasn't pooed in about 48 hours. I know on Monday when he had his ultrasound, they said his colon was totally free of any excrement, so maybe it is going to take a while to build up again (considering he is only eating small morsels of cooked chicken).

I've been googling about cancer and dogs, and many people are saying that putting them on an anti-cancer diet (basically grain free) will help.

So is feeding him only chicken is the best choice right now? We just need to make it to Friday without his spleen bursting.

Afterwards do people with dogs that have had cancer keep them on protein only food? He's always been prone to bumps on his skin and has already had a few operations to have lumps and bumps removed, this is his first internal bump though.

But with the colitis (and general emptiness of the bowel) should I be trying to give him some rice to have something in there atleast?

Just not sure what the right thing to do is, he will only accept bits of chicken right now, so I don't seem to have much a choice.

[Crits'N'Bits]

We are currently living the big C nightmare too

My boy is now having (and will continue to have for the rest of his life):

Budwig once a day (cottage cheese/flaxseed oit)

Essiac tea - as often as possible - I mix it with his other food. He seems to seek this out so just wondering if its the herbs in it that he is after. Of everything this seems to be his favorite

Apricot seed (ground up - only start with half a seed and now we've built it up to 2 seeds per day. They have to be the bitter ones

1 egg per day - yolk runny with white cooked

chicken - I boil up a whole chicken and then cut off all the meat. He wont eat it raw.

Beef - I buy a blade roast and cut it up into chunks ( maybe not for your guy yet)

I've cut out any grains period.

He also gets beef bones offered to him - if he wants it good - if not the other dogs have it

On the days he hasn't seemed interested in food I cut it up really fine and added the chicken broth and essiac to it - and feed it to him off a spoon or hand it to him bit by bit. Thankfully we've only had 2 days like that.

Currently he is eating really well and bouncing around like a young one again !

I swear by the essiac tea though - it seems to be doing what its meant too.

Have a read up about baking soda and dmso / and baking soda and maple syrup - you may find it useful. I am alternating both treatments. The dmso seems to help relieve any pain. But its purely a personal choice on that one !!

I am really sorry you and Scuffy have to go through this - its a really horrible situation. Best wishes for you both

Edited March 6, 2013 by Crits'N'Bits

[Salukifan]

Hi Everyone

My maltese Scruffy is having his spleen (and 8cm attached tumour) removed on Friday. He had an ultrasound that revealed there are no more tumours. He was diagnosed last Friday on a routine trip to the vets for a catrophen injection. Ultrasound was Monday.

My problem is feeding him.

He also has colitis. The colitis became aparrent while waiting for the Friday vet appointment - has a bout of diarrhea right at the floor on the vets (prior to this he seemed OK). They took a sample and said it was colitis. Vet has said that he has to eat chicken/rice/cottage cheese until the colitis is better. He has also been given antibiotics for this problem.

The tumour seems to be limiting his ability to eat. He wont eat rice/cottage cheese at all, and it's only bits of cooked chicken that he is eating now (several times a day).

The chronic diarrhea (almost incontinence) that plagued him over the weekend is gone and he hasn't pooed in about 48 hours. I know on Monday when he had his ultrasound, they said his colon was totally free of any excrement, so maybe it is going to take a while to build up again (considering he is only eating small morsels of cooked chicken).

I've been googling about cancer and dogs, and many people are saying that putting them on an anti-cancer diet (basically grain free) will help.

So is feeding him only chicken is the best choice right now? We just need to make it to Friday without his spleen bursting.

Afterwards do people with dogs that have had cancer keep them on protein only food? He's always been prone to bumps on his skin and has already had a few operations to have lumps and bumps removed, this is his first internal bump though.

But with the colitis (and general emptiness of the bowel) should I be trying to give him some rice to have something in there atleast?

Just not sure what the right thing to do is, he will only accept bits of chicken right now, so I don't seem to have much a choice.

Talk to your vet. One option that my sick dogs have found highly palatable is Hills I/D canned food. It's basically chicken and rice in a can and it smells like it.

Option B is boil a whole chook in water until the chook falls about, remove it and then boil rice in that water, take the flesh off the bone of the chook and add it back. That makes a very palatable food.

[violetmay]

Wow Crits'N'Bits - thank you for your detailed response. I have a lot of research to do. Can you tell me please where do you buy the essiac tea?

Haredown Whippets thank you for your response too, I did chuckle at your mention of boiling a whole chicken. That amount of food would last my dog about a month LOL!! He's not much of an eater. One thicken thigh a day is what he has been able to eat this week.

Bit of an update, dog is out of surgery now and the tumour was 450 grams (dog weighed 6.7kgs this morning). They never said how much the spleen weighed LOL!!

So wait and see how he goes.

Hopefully he will be able to eat proper amounts of foods soon, now that he doesn't have a huge tumour pressing on his stomach.

[Staffyluv]

My old boy lived 6 years with MCT (he was originally given a prognosis of 12-18 months with chemo)..

We went to an holistic vet who told us to remove all grains. No wheat, corn, rice or anything.

Veg is fine and good quality meat.

I used to boil whole chickens and use the broth on days he didn't feel well (it is a good soup)..

Ollie had chinese herbs, Vitamin C tablets (just the human chewable ones), Anti Ox supplement, Lymphodran supplement, fish oil and he loved his cottage cheese with a bit of flax oil on it.

There is a lot to be said for the anti cancer diets in dogs - I have seen first hand the difference it made to my old boy..

His cancer did eventually catch up to him but he was also 14.5 years old - so had lived a good life..

[trifecta]

I have some Essiac Tea capsules here which I was intending to offer you. I never got around to trying Rogan on them when he had cancer. However, I really think you should consult with a holistic vet to come up with a tailor made treatment program for your little guy. I have just been reading the label on the capsules & it warns against taking them if suffering from a number of gastro intestinal disorders including IBS, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease & abdominal pain of unknown origin!

I agree with the other posters in that diet & supplements go a long way in supporting the cancer patient, but there are a myriad of treatment protocols out there & you will do your head in trying to research them all! If you can find a holistic practitioner to work with your vet, you will save yourself much anxiety.

Good luck with Scruffy, it is an arduous journey but you will find lots of support on here :)

[violetmay]

Thanks trifecta and Staffyluv. Yes I will be careful with him. He has been to a holistic type vet before (hip/arthritis issues) and I was given a whole lot of supplements which did nothing for him (not to mention I had to give him the supplements five times a day, some on a full and some on an empty stomach - it was just madness). But catrophen injections from the regular vet are like magic. Not sure why the holistic vet couldn't have suggested catrophen. So much cheaper, easier and 1000 times more effective.

So really don't feel too trusting of holistic vets after this experience. But I will see how he goes and be open to trying a different holistic vet than we tried last time.

Right now, I just have to get Scruffy eating again. Vet said if he wont eat cottage cheese (which he wont) to give him tasty cheese (which he loved). So it's chicken and tasty cheese that he is living on now (vet said it was important he get calcium and that is why he has to have cheese). The vet wanted me to get some rice into him aswell (he hasn't pooed since last weekend, his bowels are totally empty except for a few bits of chicken). So she wants the bulk of the rice to get his colon moving.

He's gotten through the surgery well and is on metacam once a day for pain relief, but he seems to be in a lot of pain. He is just sitting still, eyes open but not sleeping or moving. We take it in turns to sit with him.

I think once he is a bit stronger and his bowels normalise, it might be safe to try the tea then. Wouldn't be safe for him right now at all.

Thanks again for the help.

[Staffyluv]

There are some things that should be treated by a conventional vet - arthritis is one as it is easier.

If you do decide that you want to use holistic therapy, then I suggest you do a bit of research and find a good one.

I spoke to 2 others before I settled on the one we used.

If you google anti cancer diets for dogs, you get loads of really good information.

If you can be bothered (as it is a really long thread), my Ollie's thread is here in the palliative care section of the health forum and has loads of good resources for anti cancer diets and the treatments we used - what worked, what didn't.. It is our journey..

All the best.

[Rappie]

Bit of an update, dog is out of surgery now and the tumour was 450 grams (dog weighed 6.7kgs this morning). They never said how much the spleen weighed LOL!!

It's not usually separated if it's being sent for histopathology as it is important to see the location and orientation of the mass, and sometimes there just really isn't a lot of spleen to see.

As for the diet, from the perspective of colitis and a providing a fibre source you can also use pumpkin or some sweet potato if the rice is not going being accepted. It is also really important that in a stressed dog (post surgery so I refer here to stress on the body, not necessarily 'mental' stress) with gastrointestinal problems that the Metacam is ONLY given if the dog has eaten. If they are not eating or there is any vomiting, you must tell your vet and preferably an alternate pain relief drug can be used in the interim.

[violetmay]

As for the diet, from the perspective of colitis and a providing a fibre source you can also use pumpkin or some sweet potato if the rice is not going being accepted. It is also really important that in a stressed dog (post surgery so I refer here to stress on the body, not necessarily 'mental' stress) with gastrointestinal problems that the Metacam is ONLY given if the dog has eaten. If they are not eating or there is any vomiting, you must tell your vet and preferably an alternate pain relief drug can be used in the interim.

Thank you Rappie - pumpkin is cooking as we speak. Daughter and I went on a pumpkin hunt to the local markets after I first read your message. Thanks for the reminder about food with metacam too, I had forgotten about that. He's due for his next lot shortly, so will see if he will have anymore chicken first.

Thank you you too Staffyluv - I will read the whole thread about Ollie, thanks so much for sharing your journey. Really feeling happy about the whole grain free thing and making him his own food. He's always been a very hard dog to feed (extremely fussy) and I'd spend heaps of money only to have it all go to waste. This way atleast I know I will be feeding him food that he will eat, with the added health benefits as a bonus.

Edit - pumpkin/chicken mixed up is a hit!! Yay for that!!

Edited March 10, 2013 by violetmay

[Rappie]

Glad to hear it :)

[Brookestar]

I agree with the advice given about given the metcam with food.

Mixing up the rice with the chicken is important. Use chicken mince and mix it right through wit the chicken. That way they are not given a choice about what they want to eat. Offering them chicken and rice, is in most cases going to result in them choosing the chicken. Like children would choose chocolate over vegetables!! And when they are eating very little, they then don't need the rice. Mixing it through so there is no choice, removes that option from them.

Don't hesitate to ring the vet if you need to. Any decent one would be more than willing to talk to you on the phone and advise about whether you need to bring the dog in.

I think some holistic vets can go to an extreme level. I saw one who would not contemplate any form of conventional vet treatment. I never went again after that. I have one I have seen a few times who works in consultation with a traditional vet, and they work in tandam, and I love that.

Holistic vet treatments or supplements can slow down the progression of arthritis, but it will not take away the pain. Traditional vets can remove the pain, but not slow down the progression. I see both as important. Not as one or the other.

I personally do not believe any one thing is for one type of vet only. To me they all have something to offer for everything. Any good vet will acknowledge their own limitations and the limitations of what they can offer.

[Stitch]

Royal Canin Hypoallergenic works for my girl.

[violetmay]

Just a bit of an update. Scruffy is doing well and finally pooed this morning (while waiting for his turn at the vets for a checkup - we had to quickly rush outside). So was 8 days without pooing LOL!!

One of the vet nurses showed me photos of his tumour that she took on her phone! Just looked like light coloured meat, I was expecting it to look black and awful.

He had a pretty miserable weekend, but is much better today. The vet said I can also feed him grated carrot, heartsmart mince & kangaroo meat. So as he gets better I will gradually add more veggies and different proteins. I was inspired by the other thread in the this forum and ordered some of the Augustine's superboost. I figure this is just what I need to add to his food.

Thanks for the suggestion of Royal Canin Stitch, unfortunately Scruffy just wont eat it (we've tried hard over the years to get him on good dogfood but he just wont eat anything, our cat is on Hill's CD and is amazingly well on it, wanted the same for the dog, but he wont eat the myriad of foods I've tried). Making food from scratch is pretty much my only option.