Thank you for your kindness. I hope Ryle continues to be strong. Since many of you have been down this terrible road for a while, I was hoping someone might have some advice. Mike is about 14 years old (he was a stray from an shelter). He was diagnosed by ultrasound as having a 3 cm. mass in his bladder. They also saw a small mass on top of one of his adrenal glands which they say may or may not be malignant. Mike has arthritis in both back knees and had surgery on them years ago. Last December when being tested for Cushing syndrome (came up negative) a shadow was seen on one of Mike's lungs. At that time the vet told us it could have been the way he was positioned for the test, I think it was an X ray, but don't remember for sure. Both the vet at the hospital where the test was done and the holistic vet (not at all connected to the first)we saw today said Mike was a "good candidate" for surgery. I find it hard to believe. They both said he was in very good condition. Both said of course that he would have to have a presurgery workup, like chest x ray and blood work to determine if everything else is OK. When we found out about the tumor but before we saw the holistic vet, both my husband and I agreed no surgery because we are concerned that the trauma of the anesthesia might do more harm than good. The vet took all the time in the world with us explaining treatments and her reasons for them. But some of her suggestions are strange to me and I am hoping someone out there know about them. 1. She suggested injections of (believe it or not) Venus Fly Trap. She said it's been given in Germany for years and has been successful for treating cancers in dogs. The snag is only money,(hah!) $10 a pop, everyday for forever. She said I could give Mike the injection, but once we begin it, we should not stop it because it could then cause a rapid deterioration. She said she has seen dogs come in with cancer in very poor condition. They get this VFT and it's like a new lease on life. Sound too good to be true? Anyone heard of it? 2. She also recommends Maitake DMG. Is anyone giving their pet this brand of mushroom? I know some of you give maitake and reishi and it helps. The vet says this one has an amino acid that oxygenates cells, something that cancer cells don't like. 3. The vet hasn't heard of Graviola. I want to get it for Mike. I tried to get info from the allvita website but could not. Any other places to get it?
She also put Mike on a lot of gastric support and something called ARRU and IP6. This vet feels we should not begin Piroxicam for a few weeks until Mike's gastric system and immune system are built up so they can withstand the "trauma" from the medication. Mike has always has a sensitive stomach and colon, prone to diarrhea and gas when his diet was changed even a little. Cutting out the dry and canned food is a very big change right now. Of course no one can tell us how much time we would be giving Mike no matter which way we went. It goes without saying that none of us want to do more harm than good when it comes to a determining the best care possible for those we love. All those years of giving him "quality" dog food turned out to be the absolute wrong thing, even though my intentions were good. I don't want to do the same thing again. We are willing to try anything to help Mike and at the same time, give him the quality of life he deserves. Please whoever reads this would you take the time to give us your thoughts. In terms of factors here are the pros and cons. Cons are: Mike's age (14), the spot on his lung, the small mass on his adrenal gland and the arthritis. The pros are: You would never know Mike has a dreadful disease. His appetite is excellent (he does sleep more, but that has been for the past few years), his absolute love of life and people, his absolute determination to catch a chipmunk (he actually caught one once, but I made him drop it before he crushed its skull), his cheerfulness and loving spirit, his stoicism and the joy he brings to our lives from just being himself. Everyone in our neighborhood knows Mike. I call him the Pope John Paul of dogdom. He draws people out by his love, acceptance and gentleness. (He was a therapy dog and we visited nursing homes). I would love to have your thoughts - what would you do for your beloved creature given these all things? jomar and Mike