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histocytic sarcoma

I saw from an earlier post that a person had their dog diagnosed with histocytic sarcoma and Aleda Cheng referred to an anti cancer diet (high in protein, low in carb/starch).  My dog had a spot on his back which was removed and the analysis determined it was histocytic sarcoma.  We are in the process of determining by xrays/ultrasound if it has spread, but I would be interested in knowing what the anti cancer diet recommendation is.  It appears the entire mass was removed; however, I know the prognosis is not good and it may spread quickly, so any suggestions would be appreciated.  I saw an earlier post where a person's dog had this cancer and took only rimadyl and was doing well.  Does rimadyl help this cancer in any way?

Thank you.    
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234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I am so sorry about your dog's affliction.  Histiocytic Sarcoma in any form is unfortunately serious and checking for Mets is the best way to go.  I hope the chest and abdominal X-Rays, ultrasound and blood tests all yield happy results.  If your dog has or develops anemia his bone marrow may have to be examined also because this disease can spread anywhere.

There are holistic and standard therapies that may help.  Standard treatments include: chemotherapy agents such as Lomustine and Doxorubicin and others, and localized radiation.  If the sarcoma has spread to a bone, anti-osteoporosis medications such as: pamidronate infusion can be limb sparing.  Rimadyl and other NSAIDS are helpful as adjuncts.  Cancer is an inflammatory condition so reducing inflammation with an NSAID may help a bit.  

Complementary medicine as well as traditional medicine continue to try and strive for cures but there is no cure yet for this disease and little has been accomplished since I answered that question two years ago.  

An anti-cancer diet may help.  Cancers like carbohydrates so eliminating carbs from your dog's diet is imperative.  

The following is a home-made anti-cancer diet recipe if you have the time to cook.  
This recipe is for two meals per one day for a 60-80 pound dog measured on lean body weight. Increase accordingly to your dog's weight.  Of course the diet should always be adjusted up or down depending on your dog's appetite, level of activity, etc.

3/4 to 1 pound of meat or fish or fowl. Use organ meats twice weekly. Avoid Lamb and Venison  Do not trim fat!

1/2 pound of green, yellow, purple and leafy vegetables: broccoli, green or red cabbage, chard, spinach, green beans, okra,  yellow, red or green peppers, etc.  Don't use starchy vegetables or carrots and never use onions.

1/4 pound of mixed mushrooms: maitake, shiitake, etc (Mushrooms are anti-cancer)

5 fresh garlic cloves crushed

Turmeric or curcumin begin with 1/2 tsp and gradually increase over time to 1 and 1/2 tablespoon. (These herbs are naturally anticancer and anti-inflammatory)

Salt to taste.

3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil and/or Coconut Oil.

Saute mushrooms and garlic in oil until tender. (This step can be skipped if you haven't the time)  Place all the rest of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook as per your crock pot setting.  I usually make a weeks worth on Sunday and once it cools place into individual containers and freezing until needed.

Other Additions: If your dog won't be eating any dog food he will not be getting vitamins and minerals that he would be getting from commercial dog food so just in case add the following:
  
A good quality HUMAN One A Day  Multivitamin and mineral combination.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (500mg of DHA and EPA) Two capsules twice daily.

Vitamin D3 1000 IU

Probiotics: Brands: Fortiflora, Culturelle, Align, Digestive Advantage etc.  Twice an adult human dose.

Optional additions: There are a couple of carbohydrates that are anti-cancer and although they are carbs are still worth the benefit. These are: Berries (blue, red or blackberries and gogiberries aka: wolf berries).  1/2 cup as a snack per day.

Other healthful snacks to be used instead of dog biscuits are: Hardboiled eggs, celery sticks with almond or peanut butter, cheese sticks.


Other supplements which are anti-cancer include but are not limited to the following:
IP6
Hoxsey  
Petsiac
Chinese Anti-cancer formulas: Stasis Breaker and Max's Formula and others (available by prescription)
Neoplasene (prescription)
Poly MVA

Last comments: Start the diet gradually.  Wean him off of his old food unto the new food very slowly to avoid gastrointestinal issues.  If he gets digestive issues from the fish oil version of Omega 3 Fatty Acids than use the one derived from Algae (a good brand is OVEGA 3 available from Amazon.com and other locations).  CVS pharmacy has it's own brand of algae derived Omega 3 called Algal also.

If you don't have time to cook the dog foods I recommend are: Evo 95%meat, By Nature 95% meat, Wellness 95% meat, Merrick's 96% meat, I think that you get the idea.  Check all labels.  Many dog food's say grain free but they substitute the grains for potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas and other starches.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for the response.  Can you please clarify a couple of items:
1.  What type of meat or fish or fowl would you recommend?  Should it include skin or bones?  I was thinking maybe chicken thighs and I wasn't sure about beef?  Also, just curious as to why no lamb?
2.  I assume you cook until done just like for a human, and the recipe is basically for one day, so for a 60-80 pound dog, It would be about 7 lbs of meat per week?
3.  I found on the web a firstchoicenaturals.com Kit #48 cancer supplement kit that I guess would be instead of the vitamins, probiotics, etc.  Please let me know if you think a kit similar to this would suffice for the supplements needed if I cooked per the recipe and then supplemented with the items from this Kit #48.
Thank you so very much  
Helpful - 0
234713 tn?1283526659
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Firstchoicenaturals.com Kit #48 looks good.  It also has Transfer Factor and Medicinal Mushrooms which are both helpful.

In Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine teachings, all foods' have an innate temperature. Lamb and Venison are hot foods and most fish are cool foods, for example.  Simply stated, a dog with cancer is likely to have some inflammation issues and  is already a bit on the "hot" side.  This does not mean that the dog has a fever, it just means that his or her internal "air conditioning" mechanism is not balanced.  If a "hot" dog is given hot foods it can sometimes cause a further imbalance which may manifest as gastrointestinal disturbances or other issues.  Without examining your dog I can only give general information, of course.  It is just easier to stay with "neutral" temperature foods.

Chicken, Turkey, and beef are fine.  If you use fish occasionally try not to use farm raised.  Wild caught salmon, white fish or flounder are good and since they are cooling many dogs enjoy them in the warm months.  Stay away from fish with high mercury contents such as tuna.  

The weight of the meat includes the bones and skin, and yes it should be cooked as if a human is going to eat it.  The bones should be removed and discarded.  This would be different if you were feeding raw.  Raw diets are controversial and I don't recommend them in cancer patients.  

The amount your dog requires really has to be determined on an individual basis; but start with 7 pounds per week.  The amount may be a lot less or it may be more.  The amount is highly variable and time will tell.  Please weigh your dog weekly and adjust his amount accordingly.   The diet is more or less a stew so with the extra liquid content your dog may be satisfied with less.  Additionally, due to the high liquid content your dog may not drink as much water.
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