Is Liver Cancer in Dogs Treatable? Are There Any Natural Remedies Lying Around?
I couldn’t imagine how hard it is for you right now to know that your dog has liver cancer. You’re confused and you don’t know what to do whether to bring your beloved dog back home and wait for his time or spend a substantial amount for his cancer treatment. This is going to be one hellish situation that you got yourself.
Like in humans, liver cancer in dogs begins due to the abnormal growth of mutated cells in the liver. This gives rise to masses or tumors that proliferate unchecked. If the process continues, this will spread to the other organs and will kill your dog.
According to recent statistics, liver cancer in dogs is common among the aging population and that one of every two dogs 10 years old and above will die from it. The death rate is way over the 90% mark.
Most liver cancer in dogs starts not in the liver itself but as a result of metastasis. This means that cancerous cells from the other areas travel towards the liver through the bloodstream. Aside from the liver, secondary liver cancer could spread to the lungs, lymph nodes, abdominal wall to name a few. Some notable cancers that have a higher tendency of spreading to the liver include the pancreatic and mammary cancers.
Most probably, your vet will perform a biopsy to confirm if the tumors are cancerous or benign. After which, a definitive diagnosis can be drawn plus the path to take for your dog’s recovery. Surgery is highly recommended if it involves a single liver lobe.
Multiple tumors are harder to deal with and at this moment, there is no effective treatment available yet. So, if your dog has multiple tumors spanning to multiple liver lobes, there is a very little chance for your dog to survive. Also, we’d like to point out that chemotherapy wouldn’t be effective in this particular case as well.
We do have a good new however, because some German doctors are working on a radiation therapy that specifically deals with multiple tumors in multiple locations. The bad news is that this treatment isn’t available yet and still far from perfection.
Are There Any Natural Remedies For Liver Cancer In Dogs?
Right now, we could not find any definite conclusions that could tie up natural or homeopathic treatments in curing liver cancer. What we do know is that these supplements can help sustain the general health of your dog and to improve his energy levels.
These products help by boosting your dog’s immune system and clean or purify the body. Right now, we do not know if these products could really help alleviate the pain of your beloved dog or at the very least treat the disease.
In which case, always take advantage and do anything humanly possible to save the life of your dog. Should you choose to give these supplements, make sure these six ingredients are present: Mistletoe, Echinacea, Huang Qi, Indian ginseng, Cat’s claw and Milk thistle.