Dietary Supplements for Pets

Your Pet and Cancer and Health - Dietary Supplements for Pets

How Common is Cancer in Pets?
Cancer is common in pet animals, and the rate increases with age. Dogs get cancer at roughly the same rate as humans, while cats get fewer cancers. Cancer accounts for almost half of the deaths of pets over 10 years of age.

How is it Diagnosed?
Strong circumstantial evidence of cancer can be attained from x-rays, blood tests, the physical appearance of the cancer, or the physical signs caused by the cancer. Most cancers, however, will require a biopsy (removal of a piece of tissue) for confirmation.

Is Pet Cancer Preventable?
Some cancer, such as breast cancer, is largely preventable with early spaying. Unfortunately, the cause of most cancers is not known and therefore prevention is difficult. Dietary supplements: Cancers and associated symptoms/conditions may be prevented or treated with a daily medicinal mushroom herbal nutritional supplement. Benefits of dietary supplements often develop with continuous long-term use.

Common Signs of Cancer in Pets

Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow

Sores that do not heal

Weight loss

Loss of appetite

Bleeding or discharge from any body opening

Offensive odor

Difficulty eating or swallowing

Hesitance to exercise or loss of stamina

Persistent lameness or stiffness

Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

Click Here For Medicinal Mushroom Dietary Supplements for Pets

Many of the above signs are also seen with non cancerous conditions but still warrant prompt attention by your veterinarian to determine the cause. Cancer is frequently treatable, and early diagnosis will aid your veterinarian in delivering the best care possible.

Common Types of Cancer in Pets

Skin - Skin tumors are very common in older dogs, but much less common in cats. Most skin tumors in cats are malignant, but in dogs they are often benign. All skin tumors should be examined by your veterinarian.

Breast - Fifty percent of all breast tumors in dogs and 85% of all breast tumors in cats are malignant. Spaying your pet between 6 and 12 months of age will greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer. Surgery is the treatment of choice for this type of cancer.

Head & Neck - Cancer of the mouth is common in dogs and less common in cats. A mass on the gums, bleeding, odor, or difficult eating are signs to watch for. Many swellings are malignant, so early aggressive treatment is essential. Cancer may develop inside the nose of both cats and dogs. Bleeding from the nose, difficulty breathing, or facial swelling may occur.

Lymphoma - Lymphoma is a common form of cancer in dogs and cats. It is characterized by enlargement of one or many lymph nodes in the body. A virus causes most of these cancers in cats. Chemotherapy is frequently effective in controlling this type of cancer.

Feline Leukemia Complex - The feline leukemia virus is contagious among cats and will occasionally cause true cancer. There is no proof that it is contagious to humans. While a great deal of research is ongoing, no consistently effective treatment is presently available for virus-positive cats.

Testicles - Testicular tumors are rare in cats and common in dogs, especially those with retained testes. Most of these cancers are curable with surgery.

Abdominal Tumors - Tumors inside the abdomen are common. It is difficult to make an early diagnosis. Weight loss and abdominal enlargement are common signs of these tumors.

Bone - Bone tumors are most commonly seen in large breed dogs and rarely in cats. The leg bones, near joints, are the most common sites. Persistent lameness and swelling of the leg is an early sign of disease.

How is it Treated?
Each cancer requires individual care. Your veterinarian may use surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, cryosurgery (freezing), hyperthermia (heating) or immunotherapy including medicinal mushroom nutraceuticals (see Table, below) to effectively treat cancers. Combination therapy is commonly employed.

Medicinal Mushrooms and Cancer "Medicinal mushrooms: their therapeutic properties and current medical usage with special emphasis on cancer treatments."

Many of the currently available anti-cancer agents are derived form natural products, for instance paclitaxel (Taxol), and camptothecin (Hycamtin) amongst many others. In 2000 Professor Gordon McVie, Director-General of the Cancer Research Campaign (now Cancer Research UK) and Professor John Smith of University of Strathclyde met in Glasgow to discuss the role of medicinal mushrooms in the treatment of cancer. The CRC had become aware that these natural products were being used extensively in the Far East as nutriceuticals (dietary supplements) and as a source for the generation of pharmaceutical-grade medicines to treat a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. The substantial range of medicinal mushroom species from which different bioactive compounds can be derived suggested that the humble mushroom could be a source of novel anti-cancer agents. See: Cancer Research UK

**Some TCM and Modern Uses of Mushroom Dietary Supplements**
Mushroom/ Uses	Cordyceps sinensis	Lentinula edodes Shiitake	Ganoderma lucidium Reishi	Grifola frondosa Maitake	Tremella fuciformis Silver-Ear	Poria cocos Hoelen
Anti-Viral	+	+	+	-	-	+
Anti-Tumor	+	+	+	+	+	+
Immune Enhancer	+	+	+	+	+	+
Anti-inflammatory	-	-	+	-	+	-
Blood Pressure	+	+	+	+	+	-
Cardio-Vascular	+	+	+	-	+	-
Lower Cholesterol	+	+	+	-	+	-
Kidney Tonic	+	-	+	-	-	-
Asthma / Bronchial	+	-	+	-	+	-
Stress Reduction	+	-	+	-	-	-
Diabetes	-	-	-	+	+	-
Liver / Hepatitis	+	+	+	+	+	+
Chitin	+	+	+	+	+	+

"Mushrooms are valuable health food - low in calories, high in vegetable proteins, iron, zinc, chitin, chiton, fiber, vitamins & minerals. Mushrooms also have a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine . Their legendary effects on promoting good health and vitality and increasing a body's adaptive abilities have been supported by recent studies. These studies suggest that Mushrooms are probiotic - they help a body strengthen itself and fight off illness & cancer by maintaining physiological homeostasis - restoring your pet's bodies balance and natural resistance to disease. The compounds they contain have been classified as Host Defense Potentiators (HDP) which can have immune system enhancement properties( boost immune system ). That is one of the reasons they are currently used as adjuncts to human cancer treatments in Japan and China."

Click Here For Medicinal Mushroom Dietary Supplements

Click Here for On line Article: Mushrooms and Health

Gourmet & Mushroom Products, P. O. Box 515, Graton, CA 95444

Fax: (707) 823-9091

Design by MCS