Night & Day Surgeon Consults

Wow.

All I can say is get good, honest referrals from people you trust.

The first surgeon I consulted with is the big shot in dental surgery around here. His website has photos of him with anesthetized tigers and such. He works at the fancy specialty vet hospital in Sorrento Valley. It was a total waste of my $100. Within 2 minutes he'd decided what should be done (lower jaw removal including the first molar), and barely entertained my questions. Nothing more rude and condescending than a phrase like "well, that's the owners decision of course" when you ask about other options.

It took me a few days to decide for sure that it wasn't just my general worry that was getting in the way, I really didn't trust him.

Today I had a consult with Dr. Holly Mullen at VCA Emergency in San Diego and she was wonderful! The complete opposite of the previous fellow. She explained everything in detail, answered all my questions with compassion and respect. She called the oncologist she was referring me to and then called me later in the day to tell me what he said.

This is the surgeon that my own vet would use on his dog, and that Vida's chiropractor ("Dr Cheryl, 760.744.1111) highly recommends.

She didn't even try to get my dog in for surgery! Yep, it was more important for her to recommend what she thought was best for the dog!

Surgically Vida's cancer is such that unless we go for a radical surgery it will just come back and look just as it did today. So that would mean removing the lower jaw back to the second molar and putting two pins in to keep the two sides aligned. That would probably work, but she would have to radically adjust how she eats and plays. And sometimes the body rejects the pins and they have to take them out.

Dr. Mullen said if it were her dog she would do radiation instead. This type of cancer is very sensitive to radiation (the oncologist, Proulx, said "exquisitely sensitive"), and might be cured by it (the original biopsy report said that too). At the very least it should shrink it and require less surgery, and it could even get rid of it for a few years, no surgery necessary (mouth intact!).

She felt, and I agree so far, that Vida would have an easier time with radiation treatments than with the surgery.

I never thought I would do radiation on my dog.

I guess my lesson is to experience integrative treatment for my dog. For example, I will use herbs to soothe her mouth after radiation. That is definitely something I can do! And all the supplements she's getting will certainly support her through the radiation treatments so her immune system doesn't get too damaged.

Yesterday Vida got to playing with her dog friend Max and somehow her tumor got slashed. She was bleeding for so long I actually drove to the vet, and of course it finally stopped when I'd gotten there. Cleaning up the blood reminded me of old punk shows where we would be worried about the cops seeing evidence of a fight. That brought some humor to the situation. Luckily my co-worker Heather (Max's owner) is similarly level-headed, and helped so much - she even drove to the market to get some sage to use as a styptic because the store-bought stuff we grabbed off the shelf sure wasn't working. Today it was still not healed well and she bled at the surgeons office, poor thing. Hopefully that settles down until we get started on this new stuff. Fresh chewed up Plantain will be pressed on in a little while (a leaf of plantain and a leaf of sage were in my pocket earlier, ready to be put to use of she started gushing again).

OK, I’m done freaking out….

…for now.

I wanted to write about Vida, but I just couldn't. Not when I was having such a hard time NOT worrying constantly. Writing would've been a reminder, not a catharsis.

She had a "cosmetic debulking" done on the tumor because it was getting in the way of daily fun. Literally. She'd catch a toy and make it bleed. It's called "cosmetic" because we knew it wasn't cutting away enough to be curative (more on that later). I wanted to do enough to make her comfortable again and to let me (us) regroup on treatment.

Imagine my shock when, five days after surgery, I opened her mouth to take a photo of it and it was back! Like a horror movie monster you can't kill. It wasn't nearly as big, but where the cutting had left a concave region at the front, it was convex.

Let me back up a minute.

The vet who did the surgery is the same one who did it a year and a half ago. So at this visit he read aloud from the original biopsy report, which I hadn't revisited since the first time I read it after the original surgery. It's full of doom and gloom, and not a lot of detail (turns out there isn't much info on plasmacytoma). It talks about bone removal, radiation, aggressiveness, etc, etc. He then gave me the name of a surgeon who specializes in orthopedics (read bone cutter). Basically he made me feel like there was no hope but cutting half her lower jaw off (though he consented to do what I'd asked).

So I spent a couple weeks being scared. I woke up most nights worrying about it. I gave the dog and myself lots of flower essences to deal with it. I tried to answer questions from concerned friends and customers as simply as possible, and insisted that they not feel sorry for her (she HATES that). And I felt alone because I was trying so hard not to share it with the dog that is reading my mind all the time.

I used an animal communicator because I wanted to get Vida's perspective, and that really helped clear my mind, mainly because it helped confirm my own instincts on how she was doing. I wanted to be sure she understood what was being considered (she did, and didn't like the idea). I wanted to know whether it was causing her pain now (it's not, and in the scheme of things pain isn't her biggest worry - being deformed is). It reaffirmed my belief that right now she's ok, and if we need to do more radical surgery we will, but it's not something I should rush in to.

My holistic vet wanted me to email him before our post-surgical visit two weeks after with my ideas and questions about what to do next. I wrote most of it immediately after the surgery, and rewrote some just before the appointment. He could tell.

When I walked in the first thing he said was "He scared you, didn't he?" We talked and had a good meeting. We talked supplements (next post) and surgery (going to have a consult with a dental surgeon he recommends so I have that in my pocket when needed). Vida was on the other side of the room glaring when we talked surgery, but friendly and happy when we talked supplements. When I left the last thing he said was "Remember, next time you're freaking out, call me. That's what I'm here for, that's part of the relationship." That's why he's our vet!

New Year, New Battle Tactic for Cancer

We started on New Year's Day.

Vida's tumor has returned and grown; now larger than it was the first time around. Dr. Weingardt was not happy about (of course), frustrated by the lack of progress, so we've shifted gears to a homeopathic method developed by a Dr. Ramakrishnan called "plussing." The method uses 200C potencies of alternating remedies, one for the location of the cancer, then Carcinosinum. You start with the organ-specific remedy for a week (we're doing 3 doses 15 min. apart before breakfast), then switch to the other for a week.

There is a terrific veterinary article by Joe Demers that describes it, "A Holistic Approach for the Treatment of Cancer" (super easy to find a PDF online with a topic search like "ramakrishnan homeopathy plussing cancer dogs").

We've only been doing it a few days but there's already been a change. The tumor has gotten more "in the way" - maybe a little bigger, but definitely shifting toward the teeth. The evening before this photo she'd ding'd it on toys so it's a little red, with a blood spot in the center. Nothing like bloody toys to get you to look in your dog's mouth. She didn't seem in pain about it, which is a relief (I did see her in pain once when she did ding the gum edge - the same look a person gets when they bite their cheek).

Some people might be disturbed by this change, but I'm seeing it as a sign of movement because it has happened so quickly. I'm hoping the body is trying to purge it - we'll see. I've emailed Dr. Weingardt for his thoughts.

I also emailed him my "homework" - an accompanying herb formula pairing to alternate:

#1
Astragalus (40%)
Alfalfa (20%)
Marshmallow lf/rt (20%)
Nettle (10%)
Panax (10%)

#2
Dandelion Rt (30%)
Red Clover (30%)
Burdock (20%)
Ginger (10%)
Dill (10%)

#1 one is a building formula, and #2 a cleansing formula. I just happen to be doing a formulating section for my herbal studies, so this will go in for homework for that too, hehe. I think I'm going to alternate these weekly as well, but not switch on the same day as the homeopathics. I'm going to do water extractions, but I may leave some of the plant matter in too.

Other than a little dryness to her coat she's doing great otherwise. She kicked my butt at agility class last night!

Chaga: medicinal mushrooms don't have to be exotic

Medicinal mushrooms are a topic of interest to me as I continue herb studies and keeping Vida's cancer at bay.

We usually think of Asian mushrooms as the medicinal ones, but I think this is just because our culture has become "denatured" and we just don't know what's in our own backyard.

"Backyard" can vary, of course. Chaga mushrooms grow on Birch trees, which definitely aren't part of my Southern California backyard (natural habitat). Birch trees are part of my New Hampshire habitat.

The ground Chaga that I used today was purchased from Woodland Essence, which harvests from their area in New York. (They have a nice little info page on Chaga, which is also the source of the above photo).

I decocted the Chaga for 20 minutes (that means starting with cold water, bringing to a boil, and them simmering covered), using 1 tablespoon Chaga for a cup of water. Decoction is recommended by Christopher Hobbs in his book on Medicinal Mushrooms, as the best way to get the full medicinal effects (based on chemical studies), even though the bag it came in only suggested infusing for 5-10 minutes.

The result looked like coffee (grounds and all) - here's a teaspoonful (strained) on a saucer:
It tastes bitter, like coffee, but it has no lingering aftertaste. While my mom thought it tasted "like biting into a tree," Vida didn't seem to care at all lapping it up.

I'm beginning to suspect that bitter/dirt tastes are inconsequential to dogs. Either that or the trust you when they see you take a sip first.

There isn't really information about how much of this one should consume every day, except to say that overdoing it doesn't seem to come up at all. Dogs certainly don't have the luxury of a dosage guide, so it seems to me that a sensible dose would be a tablespoon for a medium dog.

Most of the studies on Chaga come from Russia and other nearby areas - obviously because of the birch forests of the region where one would find Chaga.

It's got anti-tumor properties, and has shown to be especially helpful for cancers of the digestive system, as well as digestive issues related to cancer treatments. It's of course an immune booster, and helps balance the endocrine system and blood sugar, and has some anti-inflammatory properties as well.

The taste and feel of it to me seems very slightly astringent, not drying the mouth, but cleansing it. I choose to interpret this as Phlegm Resolving, Bitter, and Neutral.

While the polysaccharides are the primary immune boosters, it's thought that the strongest anti-tumor properties are due to the fact that Chaga feeds off Birch trees, absorbing specific chemicals that may be the core chemicals for attacking tumors.

Wouldn't it be something if Vida's little lipoma got littler? That would be a nice visible success to be able to point to.

All-in-all this sounds like a great drink not only for Vida, but for me! Finally, I'm gonna do something for myself too (besides just the liver tonic tea we've been taking together).

I'd love to hear from anyone about their experiences or knowledge about Chaga, or their questions about my opinions here.

Plan of Action

Vida visited her holistic vet, Keith Weingardt, today. We discussed the subtle changes I'd been seeing since her last visit in November, what she's eating, supplements, etc.

He marveled (if I may say so) at her good condition, great pulses, beautiful tongue, and "puppy" eyes. I described how she'd looked at the first of the year - like the pre-C dog I remember - in even better condition.

What I see now is a lack of tone to the abdomen, a subtle stickiness to the coat, reverse sneezing, a little eye crust, the spine a little out (which I've been using the photonic torch on with great success) - all things that most people would overlook as "aging" or even normal. But you see, I've seen it go away, just a couple of months ago, so I know it's symptomatic of something that can be shifted.

Of course I hadn't written notes on my calendar about those good days (or a couple of vomit episodes in the last week one water, one breakfast), so I was a little vague on dates. But the changes flow, so it's not as though there are specific dates for the overall picture. I may have to run her down there and show her off when her "ultrafit" physique returns.

So we've developed a plan of herb action to take for the next months (who knows how many), in this order:

1. One month on Max's Formula (chinese herbs for phlegm resolving)
2. One month on Quantum Herbal's AT/BC formula
3. A "pulse" pattern for Max's Formula: 2 weeks on, 1 week off, repeat (#3).

I'm figuring on doing Quantum Quarterly. The two formulas are not given at the same time.
Diet (raw!) and other supplements will continue, with the usual seasonal adjustments.

I feel like I'm entering uncharted territory because there aren't "directions" for this. But I don't feel trepidation about it. I feel confident that we'll prove that what we're doing will work, and that Vida will be a shining example of the kind of care that is possible.