Thursday, August 14, 2003

A Ray of  Hope

The roller coaster ride continues.  Yesterday, I still had this melancholy/depression in the back of my mind.  Now, I feel at least a little more optimistic following our appointment with the holistic vet (animalhealthandhealing.com)  While the doctor didn't make any promises regarding Max's cancer, she did offer a number of recommendations that raise the possibility of slowing this thing down, if not try to shrink it.  Everything is oriented towards boosting his immunity system.

1.  Get him off the Friskies Fine Cuts pouch treats we've been feeding him to help him gain weight.  He's not supposed to have chicken and turkey protein because it apparently is not absorbed as efficiently.  We have to switch him to an all-natural diet with a few preservatives and chemicals as possible. He has to have more fish and other sources of Omega-3 oils.  He's supposed to have a higher protein diet, eliminating as many carbohydrates as possible, since cancer apparently fees on those.  It's sort of like the kitty version of the Atkins Diet.

2. Give him a supplement called CAS Options, by Genesis Ltd.   It's supposed to support and enhance chemotherapy.

3.  Filter the cats' water.

4.  Give him another herbal mixture called Hoxsey Boneset Formula, by D'Arcy Naturals, Inc.  It's supposedly for cancer prevention as well as bone pain related to cancer (no sign of that yet, fortunately).

5.  Feed him liver.  It supposedly has a lot of nutrients he needs.  Hopefully, he'll eat chicken liver, because I'm not to sure he'll eat beef liver.  

The doctor was not aware acemannan, but she did mention another herbal extract which has gotten some good results called artemisinin.  We may pursue it in the future, and I'm sending her what info I get online about acemannan.  Guess we'll go from there.

I'm daring to hope this and the chemo change will give him a fighting chance.  So far, his white blood cell count is still good.  Guess we'll need to play with him more to give his body more exercise, etc.

The lump has grown alarmingly quickly in the last 3 weeks, so we can't start too soon.  There's a second hold along the incision line scar that  is trying to open up, but it's pretty small.  Both doctors seem to thing that with the proper ointment, the one that's been leaking fluid and blood will eventually heal.

I just want some progress quickly.  He's supposedly lost another 3 ounces of body weight he can't afford.