Why the best and most effective "cancer treatment" continues to be prevention
From time to time, someone asks me what the hardest part of my job is, and my answer is, 'seeing unnecessary and preventable loss.' It's hard to see our dogs die at a ripe old age, but witnessing some of you losing your dogs when they are younger is extremely difficult.
The second hardest part of my work is deciding what to focus on. Whenever I dive into the emails from members of our community, I see that the dominant and primary problem in medicine is the reactive approach, while there is less focus on preventive and proactive medicine.
One of the reasons for this is that it is simply impossible for a vet to work in a busy practice, to help patients, to teach prevention, to empower dog lovers, as well as, deal with sick patients. In addition, people usually do not come to the vet until 'the s… hits the fan.'
That is the reason why I made the switch after 20 years of clinical practice, and why I decided to focus on preventive and proactive medicine. Spending two hours writing an article may help millions of dogs, whereas spending two hours treating a single patient, while a personally rewarding experience, helps only one dog.
Of course, such work is important, and the one dog matters; however, logically, it makes sense to focus most (not all) of my energy on teaching you about disease prevention and achieving longevity for your dog.
For 10 years now, we have been getting requests for help with dogs who have been diagnosed with the most dreadful disease – cancer.
The second hardest part of my work is deciding what to focus on. Whenever I dive into the emails from members of our community, I see that the dominant and primary problem in medicine is the reactive approach, while there is less focus on preventive and proactive medicine.
One of the reasons for this is that it is simply impossible for a vet to work in a busy practice, to help patients, to teach prevention, to empower dog lovers, as well as, deal with sick patients. In addition, people usually do not come to the vet until 'the s… hits the fan.'
That is the reason why I made the switch after 20 years of clinical practice, and why I decided to focus on preventive and proactive medicine. Spending two hours writing an article may help millions of dogs, whereas spending two hours treating a single patient, while a personally rewarding experience, helps only one dog.
Of course, such work is important, and the one dog matters; however, logically, it makes sense to focus most (not all) of my energy on teaching you about disease prevention and achieving longevity for your dog.
For 10 years now, we have been getting requests for help with dogs who have been diagnosed with the most dreadful disease – cancer.
I have been a bit conflicted about what to do when I get these requests because I really want to help. I am also a perfectionist and take working with patients very seriously. In my clinic, my initial consult was two hours, a follow-up took about 45 minutes, and treating cancer requires at least four hours a month on an ongoing basis.
Most cancers in dogs are still very hard to treat, and while I have seen rare and miraculous cures under my care, they are hard to repeat predictably. Furthermore, there are veterinary college regulations that do not allow me to diagnose and treat an individual patient without an exam.
Today, I am here to communicate what my team and I can and cannot do. When it comes to cancer advice, we do our best to support you, and also communicate our limitations. Each cancer case is very different and each dog should be treated with detail and focus.
What I am saying here is that I would love to help every dog with cancer in detail, but because of the limitations and regulations, I can only help in a general way; for example, by providing articles about cancer guidelines.
Here are some examples:
My limitations in cancer treatment led me to focus at least 80% of my effort on cancer and disease prevention and extending your dog's life because that is where you can achieve the best results.
It is my experience that feeding your dog a raw diet supplemented with food-based essential nutrients such as, GreenMin, SoulFood, GutSense, and FeelGood Omega, implementing the Healing Cycle, and creating Healthy Dog Tools, we are able to facilitate health through prevention.
By the way, I have finished recording the Raw Diet Courses - and it is a quick intro for newbies and busy people.
The truth is, empowering you with knowledge achieves greater results than reactive medicine after receiving a grave diagnosis.
Sadly, no one has the magic potion for cancer, and the chances of full recovery are still low in either the holistic or conventional medical system. While my colleagues and I will continue searching for a cancer cure, for now, the best and most effective "cancer treatment" continues to be PREVENTION.
If your dog has been diagnosed with cancer, please read the above articles, take the Health and Longevity Course, and work with your local holistically minded veterinarians as they should remain your main guides. My team and I will do our best to support you within the limitations of the distance and online presence. We know how much you love your dog.
Sometimes, even doing your best may not be enough in cancer prevention. We must accept that life is a "terminal disease," and cancer is one of the causes of death, but not the only one.
I hope this will help to clarify some questions we have been getting about cancer treatments.
Sometimes, even doing your best may not be enough in cancer prevention. We must accept that life is a "terminal disease," and cancer is one of the causes of death, but not the only one.
Here is a video on a difficult but important topic. I hope it will help you learn how to deal with terminally ill and aging dogs.
© Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM
