Can Canine Cancer Be Prevented?
By Dr. Christina Chambreau.
Can cancer be prevented? Yes and no. The BAD news is there is no prevention. The GOOD news is there are many ways to decrease the chance of cancer and most importantly, to live in a way that every day is a joy regardless of physical or behavioral issues. YEA!!!! Celebrate.
As I turn 75 many of my friends have cancer, have had cancer, have died from cancer. Most of them have lived a fairly good lifestyle – diet, happiness, meditation, exercise, holistic therapies, etc. Yet they have cancer. Others have parents who lived a good life to over a hundred.
One of my long time clients, a holistic groomer, has had 4 dogs develop cancer, now one who is only two years old. My cat Ed was fresh food fed from a local organic, sustainable farm and never vaccinated, played in the dirt, only had fleas once in 14 years (was covered in 2 days with flea dirt so must have gotten into a mole hole). He developed a tumor in his nasal sinuses that was unresponsive to homeopathy, Chinese medicine and other approaches. He was happy, eating and playing, until his upper jaw deteriorated and we chose to let him pass on to his next incarnation.
Graduating 45 years ago from veterinary school, and steadily learning more and more about how to have happy, healthy lives for our animals and ourselves, the one truism is there are no right answers. There is no certainty in life. Not everyone pays taxes. Some swamis, indigenous people, may not even die, though most of us do. A great place to begin the joy journey is realizing that each of our actions can lead to or away from joy. How we choose to view our circumstances is most important. Your dog does not bemoan any diagnosis. They may be upset about you bemoaning a diagnosis.
Critical is our mental/emotional attitude to cancer. It is really only one of the many chronic diseases our pets and ourselves may have. It is often more rapidly progressing so scares us more. However, other problems, like aggression, Cushing’s disease, etc. may be even more challenging year after year.
Most important is constantly remembering that there are no correct answers for health. Learn how to carefully observe each individual in the home, including yourself. Learn to do a physical exam regularly, recording any symptoms, even minor, and the general energy level, in a journal.
Use your common sense (and learn ways to connect with the universe – Applied Kinesiology, dowsing, etc.) for every life style and treatment.
- Which is better – processed food or nicely raised from a local farm?
- Does it make sense to repeat vaccines that give life time immunity?
- Learning to build health to prevent infections and illness rather than immediately stopping symptoms may be scary, yet it makes sense in the long run (except in emergencies, of course).
- Would your dog prefer your attention or is your cell phone more important?
- Does it make more sense to spend the time and money NOW to create a holistic health care team or wait until cancer appears?
- Stand up for what makes sense and keep learning a variety of healing approaches to help us all heal from the toxic world we live in (noise, chemicals, water, air) since we know it is possible to live a long and healthy life.
In my humble opinion, my Rx to lessen the chance of cancer, in an ideal world where you have all the time and money in the world, would be:
- Learn a form of energy healing/meditation and do it daily. This will improve you, which improves your dog. Focus more on how to be joyful (Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Dr. Tutu) than on which treatment or which food to use. This improves quality of life each moment, regardless of pain or discomfort. If cancer or severe illness is present this is even more important. There are wonderful coaches/chaplains, some for free, who can help you enjoy every moment and not have anticipatory grief, when your dog is ailing.
- Make decisions that work for the whole family, since there are no “right” ways to stay healthy. Be creative and have fun. Short on money for fresh meat? Who can you coax to give you meat nearing expiration, or parts we often do not eat – tongue, heart, etc.? Short on time? Is there a senior, or teen nearby who can’t have a dog who would help you out?
- Get insurance as soon as a new life comes into your family.
- Learn how to evaluate caregivers and be willing to seek new ones if needed. Before the crisis! Most important is that your team members always have hope and are positive.
- You are reading this magazine. So much wonderful information. Learn to pay the most attention to those addressing the whole. When you read conflicting advice, use the one that resonates the best with you.
- Study the principles of homeopathy as they apply to every lifestyle and treatment you may choose.
- Love, love and more love.
When cancer is diagnosed, just do more of all of the above, especially loving and making decisions that support the whole family.
Dr. Christina Chambreau, a veterinarian for over 45 years, is committed to you and yours living a happy life that supports every atom of the rest of the world as much as possible. Love yourself and all around you. Learn about homeopathy as its principles can help all your health decisions. Download a bit of an introduction here.
