A Path With Paws

Believe it or not liver tumors are some of the easier cancers that I work with. They are often slower to grow then other malignancies, and herbs and acupuncture seem to work very well to control them.

I have had a number of dogs who were diagnosed and given three months or less to live, who ended up living over a year. Most importantly they were happy and healthy while they were here. I think this is one of the most important considerations in treating cancer holistically. While I find in almost all animals I can extend life, their quality of life also stays very good. I have had many clients comment that their dogs actually seem healthier than before they had cancer, when they are on an protocol with acupuncture, herbs, and a good quality diet. I think this is because we are treating underlying deficiencies that were present before the cancer occurred.

I just lost a beautiful lab, named Hunter, who made it 22 months after diagnosis of a liver tumor. Up until the very end he was happy and he always got comments on his coat and how good he looked when he went out. Lou, see Lou’s story, is still doing well 20 months after diagnosis. I have seen these tumors shrink with just holistic medicine. These dogs really do quite well.

Liver tumors in dogs are most commonly hepatocellular carcinomas. There are also benign tumors that can start in the liver and although they are not technically cancer can end up rupturing or bleeding and sometimes can lead to death. This article is about treating liver tumors that start in the liver. Because of the liver’s placement and function in the body many cancers can spread to the liver, including lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma. There are other treatment strategies for these cancers.

I have found many of these dogs present with an episode of bleeding or collapse. Sometimes elevated liver enzymes are what leads to a diagnosis.

Occasionally surgery is helpful if there is a good prognosis and most or all of the tumor can be removed. I think this is worth consideration in some cases.

My protocol can vary from animal to animal but here is a list of some of the most common treatments I use.If the cancer has already spread to the lungs at the time of diagnosis then see Breathing through cancer – holistic herbal therapies to control lung metastasis. Follow links for more information about herbals and links to buy from Amazon.com.

1. Acupuncture – I consider acupuncture to be essential for treating liver tumors. I had one dog I treated live for over a year with just acupuncture and her tumor shrunk during that time.
2. Artemisinin – This is one of the most effective herbals for treating liver tumors and always part of my protocol.
3. Yunnan Baiyao – If there is bleeding or suspected bleeding this is a must. Yunnan Baiyao is the most effective tool to stop internal bleeding out there (except when surgery is called for). The western vet I work the most with has even started sending this clients to the international district for it recently. Most of the time I will use this for a month or two and then stop if the bleeding does not reoccur.
4. Xiao Chai Hu Tang can be a great herbal to use against liver tumors especially if the signs fit or there are lung mets. Xiao Chai Hu Tang powder can be purchased through my etsy store Kingdom of Basil
5. Ge Xia Zhu Yu Tang with added San Leng and E Zhu if possible is commonly used for liver tumors. This is a great herbal for any type of liver cancer.
6. Mushrooms – I recommend a combination of Shiitake, Maitake, Reishi and Cordyceps or the Host Defense My Community from Fungi Perfecti. They are a excellent company. Mushrooms help to strengthen the immune system and have strong cancer fighting properties. These can be added to food.



7. Sanshedan Chuanbeiye – this is a great cancer fighter and should always be used if there is concern about cancer spreading to the lungs.
8. Milk Thistle and/or SamE if there is liver function compromise
9. A cancer fighting diet is an easy way to help your dog and they usually love the higher protein, less proceed foods – see Diets for cancer in cats and dogs

If you can, find a holistic vet to help you determine a protocol for your dog companion. If you can find one who does acupuncture even better! Please check with your animal’s regular vet before starting any herbals or supplements.

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

Here is a little protocol I used for cancer when I first started out doing acupuncture. It is something my first acupuncture teacher used often and with good results.

I combine this with acupuncture and used to use it in every animal I treated with cancer regardless of type.

There is sometimes some great power in a simple little recipe like this one! This one is still very dear to my heart. It has extended the quality of life and the longevity of many of the animals I work with.

Richard’s Mini Cancer Protocol to support the immune system and fight cancer

1. Coenzyme Q10 200mg a day for dogs, 50mg a day for cats and small dogs
2. IP6 800-1600mg twice a day for dogs and 400mg twice a day for cats and small dogs
3. Medical mushrooms – to include Shiitake, Maitake, Reishi, and/or Cordyceps at 300mg per 50lb. I like the Host Defense product My Community
4. Artemisinin – see article
5. Sanshedan ChuanBeiye – see article

I have found these days that I can get better results with some of the Chinese formulas I use to target specific cancers in specific animals however this is still a good protocol. I still use it or parts of it in my treatments.

So why would I use this protocol instead of the ones I talk about for specific cancers?

• These are all extremely easy supplements to find with the exception of sanshedan
• Sometimes oncologists absolutely will not allow the use of Chinese herbs when they are giving an animal chemotherapy. They may be more open to this protocol or parts of it.
• You don’t need to know what type of cancer your animal has to use this.
• If you have an animal who is very sensitive to Chinese herbs this protocol is unlikely to cause side effects because Coenzyme Q10 and IP6 are naturally in the body already and the other supplements are quite mild on the body.
• You don’t have a holistic vet to work with and you are unsure what to use this may be a good protocol to consider and talk to your vet about.
• This protocol can be used with other herbal protocols when the immune system needs additional support

Coenzyme Q10 is an enzyme made by the body and found in the membranes of many tissues. CoQ10 has effects in stimulating the immune system and works as a strong antioxidant. In animals and people with cancer it has been shown that levels of CoQ10 are lower then in normal individuals. There is some evidence that CoQ10 can increase cancer survival times.

Reduced levels of CoQ10 have been found in animals and people with heart issues. CoQ10 can help to protect the heart, lower blood pressure and help with repair to the heart.

CoQ10 has been shown to reduce cardiotoxicity (toxicity to the heart) in people on the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (adriamycin).

I dose CoEnzyme Q10 at 200mg per day for dogs and 50mg per day for cats.

Here are some additional articles on CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 pharmacological and biological treatment

Cancer Topics – Coenzyme Q10

Inositol Hexaphosphate also known as IP6 is important in stimulating the immune system’s natural killer cells to destroy cancer tissue. It is an antioxidant and has effects in inhibiting cancer cell growth and division. Not much research has been done in humans with this supplement but a lot of cancer studies have been done in animals.

I dose cats at 400mg two times a day and dogs 800-1600mg twice a day when I use this supplement.

Here are some articles on IP6

Treatments and side effects IP6

The holistic vet on IP6

IP6 cancer research

Medical mushrooms are very good for our animals in so many ways. I will later have a whole article up on medical mushrooms but what you need to know now is –

• Mushrooms are amazing in their abilities to help the body fight cancer and stimulate the immune system, the Chinese have been using these for years.
• Mushrooms also help with giving animals added nutrition when they need it, such as when they have cancer or are going through chemo.

The best mushrooms to use for an animal with cancer are maitake, shiitake, reishi and cordyceps. A combination can be used or focus on one.

I recommend at least 300mg of mushrooms be given daily for every 50lb of cat or dog. More in fine.

One of the best ways to dose mushrooms is by adding them to your dog’s food (doesn’t work quite as well in cats). My favorite company for dried mushrooms is Fungusamongus. They have a good price on dried bulk mushrooms.

Where can you buy any of these products?

Follow the links above to buy off of Amazon.com For Artemisinin and Sanshedan follow the links to articles with information on where to buy these herbals.

Also many of these products can be bought at your local drug store, health supplement store or grocery store (with the exception of Sanshedan. And don’t forget about Fungusamongus for mushrooms.

As with all of my articles please check with your animal’s veterinarian before using any supplements, herbals or products discussed her.

Back to cancer care and cancer book table of contents

It’s been a wonderful year.

Thank you all so much for visiting and helping to make this site great!

I’m taking a break for the holidays with my human and animal family. I look forward to the seeing you in the new year. Have a wonderful holiday!

Christmas lilies are extremely beautiful but also deadly to cats. Every year cats die from nibbling on lilies and once they become sick it is too late. Just a couple bites of lily will destroy the kidneys of a cat and send them into renal failure. Usually they die within 24 to 72 hours.

All lilies, not just the Christmas type are poisonous to cats, this also includes lucky bamboo which is actually a lily.

Please do not bring lilies into your home if you have cats even if you think they will not eat them. It is heartbreaking to have to tell a cat’s person that there is nothing you can do. If your cat does eat a lily call your veterinary clinic or emergency hospital immediately and get instructions to induce vomiting.

Just when I think I’m starting to understand the way the world works, I seem to get a lesson in listening and being open to what is offered and by whom. While I have had animals I have worked with teach me all kinds of important lessons over the years, I have never had one offer me lessons in acupuncture itself. That is, until last Friday.

My last patient of the day was a little Pomeranian I have been treating for a number of years named Kuma. I always look forward to seeing Kuma. He is one of the most expressive dogs I know and he brings both a great open energy and a calmness to his sessions. Often he is my last appointment of the week and his energy always takes me into the weekend feeling good. Kuma is very serious about his acupuncture and is completely in tune with what the needles do to his body. In fact I don’t think I have ever met anyone, either human or animal more in tune.

In the past we have had some amazing sessions.

Kuma has back issues that occasionally flare up and one time he came in with his back really bothering him. After I placed the needles he immediately settled down and relaxed.

While his mom and I watched in amazement, the needles in Kuma’s body started shaking and I don’t mean just a little movement — those needles were dancing and everything that was stuck in his body was moving out through them. Now I have had dogs and cats that have some movement to their needles during treatment, but this was something much more impressive. It looked like there was a current attached to those needles, yet Kuma was completely relaxed and laying flat on his pillow. At first they moved quite fast, but as he went through his treatment they started to slow and towards the end we watched one after another finally stop. The moment the last needle stopped moving he jumped up, insisting that I take them out. And boy did he feel good, he went bouncing around the room like a new dog.

In his session Friday, Kuma had a little inflammation in his back again but it wasn’t as bad as it sometimes is. I put his needles in like I normally do and we waited for him to settle down like he normally does. But this time he didn’t. He was antsy, he would sit down for a moment and then stand up, he shook some needles out, he moved around, he just would not settle.

Occasionally Kuma will have a needle that is hurting him and most of the time he will look back at it and then look at me when that happens. He wasn’t doing that this time but still I moved a couple needles to make sure.

However this time he was acting differently then normal. He was coming towards me and grabbing my hand with his paw and bringing it towards him. At first I thought he just wanted me to scratch a certain spot or to move my hand closer so he could lick it. But it became clear, he was clearly trying to tell me something. But what?

At the same time all these was happening, I kept on having this thought in my head that I should have treated his back differently. I was actually starting to feel quite insecure about the whole thing, like I didn’t know what I was doing. While I tried to push that thought away it kept on coming back. Finally it was too overwhelming to ignore especially with Kuma clearly feeling like something was wrong.

I placed a couple extra needles in his back, following the pictures that kept on coming into my head and immediately he settled down, within seconds. He was relaxed, he put his head down, he looks like he was asleep except his eyes were open a little.

His mom and I just sat there and looked at each other and back to him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a dog teach me acupuncture before,” I said.

In this world our teachers come in all sorts of packages and with all sorts of lessons to offer. Yes, Kuma did teach me acupuncture, he knew even better than I did what he needed, but he also taught me to trust what I am feeling more than my knowledge and to listen even when the voices I hear do not come in the form of the human voices I am used to hearing.

The number one question I receive from people visiting this blog is “how to I find a good holistic vet to work with?” It is a good question!

Here are some suggestions and resources to do this

• Ask your animal’s veterinarian From my experience there is not as large a divide between western medicine and holistic veterinary medicine in this country as there is in the human medical community. Part of the reason for this is that we are all veterinarians. I had a full western veterinary education and practiced it for six years before I learned acupuncture. I still use my western training daily. Because of this the mainstream vets trust us, they are less worried that we will do something that harms an animal or makes their treatments not work. I receive about half my patients through vet referrals. The vets that refer to me, know me, trust me and give me full access to their records and that makes it easier to coordinate treatments with them.
• Take a visit to your local pet food store. I’m not talking the big box stores like Petco and Petsmart but your local independent stores or small chains. In Seattle these include Next to Nature, Mud Bay, All the Best, Pet Elements, and many more. Hopefully you have one in your area. These stores are very good at educating their staff on nutrition and options for people’s animals with disease conditions. They also hear stories from people all day long about their animals. They know the local practitioners and who is good. Ask them! They are always happy to share.
• Ask people at the dog park or you meet walking dogs.The best referral is word of mouth. People love to share stories about their dogs and I think we just naturally want to recommend practitioners who have helped our animals.
• Search holistic veterinarian or veterinary acupuncturist “your city” online. The internet got you here, it should help you with this also.
• Use one of the tools from the various holistic veterinary societies.
  • International Veterinary Acupuncture Society Find a Veterinary Acupuncturist (right side of screen)
  • Veterinary Botanical Medical Association Find a Vet in the US
  • Veterinary Botanical Medical Association Find a Vet International
  • Animal Essentials Find a Holistic Vet
  • Nature’s Variety Find a Vet This is a list of vet who recommend their line of food. They have a good quality product that many holistic vets recommend so many vets on this list are holistic but not everyone.

Do all holistic veterinarians know acupuncture and other kinds of natural medicine? What is the best type of holistic veterinarian for my animal?

Most of us do not practice all holistic modalities, and even those with a wide area of systems they work with, usually have a few they are very good at and some that they just do a little of.

I consider myself a very good acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. I am a TCM or Traditional Chinese Medical practitioner. In addition I do some western herbal medicine, know something about supplements and vitamins, occasionally dip into homeopathy and flower essences and am pretty good at nutrition. I can not do chiropractics, do not know aryuvedic herbal medicine, and can not do classic homeopathy.

Because of this if you came to see me with your animal I would most likely recommend acupuncture and Chinese herbs because those are the two modalities that work best in my hands. If you went to someone who specialized in aryuvedic herbal medicine and homeopathy they would probably recommend a therapy that included those modalities.

Ever holistic vet is going to be a little different in their knowledge.

What is the difference between all these methods of treatment?

I am going to use mostly links to websites since there are so many good explanations already out there and then adds my own thoughts so please click on the links for more info.

• Naturopathic medicine – I think of most naturopaths as using a combination of dietary therapy, supplements, vitamins and western herbals to cure disease and bring about balance in the body. In Washington state human Naturopaths are on the same level as MDs and can prescribe most drugs, do blood tests and do small surgical procedure. Of course veterinary naturopaths will be western veterinary doctors already.
• Traditional Chinese Medicine – This is the type of medicine I practice. It includes acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine used together in synergy. TCM also uses it’s own system of diagnosis that is very different than western medicine. Through TCM I am often able to fit many symptoms and diseases an animal is suffering from into one Chinese diagnosis and I find it easier to treat hard to diagnose and chronic conditions that western medicine has trouble with
• Acupuncture There are many practitioners who practice acupuncture alone under the TCM system or practice acupuncture under a more western system. From my experience the best practitioners use TCM to diagnose and treat.
• Botanical or Herbal Medicine There are many types of Botanical Medicine. The most common are
  • Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine – This is an Indian system of treating disease and dysfunction that also includes diet.
  • Western Herbal Medicine includes European, American, and Native American plant medicine.
  • Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine – see TCM above. Most Chinese herbal medicine uses herbal in combinations that work together so that the formula is not the sum of the herbals used but how the herbs react with either other. This makes it possible to use herbals that would be toxic alone by combining them with others which reduce their toxicity and also makes it possible to target herbs to a certain area of the body, among other things.
• Homeopathy – Classic homeopathy is a very complex system and takes many years to learn. Many of us use more of a “cookbook form” of homeopathy.
• Chiropractors – focus mainly on adjustments to the spine

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

This is a great question that I get quite often.

There are a few options

Note: As of September 2012 I am now selling a few of my formulas through my other business Kingdom of Basil on etsy.com. This is an experiment for now. I still highly, highly recommend working with a holistic vet before starting any herbals. I am happy to make special orders if you are working with a vet who recommends something but does not carry it, just have them contact me.

• The best is to find a local holistic veterinarian to work with. Not only do you get excellent herbs but you also get excellent advice.

  I have my own herbal pharmacy and make most of the formulas I talk about from scratch. I know my herb sources, most of my herbs are from the companies Spring Wind and Mountain Rose Herbs. Both of these companies are very careful to only supply good quality, pesticide free, toxin free, and correctly identified herbs. Because I make herbal formulas from scratch I can adjust them for the animal I am making them for. Not all holistic vets make their own formulas but most have a good supplier of quality herbs and tinctures.
  Pros – good quality herbs for animals, advice and support
  Cons – may be hard to find in some places



• The International District in your city aka Chinatown can be a good place to find some hard to find Chinese herbals. I send all my clients to a local store in Seattle called Lucky An Dong for SanSheDan ChuanBeiYe. It is the best place to find it and it is cheaper than I can buy it wholesale. Most large cities have an international district. You can also often find other formulas in your local ID. There is a couple problems with buying in the ID. The first is that there is sometimes a language barrier unless you speak Mandarin and sometimes you can end up with the wrong product. The second is that many of these products may be high in pesticides or toxins because they are not tested as well (or at all) then herbs through other companies.
  Pros – cheap, can find just about any Chinese formula
  Cons – language barriers, quality of herbs, need to be near or in a large city
• Many herbs can be found online. My favorite place to send people is Amazon.com . They have many quality herbals available both Chinese and western although do not carry everything. Make sure to read the ingredients of the products and match them to what should be in the formula. In most of my herbal and supplements articles I have included a link to Amazon.com for that product if it is available. I choose my link based on what I feel is the best quality product available online. There are other places online that also sell herbals such as Modern Herb Shop. For artemisinin I always send people to Holley Pharmacy since I have used their product for years and know it to work and be high quality. Use some caution when buying online as not all companies are as reliable as Amazon.
  Pros – easy, more reliable then ID, can be ordered from anywhere
  Cons – not as high quality as custom made herbals, no ability to modify formulas
• Many cities have western herbal stores that can make up formulas or sell pre-made formulas. In Seattle we have The herbalist and Tenzing Momo and Dandelion Botanical where you may be able to find some of the herbals I recommend or similar products.
  Pros – good quality herbs, easy to communicate with staff, local
  Cons – may not be able to find what you want as usually are more western



• Sometimes western vets will be willing to order herbs for you. There are many companies that sell directly to vets. Here are a few.
  Natural Path Herbs
  Kan Herbs
  Goldern Flower Chinese herbs
  Dr. Xie’s Jing Tang Herbal
  In addition I will sometimes sell my formulas directly to other veterinarians.
  Pros – high quality herbs, right formulas, open up your vet to new options
  Cons – more work to convince your vet to order herbals, may not be able to convince your vet
• It is possible to make your own herbal formulas. It takes time, access to ingredients and a good blender or grinder. I use a Blendtec blender to grind my herbs. It’s a powerful little machine that can get even my shells and heavy twigs and roots ground down to a powder.

  Because of the risks of making an animal or a person sick from using herbs incorrectly the best Chinese herbal companies will only sell to practitioners. This makes it harder to get good quality herbs if you don’t have a veterinarian to work with. If you are looking to buy western herbs and make formulas yourself, Mountain Rose Herbs does sell to anyone. They do also carry some Chinese herbs that are used in western herbal practice but they are under the western names.
  Pros – high quality herb formulas with some ability to modify
  Cons- a lot of work, requires equipment and knowledge, hard to find suppliers for some Chinese herbs

Good herb hunting!

Return to Integrative and Holistic Methods for Treating Cancer in Cats and Dogs

Will you help me?

With what you ask –

There is only one of me. This world is full of brilliant people with rich experiences.

When I started Path With Paws I really wanted a place where, not only could I share my stories and articles, but where people could come to find community. I have seen that happen in the comments of various articles but I really want to start to move that into the forums.

Why do I want this?

The most important is that I think it will be easier for people to connect with others and get help. The other issue is I am finding I will soon not be able to keep up with the comments and questions I am receiving and need help. You can help! There are so many wonderful people out there with knowledge and experience. I can learn from you as well! And what you have learned can help someone’s beloved animal.

I am going to start moving comments in the articles into the forums if they end up in the comment section. I promise to participate in the forums as much as I can. But I also want them to grow and develop a life of their own. This should be fun!

So if you have a question will you post it in the forums?

If you have some advise or a story to share will you share it?

Together we can make this site great and a place of support for those who need it!

Please join me!

Go to the forums now.

A Puppy in Your Path

Today as I was walking

I couldn’t help but feel

This thousand-pound weight

Holding me to the ground.

It tugged on my dreams

that usually float in the sky,

So that I was staring down at them,

Loathing around my feet.

then: out jumped a motion from my right side eye!

a puppy! Bouncing at me!

it hopped from side to side

landing on my toes.

it licked my hand

and said, “I pick you!”

“Me?” I said looking around

“Yes, *you*!” the puppy grinned.

As I pet this floppy brown foil of my compressed mood,

I only felt the fur, softly gliding through my palm.

I only felt the energy, of love given and returned.

Then the puppy hopped away and said, “I love you!”

And it was gone.

My heart beat, was it beating before?

The sun shone, was it shining before?

My face smiled, could it do that before?

My dreams went back up to the sky to whisper to the gods:

“The self-pity is gone

And she is ready to live-

To spread the word to others that

there is always a puppy in your path”.

Based on true events at St. Scholastica Monastery on

11-08-11

-Katie Schleicher

Janell Osborn sent this poem, written by her daughter Katie, out to the veterinary botanical medicine email list today. It really touched my heart on so many different levels. They gave me permission to share it with you. I hope it touches you also.