Cancer remains a leading killer of pets and people and it’s incidence has grown from a rate of approximately 1 out of every 500 individuals being affected in the year 1900 to a rate of 1 out of every 3 people and one out of every 5 pets (dogs and cats) being affected with cancer today. In the last 30 years, there has been an 80% increase in breast or mammary cancer and, a 100% increase in prostate cancer.
An overall increase in cancer of 49% has occurred in male pets and men and a 41% increase has occurred in female pets and women. Embodied in these facts are two key realities. First, it appears that, current cancer treatments are less than effective and second, we are not preventing cancer. Recently, three Oncologists, human physicians, Board Certified in and specialists in cancer treatment presented a key report, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The study covered data for14 years, Analysis of results included all the randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) performed in Australia and in the US that reported a statistically significant increase in 5-year cancer patient survival rates due to the use of chemotherapy in adult people affected with malignant or terminal cancer. Survival data was taken from the Australian cancer registries and the US National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry. The data was recorded from January of the year 1990 through January 2004. Wherever data were uncertain, the authors deliberately erred on the side of over-estimating the benefits of chemotherapy. Despite this, the study concluded that overall, chemotherapy contributes to barely over 2 percent as far as improved survival rates in cancer patients!
The authors found that the use of chemotherapy in 5-year survival rates in adults was 2.3 percent in Australia, and 2.1 percent in the USA. They emphasize that, for reasons explained in detail in the study, their figures “should be regarded as the upper limit of effectiveness” (i.e., they are an optimistic rather than a pessimistic estimate).
This author and holistic veterinarian find it worthwhile to note that this report was received with complete and absolute silence with respect to media coverage on our side of the world. Some veterinary and human practitioners still remain optimistic that cytotoxic chemotherapy will significantly improve cancer survival rates in affected individuals.
As a practicing holistic veterinarian and researcher, I have and continue to treat many dogs and cats affected with cancer. Lymphoma and Lymphosarcoma have topped the list. Our pet cancer patients have revealed similar results. We have an average 2 year survival rate post cancer diagnosis. Our canine Lymphoma patients, for example, enjoy a very high quality of life for an average of 2 years, using natural therapies including anti-cancer diets, the PAAWS Vitamins and other natural therapies dictated by the specific pet involved.
Adding chemotherapy has not significantly altered our results or pet cancer survival rates in our veterinary hospital. Many pets diagnosed with Canine Lymphoma Cancer, that receive traditional veterinary treatment consisting of Chemotherapy and prednisone, live for an average of 6 months, however suffer from a variety of health issues and have not enjoyed nearly the quality of life our other pet patients receiving natural therapies have exhibited.
Despite the use of new and expensive single and combination chemotherapy drugs to improve response rates…there has been very little positive impact with respect to chemotherapy’s effectiveness in increasing survival rates for cancer patients. This is true for both pets and people stricken with cancer. At very best the worldwide success rate of chemotherapy is not more than 3%.
