I didn't have a chance to post an update due to the holidays; however, Weasel is more or less back to his old ways again. When we had that scare prior to Christmas, I was able to get an appointment to see Dr. Haghighat and he administered shots that included Vitamin B, an inflammatory aid and something to increase his appetite. Normally I keep tabs on what's taking place so that I can report on it afterward but during this visit I was a bit shaken up with Weasel's decline and was in the mode of 'just work your magic on him!'. He also received a herbal based injection as well but I'm not sure what the 'ingredients' were. All of this is a repeat of what he received on previous visits that seems to get us back on track, and thankfully worked for us once again. What I did pick up that was new for this visit were these large round 'pills' described as 'CAS Options Canine 120 chewable' - according to the receipt. Dr. Haghighat explained their purpose but I was a bit out of sorts so I can't recall their intent unfortunately. Although they are produced for dogs, they serve an equally beneficial purpose for cats and are a desirable product since they have a mushroom taste which cats are fond of. Weasel now receives a quarter of these pills in each meal per day, grounded up and mixed into his food.
I am pleased to see Weasel running around, sitting on my lap and purring quite contentedly; however, he does breath heavily these days which Dr. Haghighat noticed as well. No one has an explanation for it but it does concern me. He has gained 3 lbs since we first started seeing the holistic vet which is great. Aside from these 'vomit' incidents, he's otherwise not showing signs of pancreatic cancer and visually looks better than he has in a few years, with a nice full fur coat and a plump little belly.
Around the mid to end point of January, we will likely take him for his ultrasound which will contribute toward the report that Dr. Haghighat is producing for the veterinarian journals. I'm really hoping that the outcome of this doesn't depress me as I naively feel on most days that Weasel will be around for quite some time. It's when he has those days of severe sickness that I'm thrown back into a 'reality check' that our time together is truly precious.
Dear Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI read your blogg with a lot of sympathie. I hoop dat Weasel still is doing wel.
your story toucht me, becouse one month ago my cat deid from the pancreatic cancer.
We miss her very much, especialy that after the diagnosis she lievd 5 days. She was jn lot of pain so we didn't had any choice than put her to sleep.
The schok is still great and I find your blogg very supportief.
I wish you a few more god years with Weasel!
kind regards from Amsterdam
zana
Hi Zana,
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely message. I'm so very very sorry you had to lose a furry loved one due to this awful disease. I imagine you do miss her a lot. With only 5 days to live after diagnosis, it's just so sudden. There's no time to mentally prepare for the shock. I wish I could have somehow helped you, but I'm pleased to hear that the blog provides some support for you even after the fact :). I hope 2014 is a bit easier on you, although it will unfortunately take a long time to heal after losing a loved one. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself to grieve. Big hugs :)
Thank you very much Melissa! I feel that you realy understand the pain of loosing a animal. So many peoplethink"it is just a cat, so geg over it".
DeletePlease keep your blog!
Big hug for you too
zana
I agree, it's a shame that so many people state 'it's just a cat' and 'get over it' when you're coping with the challenges of grieving. They're family and they're loved. Losing a loved one is painful no matter who it is - furry or human. Thank you again for the kind message :).
DeleteHello Melissa, We are in the process of helping our dog fight cancer and yunnan baiyoa was just mentioned to us yesterday by our veterinary oncologist at the University of Guelph. We searched through Windsor today but could not find it......would you tell me where you get it from? We are going back to Guelph on Wednesday for an ultrasound and could just keep going to Toronto if necessary.
ReplyDeleteHelping fight the fight has become our daily job and we are , like you ,not going to give up without trying everything.
Thank you! Kathy http://adventuresonalgonquin.blogspot.ca/
Hi Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that your dog is fighting cancer. It's really devastating to go through this. It's wonderful that you're taking the steps to deal with this.
I purchased the Yunnan Baiyao on Spadina street in Toronto. I believe the name of the store is The Herb Depot, located at 354 or 366 Spadina Ave, Toronto, Ontario (they moved and I can't recall what the new address is). If you walk along the street, you'll find it. They sell Yunnan at a very low price.
Best wishes for you and your dog. I'm hoping you return one day with news of success! :)
Thanks for so much for your speedy answer. I called them and they are out of it but Great China Herb Centre on Dundas West has it in stock.
ReplyDeleteFYI - we are also doing medicinal mushrooms for our dog and it is working wonders. The product is k9 immunity, they do not make it for cats from what I can see but perhaps your vet will know. Our veterinary oncologist is pro-active and recommended that about 4 months ago. Best of luck to you and your furbaby! Paws and fingers crossed!
Oh that's great that you found a location that has it in stock!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you state that about mushrooms. Dr. Haghighat is always talking about them and recently put Weasel on canine chewable tablets called 'CAS option'. It's mushroom flavoured (I'm pleased that he's actually eating them - it's shocking really). We also tried something called 'mushroom plus' at one point but he didn't like it. I'm not sure if either are similar to what you're giving your dog but I will definitely mention it to Dr. Haghighat the next time I see him!
That's wonderful that you have a great vet. It makes such a huge difference :).
Haha yes, paws and fingers crossed is right!! :) Take care!!
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI came upon your blog as I was researching pancreatic cancer in cats last night. Yesterday we took our 13 year old orange tabby, Nacho, to our vet for a routine thyroid check and senior blood panel and exam. A year ago she had radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism. She had several follow-up visits and was doing well. We noticed around Christmas that she appeared to be dropping weight and was not keeping herself as clean so we bought her in for her yearly check early. Her blood work was normal but on exam a mass was felt in her belly. She was xrayed and the mass was large and appeared to involve several organs. We opted to have an exploratory and biopsy done. The mass is in her pancreas, liver and intestines. Our vet consulted with a surgeon and it was determined this tumor is not operable. Today we are waiting the biopsy results but I doubt it will come back as anything good. We are planning on using some of the things that have worked for you to boost her immune system and hope to give her more quality time. Something that caught my eye was the hair loss comment on the blog. Nacho exhibited hair loss on her belly and inner thighs. She was barbering and licking. Our vet treated tis unsuccessfully and we tested her thyroid and discovered her hyperthyroidism last year. We took her to a feline specialist who confirmed the hyperthyroidism and administered radioactive iodine. This hair loss was also consistent with hyperthyroidism and after treatment the hair began coming back in but it never came in all the way. I did some further reading and found a few instances where hair loss was related to cancer in cats, however, Nacho really did not exhibit some of the typical hair loss patterns. I do not know if her hair loss was related or not. We are devastated by this and hope to help her as much as we can. Thank you for sharing your story.
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteI'm so very very sorry that you're facing this, on top of having dealt with hyperthyroidism. It's quite apparent that you're very caring and a wonderful 'mom' to Nacho. The Radioactive Iodine treatment is not an inexpensive procedure. My mom's cat has hyperthyroidism and I was hoping we could pursue that course of treatment but it was just too costly unfortunately.
With respect to the pancreatic cancer, you are doing the right thing by seeking out a quality of life treatment regime. I would advise the Life Gold, making Essaic Tea (although they're the same in many ways, nothing beats the homemade stuff), hyland's cell salts - the BIO-XII one that combines all 12 together (since this has spread to the organs), ensuring that you provide a tablet around 4-6 times a day or so, Amino-B Plex for daily vitamin B and the most useful item of all - Low Dose Naltrexone. Anything in addition to this is fine as well but those seem to be the most important items. Perhaps investigate making CDS from MMS as well…I haven't yet done this, but if things take another downturn, I'll be left with no choice. MMS has been quite successful in addressing cancer in lymph nodes. CDS doesn't leave the bad taste in the mouth or have as many side effects such as nausea.
You mentioned the hair loss on the tummy/inner thighs. I wondered if it might be related to the cancer; however the vets would not confirm that. It did grow back for the most part - but not entirely, when I switched to the pine based litter. Weasel still insists on licking in that area though so there is a patch of missing fur. Perhaps as owners, we need to pay attention to this and 'assume' it's cancer related the moment we notice it, and immediately have an examination done. Pancreatic Cancer is next to impossible to find when it's treatable, as it's likely the mass is too small to be detected by a physical examination and therefore a vet won't recommend an X-ray so perhaps we need to pay attention to the subtlest of details and hope that by being vigilant, this can be avoided in the future should a similar incident occur.
This will unfortunately be a rough road ahead. Know that you're doing and have done everything possible to ensure that Nacho has a wonderful life. I realize this brings little comfort; however, when facing these hardships, it's best to hold onto the little positive thoughts we have in order to get through things as best as possible. Big hugs to you :):). Please keep us posted on your progress with Nacho :).
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIRS wonderful to read about Weasel's return to health! It was your review of
Dr. Haghighat which prompted me to call there right after Christmas. Pashmina my almost 13 yr old kitty was diagnosed with most likely lymphoma. He went from 16 lbs to 1/ lbs in a very short time and wAs barely eating.We have had 2 visits to Sasan and Pashy does indeedfeel better. It tools about 3 weeks but his appetite is much better. Hrs hanging with the other kitties and is usually in the kitchen when I come home from work " singing" for his dinner.
I just ordered life gold yesterday after reding your blog. I have a question about the essic tea though. Is this something you make? Should I research Hulda Clark for this info? I saw an essiac product at Thr health food store but didn't pay close enough attention.
Pashy is also on the naltrexone.. Which seem to have an immediate effect! We are having a bit of am issue yesterday and today.. His ears look a little yellow so I've stopped all supplements til I hear from Dr. Haghighat.
Thanks for your very hopeful blog!
Melissa and Pashmina
Ok my bad typing.. It's not IRS and 16 lbs to 12 lbs
DeleteThx
Melissa and Pashmina
Hi Melissa and Pashmina!
DeleteI'm pleased to hear that Dr. Haghighat can be of help to you and Pashmina. He has done quite a bit for Weasel and I as you can see from this blog. I'm also happy to hear that you're finding what I'm doing to be helpful for you as well!
That's excellent that Pashmina's appetite has improved. Weasel is quite plump these days so don't give up! She may put on the weight over time :).
Yes, I make the Essiac tea. I purchase the herbs from Essiac West (link is along the side of my blog), but you can source another supplier if you wish. I just get a 2 oz packet at a time. I then make the small batch - two tablespoon version, which is on the recipe sheet they provide. What is made fills two Mason jars nicely and the heat from the Essiac tea creates a vacuum on the lids so the tea will last a long time. I store it in the fridge. Follow the instructions carefully with respect to what types of cooking surfaces you're allowed to work with - ie. no aluminum.
In many ways it's pretty much the same as the Life Gold but I don't know how the Life Gold is made; whereas I know that I'm following Rene Caisse's instructions perfectly when I make it myself. She treated cancer quite well with Essiac Tea.
That's strange that Pashmina's ear went yellow from the Naltrexone. I haven't heard of that one yet..hopefully it's not something to be too concerned about. Unfortunately since that is exposed skin, it may be that you're seeing jaundice (typically hidden by fur) which is a symptom of pancreatic cancer. All of this is quite terrifying but keep doing your best for Pashmina and her spirits will pick up in no time :).
Thanks for your reply Melissa and your essiac tea recipe. I'm not sure that it was the naltrexone which turned his ear yellow ...jaundice yes.. we are working on it. More frequent small meals , another homeopathic remedy, lots of love,positivity and prayers.
DeleteMelissa and Pashmina