 |
|
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Body Mind & Spirit with John Holland
Psychic Medium, Author
& Teacher,
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
The BUT Doctor
Healing America's Real Crack Problem One Person at a Time
by Eddie Conner
Avant-Gardening:
Insights by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
How to Create a Successful Holistic Practice- from Start to Success
by Shaun Brown,
CMT, BA BeWell Publications
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher.
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Conscious Breathing
for Health and Self Transformation
by Dennis Lewis
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Healing & Alternative Health
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care:
Signs of the Aging
Dog and Cat
Part 8:
Organs of the Chest:
Cancer in the Chest
by Kathleen M. Carson, D.V.M
|
|
|
|
|
|
TThis month I will continue discussing diseases that can affect the organs of your older dog or cat’s chest or thorax; my subject is cancerous tumors in the chest.
What is a tumor? It is a lump or mass in an organ or tissue caused by an overgrowth of cells. There are two types of tumors; one of these is benign tumors. In the case of a benign tumor, the overgrowth is usually not rapid, it stays in the organ or tissue where it started, and it usually doesn’t disturb the surrounding organ or tissue.
The second type is malignant tumors. We refer to malignant tumors as cancer. Malignant or cancerous tumors grow rapidly. The cells in these rapidly growing tumors mutate to the point that, while they usually retain some of the characteristics of normal cells of the original organ or tissue, they have other characteristics which are abnormal. (In some cases, malignant cells grow so rapidly that they don’t look at all like the original cells they came from - or any normal cell; these are called undifferentiated cells. The malignant tumors made of undifferentiated cells are particularly nasty.)
The abnormal cells from a malignant tumor also invade and destroy the surrounding healthy tissue or organ, and they usually migrate to other parts of the body where they would not normally be found, making new cancerous tumors. This migration is called metastasis.
Cancerous tumors cause problems not only by invading local or distant organs or tissues. Since they’re growing more rapidly than normal cells do, they need lots of blood and nutrients. The blood and nutrients which a malignant tumor uses are taken from what is supposed to go to normal organs and tissues, sapping the cancer patient’s strength and causing chronic fatigue and weight loss.
What causes cancer to come about? There are factors in the body which normally inhibit cell overgrowth; they keep cell multiplication within normal limits. When something interferes with these inhibiting factors, the cells multiply out of control. While we are far from having all the answers as to why this occurs, we have identified at least some of the agents which interfere with cell growth inhibition. Among these are: genetic predisposition, environmental toxins, excess exposure to sunlight, viruses, and the aging process. (We find cancer most frequently in older dogs and cats.)
When a malignant tumor metastasizes, one of the most common places it metastasizes to is the lungs. This is because a cancerous tumor spreads or metastasizes either through the blood or lymph systems.
As discussed in a previous column, all blood which is pumped back from the body goes to the lungs to be oxygenated and to release carbon dioxide. Lymph fluid, which we’ll discuss in more detail below, empties into the largest venous blood vessel called the vena cava, mixing with the blood in that vessel. Thus, whether the malignant cells travel via the blood or lymph fluid, they end up in the lungs at some point. Since the lungs have multiple blood vessels and nutrients, they’re an ideal place for cancer cells to set up housekeeping. The malignant tumors in the lungs caused by metastasizing cancer cells are called secondary or metastatic tumors. The cancerous tumor from which these invading cells originated is called the primary tumor.
Less commonly, cancerous tumors are found in the lungs which originated there rather than coming from somewhere else in the body. These would be considered primary pulmonary (lung) tumors.
What symptoms would you look for if your animal has cancer in his/her lungs? They’re basically the same as with other diseases of the lungs: dyspnea (difficult breathing or shortness of breath), panting, coughing (usually more common in dogs than cats), lethargy, and/or exercise intolerance. There also will be weight loss.
If your animal is discovered to have cancer in another part of his/her body, then your veterinarian will take periodic thoracic radiographs (X-rays) to make sure it hasn’t spread to his/her lungs. The symptoms mentioned above don’t usually occur until a large portion of the lungs have been invaded by cancer, so the symptoms alone shouldn’t be relied on to determine if your animal’s lungs have been invaded. It is ideal to discover metastatic pulmonary tumors (called mets) as early as possible in their development, thus the periodic thoracic radiographs.
Unfortunately, even the radiographs aren’t a foolproof method of detecting pulmonary metastasis. We can’t see lung tumors on radiographs until they’ve reached a certain size. If they’re very tiny, they won’t show up on a radiograph. This is is another reason why it’s important to take a series of these radiographs over time - to catch any mets as soon as they can be detected.
Regarding metastatic lung cancer, usually the primary malignant tumor in another part of the body is discovered before the secondary one(s) in the lungs. However, on occasion, a radiograph of the thorax taken for other reasons reveals mass(es) in the lungs. Then a search needs to be made to find the primary tumor. In most cases it’s in an obvious place, found either visually or by palpation (feeling with the fingers). If it can’t be found by these methods, then more radiographs of other parts of the body and possible ultrasound can be utilized to locate the primary tumor.
If no tumors can found in other parts of the body, even when the above methods have been used, your veterinarian may also get a sample of the lung tumors to see what kind of cells they contain. He/she would be looking for cells which either look like malignant lung cells (in which case, the tumor would be a primary one) or cells which look like malignant cells from another part of the body, like mammary gland (breast) cells or bone cells. In the latter case, the lung tumors would be known to be metastatic.
Collecting the sample(s) of the lung tumor(s) can be done in several ways. If the lung tumor(s) is fairly close to the chest wall, your veterinarian may be able to collect a sample by inserting a needle or larger-bored instrument through the chest wall to collect the sample. This would be done under sedation, and your veterinarian would use ultrasound to guide him/her to the area of the lung where the tumor is.
Sometimes the tumor causes fluid to be exuded into the chest cavity; if this is so, a sample of the fluid can also be tapped off and examined for cancer cells.
If the tumor is deeper within the lung tissue, then surgery would be necessary to collect a piece for biopsy. Of course, you and your veterinarian would discuss beforehand whether your animal is in good enough shape to tolerate such a procedure.
If it is determined that your animal has a primary lung tumor which is found only in one lobe on X-rays, then surgery also would be considered as part of the treatment for this tumor. Again, your animal’s overall condition would be factored in to the decision as to whether or not the surgery will be performed.
On the other hand, if your animal’s lung tumors are determined to be secondary, metastatic lesions, treatment of the primary tumor is essential.
Non-surgical treatment of malignant tumor(s) of the lung(s) would depend on what type of cancer is involved. Consultation with a veterinary oncologist (cancer specialist) would be the best way to go in determining if chemotherapy would be helpful.
The oncologist will probably also recommend a special cancer diet for your dog or cat - one which is low in carbohydrates, since carbohydrates are the best source of quick energy. When the amount of quick energy is reduced, the growth of any rapidly-multiplying cancer cells, which need large amounts of this quick energy, is inhibited.
Of course, if you have a holistic veterinarian, he/she will also recommend treatments which will enhance your animal’s immune system (thus helping the body in its own efforts to deal with the cancer), reduce side effects of chemotherapy, and improve your animal’s overall condition and wellbeing.
The other type of cancer found in the chest - of cats only - is called mediastinal lymphosarcoma - or mediastinal LSA. This cancer is also sometimes referred to as mediastinal lymphoma. It is a cancer of lymph nodes that are found in the chest in the thin wall of tissue which divides the right from the left sides of the chest. This thin wall of tissue is called the mediastinum. In many, though not all, cases, mediastinal lymphoma is caused by the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV).
While mediastinal LSA is more often found in younger cats, it sometimes can be found in geriatric ones, hence its inclusion in this column.
What are lymph nodes? As we discussed in my January 2005 column about lymphoma of the submandibular lymph nodes in the neck, lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system, an important part of the body’s immune system. The lymphatic system is made up of of lymph vessels which carry the lymph fluid, and the lymph nodes or glands, which are strung like beads in a rosary along the lymph vessels.
The lymph fluid actually originally comes from the blood. When the blood pumped from the heart finally reaches its final destination, the organs and tissues of the body, the liquid part of the blood, called plasma fluid, leaks out through the thin walls of the tiny, end-stage blood vessels called capillaries. This plasma contains oxygen, nutrients like glucose, and other factors which will nourish and support the recipient organs and tissues. When the plasma fluid has “let off” all these good substances for the cells, it then “picks up” unwanted substances from the cells and surrounding tissues, such as carbon dioxide, other endproducts of metabolism, debris, foreign - eg, cancer - cells, bacteria, and viruses.
As the plasma fluid leaves the cells to make its way back to the heart, it is picked up either by the blood vessels called veins or the lymph vessels. These lymph vessels are more thin-walled than blood vessels, and they have a series of valves inside them to prevent back-flow of the lymph fluid. This is necessary, because, unlike blood, lymph fluid isn’t pumped back by the heart; it is pushed through the lymph system as the vessels are compressed by surrounding muscles.
As the lymph fluid makes its way back to the heart, it is filtered through the lymph nodes/glands. Special white cells found in the lymph nodes, called lymphocytes and monocytes, remove and destroy any bacteria, viruses, cancer/other abnormal cells, and debris found in the lymph fluid as it passes through the node. There are hundreds of lymph nodes throughout the body, some superficial, like the submandibular ones, and some deep within the body, like the mediastinal ones.
Perhaps in part because of having to work so hard and deal with so much toxic material, sometimes the lymphocytes themselves turn malignant. This is when lymphoma comes about in their associated node(s).
The symptoms of mediastinal LSA in a cat are the same as those found in asthma or congestive heart failure: dyspnea, increased respiratory rate, lethargy, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Since a cat tends to not show obvious symptoms until a condition is fairly advanced, immediate medical attention is needed if the above signs are seen. Remember to stay calm and handle your dyspneic cat very gently so you won’t worsen his/her symptoms.
Cats with mediastinal LSA will also have a lot of free fluid in their chests. This will be seen on the initial thoracic radiographs, and it hides the presence of any masses in the chest. Your veterinarian will draw off as much fluid as he/she can and re-radiograph your cat’s chest. The cancer is diagnosed by the presence of a mass in the middle of your cat’s chest. Sometimes the tapped-off fluid is examined for malignant lymphocytes.
Mediastinal LSA responds well to chemotherapy. Within days of its institution, the chest mass usually shrinks dramatically. The amount of free thoracic fluid being formed is also greatly reduced. The chemotherapy doesn’t cure the patient of the mediastinal LSA, but it causes it to go into remission (very little or no sign of the cancer).
After the initial, intense chemotherapy, a less intense maintenance program is instituted for the rest of the cat’s life. Patients with mediastinal LSA on chemotherapy can live months, or even occasionally, a year or more past the original diagnosis. Luckily, animals on chemotherapy don’t tend to have as many unwanted side effects as humans do.
As mentioned above, if you have a holistic veterinarian, he/she will also recommend treatments which will enhance your animal’s immune system (thus helping the body in its own efforts to deal with the cancer), reduce side effects of chemotherapy, and improve your animal’s overall condition and wellbeing.
Next month I’ll start discussing organs of the abdomen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Kathleen Carson, DVM
Veterinarian & Author
|
 |
Dr. Carson received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California at Davis in 1968. She's been a small animal practitioner (dogs and cats ) for all the years since, except for a short stint at the San Diego Zoo when she first graduated.
She belongs to the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.
Since 1974 she's lived and practiced in the South Bay Area near Los Angeles. She started the area's first house call practice in 1976 and the first pet crisis/loss group in 1989. The human-animal bond is of special interest to her.
She started exploring complementary veterinary medicine in 1987. Her practice became 100% holistic in 1996. She utilizes acupuncture, herbs, supplements, Bach Flower Remedies, homeopathic remedies, nutrition and medications for her patients in her practice.
She's currently taking a leave of absence from her house call practice due to health reasons but continues to do phone consultations and to write.
E-mail:
Critterhlr@aol.com
website:
http://www.holistic
vetconsult.com
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
