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Receiving a diagnosis of cancer for your beloved canine companion can be devastating news. Fortunately, dogs respond well to many forms of cancer treatment.

There are different treatments and therapies for different types of canine cancer. Each pet is considered on an individual basis for which array of treatments will be most effective. There are a number of different vitamins, herbs, minerals and other supplements that are known to help.

Cancer in dogs most commonly affects the skin, bones and internal organs. Research is constantly bringing to light new effective treatments. Obviously, the earlier the cancer is detected, the better the chances for a successful treatment. Various types of X-rays and CAT scans (no pun intended) are helpful in locating cancerous tumors and other conditions.

Chemotherapy is used for some types of canine cancer usually in combination with some kind of surgery. Radiation therapy is most effective for tumors that have not yet spread to other parts of your dog’s body. This will help shrink or eliminate the tumors.

Severe toxic side-effects are rare when radiation therapy is used on dogs, affecting less than 5 percent of the animals receiving it. Some dogs may experience itchy skin as a side effect and may be given medications to keep them from scratching themselves too much. There may be hair loss at the spot where the radiation is directed but the hair normally grows back after treatment.

Cancer can develop without any symptoms so as a dog owner you should be vigilant, especially with older dogs or with breeds that have a history of inherited cancer. Annual checkups are essential but there are also things you can check at home, including any unusual swelling that does not heal, weight loss, loss of appetite, sores that don’t heal, general depression and loss of energy, difficulty breathing and difficulty performing normal day-to-day activities like eating, drinking, urinating or defecating.

Recently, the canine genome sequence was completed and gene maps are being used for extensive research to help prevent and cure cancer in both dogs and humans, especially bone cancer, skin cancer and lymphoma - all of which are strikingly similar in both people and canines.

Small genetic changes can have a proportionally huge effect in dogs. Because dogs have a much smaller gene pool than humans, cancers (as well as many other dog traits) can be switched on by very few genes — sometimes just one.

If your dog or cat suffers from arthritis pain, don’t make it suffer any longer. Relieve joint pain, lubricate the joints, increase flexibility and improve mobility with the best pets pain relief.

Inflammatory bowel disease or IBD for short is a severe form of irritable bowel syndrome found in pets. This disease affects cats more than dogs and can be difficult to diagnose.

The actual trigger or cause of disease is poorly understood. This makes treating this disease difficult and leads to frustration among both pet owners and veterinarians because medications and special diets either work for a short time and fail or don’t work at all. How do we diagnose this disease and how it is treated?

IBD is an idiopathic disease. Idiopathic is a fancy term doctors use for “we don’t know.” Now before you declare your vet an idiot for using this term to try to confuse you, please understand that this is used clear across the land from your veterinarian’s general practice to the leading veterinary universities.

For sure, vets understand there is some mechanism that triggers the disease. However, definitive testing is unavailable at this time. To make things really confusing, the criteria for IBD differs between many top veterinary gastroenterologists. Sounds like trying to get agreement on Capitol Hill, yes? The good news is there are many ways to get a definitive diagnosis and treatment.

Many times IBD is not IBD at all. Other diseases such as parasites, glandular diseases, etc. can mimic IBD. To rule these diseases out your veterinarian may suggest some screening tests such as a fecal parasite check, routine blood work, X-rays and an abdominal ultrasound.

These are non-invasive, relatively inexpensive tests that establish a baseline. If they come back with normal results, don’t feel that you wasted your money but rather that you were able to rule out certain diseases before considering more invasive testing.

Other times a food allergy can mimic IBD. If there are foods that cause an upset stomach and we know what they are, then it is easy to avoid them. In some cases, pet owners can try different brands or flavors of over-the-counter diets. If one particular diet is tolerated, then stick with it. Remember to be very strict with what your pet gets besides its diet to prevent flare ups.

If that doesn’t work, there are commercially made prescription diets available through your veterinarian’s office. These diets are a little more expensive and not sold at your local supermarket or pet store. However, many pets respond so well that the extra cost and inconvenience is worth it.

If these simple tests are normal and your pet doesn’t respond to a particular diet, then more invasive testing is warranted. Veterinarians may suggest a procedure called endoscopy or the passage of a flexible tube with a camera at the end down the esophagus into the stomach and duodenum (the first section of the small intestine). Instruments can be passed through the tube to obtain samples of tissue for testing (biopsy, culture, etc). Endoscopy requires anesthesia but uses natural openings so trauma is minimal.

If your dog or cat suffers from arthritis pain, don’t make it suffer any longer. Relieve joint pain, lubricate the joints, increase flexibility and improve mobility with these best pet pain remedies.

Your cat may suffer from heart disease. Fortunately, it won’t suffer from a heart attack but a number of other feline heart conditions may occur.

Your cat’s heart is similar to a human’s in that it has four chambers, consisting of a left and right ventricle, and a left and right atrium. The atrium is designed to intake blood from the lungs and the rest of the body while the ventricle pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body. There are also valves that prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction.

Cats are either born with or develop three types of heart disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and idiopathic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Symptoms that may indicate that your cat has heart problems include loss of appetite, weakness, fainting, a persistent cough, difficulty breathing, a bloated abdomen, and a rapid, weak heart rate.

Once in a while, cats are born with congenital heart disease. These can often be treated with surgery but is usually too complicated for the average animal hospital. You may have to contact a veterinary cardiologist or a veterinary college in this case.

Symptoms of heart disease in cats may be very subtle at the beginning but if you wait too long it may be too late for successful treatment. So if you have any suspicions, take your cat to a vet to be tested at the first signs of symptoms.

Since heart disease can also be a result of liver or kidney disease, appropriate blood tests may be in order. Cats are also susceptible to hyperthyroid disease and there is also a way to test that. A cat may show signs of heart murmur but this by itself is not automatically an indication of heart disease. Other symptoms may need to be present first.

There are things you can do to treat your cat at home. For starters, try to avoid most commercial cat foods if possible as they tend to be very salty. If you can, make your own cat food at home. Certain herbs, such as dandelion, ginseng, goldenseal and cayenne can help restore heart health in your cat. But take note that some herbs and herbal remedies can hurt your cat more than help it so check with your vet first.

Raw honey, fish oil, garlic and kelp are also good for your cat’s heart. Be very careful with fat-soluble vitamins such as A and E as they are stored in the liver and can easily be overdone when given to cats.

If your dog or cat suffers from arthritis pain, don’t make it suffer any longer. Relieve joint pain, lubricate the joints, increase flexibility and improve mobility with the best puppy pain relief.