Treating Rosy's Melanoma Naturally

By Cathy Scott

Rosy, my 11-year-old basset/heeler mix, has a new mole-like growth just above her right eye. My heart sunk when I discovered it. It's just below her right eyebrow (if dogs have eyebrows) and just above her eyelid. I didn't notice it because of her fur, and that area above her left eye is raised too. But the right side is larger. Pulling the fur back, it looks black, which was the color of the fast-growing malignant mole she had removed from her muzzle three-and-a-half years ago. That's when she was diagnosed with dermal melanoma. She's done exceptionally well considering a diagnosis that the survival rate on the high end is just two years. After her diagnosis, I immediately began giving Rosy supplements to boost her immune system so she could fight the cancer.

After having a second and third mole removed a year after the first one and those tests coming back benign, not malignant like the original, I'm not going to make an attempt with this growth (it doesn't appear to be painful). It's too close to her eye, and I can't imagine the discomfort it would cause her if it were removed. It's black, like the original malignant mole, so it does scare me. But, instead of pursuing surgery, I'm stepping up her supplements. She had some skin issues a few months ago, which told me her immune system was challenged. So, I upped her probiotic intake and started giving her the enzyme Astaxanthin, and it worked. I've been giving it to my shih tzu Joey for chronic eye inflammation in one eye, and it's helped Joey a lot too (besides attacking radical cells, Astaxanthin protects the eyes and lessens inflammation).

As of today, because of this seemingly fasr-growing mole, I'm giving her Astaxanthin twice a day instead of once. I'm also now regularly giving her Omega 3 and Coenzyme Q10, as well as a barley tablet. I'll report back the status of the growth after she's on this regimen for a few weeks. Fingers -- and paws -- crossed that I see the size of this new growth decrease.

Natural Treatment for Rosy's Melanoma

I've just started feeding Rosy, my basset/heeler mix, a combination of organic low-fat cottage cheese and flaxseed oil (a teaspoon of oil). Instead of dog food at night, she's getting cottage cheese and flaxseed. It's from the Dr. Budwig diet, which recommends it for cancer patients. I did a search and read about people giving it to their dogs as part of a holistic treatment regimen.

Nearly two years ago, Rosy was diagnosed with dermal melanoma after I noticed a dark spot on her muzzle that was growing rapidly. Two weeks later, it was a huge, black mole, so her veterinarian removed it. A week after that, the lab results came back as melanoma. This is what her vet wrote in his e-mail to me, telling me that the lab results were in:

"Rosie's mass came back as a dermal melanoma. These can either be malignant or benign -- this one was in between. The pathology stated we have good margins on the tumor. The best thing to do now is to monitor for re-occurrence of tumor."

I'm scheduling Rosy for a two-year check-up at the end of the year, but, so far, the tumor has not returned (I check it regularly, because it's easy to feel on her muzzle). Everything I've read says the lifespan for dogs with dermal melanoma is no more than two years. One study says that 65 percent of dogs with malignant dermal melanoma "don't last more than two years due to local recurrence or metastasis."

Rosy -- knock on wood -- is doing very well. She still jogs with me a few times a week and doesn't show signs of illness, even though she'll be 10 years old in January.

I started her on supplements immediately after the lab work came back. She takes Omega 3, colostrum in powder form (I mix it with water), barley tablets and CoQ10 (the ubiquinol form). And every day she drinks coconut water, which is loaded with nutrients and considered one of the healthiest drinks found in nature. Twice a day, Rosy also has a tablespoon of coconut oil.


And about six weeks ago, I began giving Rosy daily doses of Vitalzym, an enzyme supplement. Her energy level remains high and I remain optimistic.