All Entries Tagged With: "Risk factors"

How Do I Help Prevent Dog Bone Cancer In My Pet?

Reduction of Risk Factors

While the genetic factor is a threat that is waiting to be triggered to develop Bone Cancer, the best owners can do to lessen the chance of its stimulation is to avoid carcinogens from entering the dog’s body. The less amount of carcinogens there are in the body, the less chances of interrupted cell growth process. As much as possible, products and materials containing carcinogens should be kept away from your dog.

Support

Undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are not easy feats when your dog is trying to survive the pain of Bone Cancer. During recuperation after the several difficult procedures he has been through, it is very important that you help him fight the side effects.

Treatments of cancer will result in the following aftermaths:

Vomiting and nausea
Diarrhea
Loss of appetite
Non-responsiveness
Difficulty Breathing
Swelling
Hair Loss
Low White Blood Cell Count
Anemia

According to research, dietary intake is a crucial component in surviving cancer. Findings of veterinary oncologist Gregory K. Ogilvie, DVM, diplomate ACVIM (Internal Medicine and Oncology), and professor of Oncology and Internal Medicine at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences states that:

Cancer cells readily metabolize carbohydrates, and
Cancer cells are unable to metabolize fats.

Summarizing these findings, it shows that one of the most important factors that will surely help in the recovery of your dog is right nutrition.

Your dog needs your support and care in battling Bone Cancer, and these are some of the ways you can offer them.

What Causes Dog Bone Cancer?

Theories about why Bone Cancer develops:

Rapidly growing cells at the growth plates of bones are at higher risk of genetic mutation.
Tumors may develop at an area where trauma has occurred because of the increased cellular activity at the affected area.

It is also observed that neutered dogs are twice as likely to acquire Bone Cancer. Old age and an increasing height are also considered as risk factors in the development of this disease. Apparently, these tumors appear in dogs between ages 2 to 8.

Understanding the Risk Factors of Cancer

While there is a higher risk for Giant breeds to acquire Bone Cancer due to genetics, other factors may also contribute in the abnormalities, mutation or defects in the growth plates. These risk factors are Carcinogens.

Carcinogens are substances that can interrupt the normal metabolic or growth process of cells in the body therefore creating abnormal cells that eventually sum up to become tumors.

These Carcinogens may be found in products such as industrial cleaning products, house cleaning products, and even food. The pesticides, fertilizers, additives, and fillers that are used in the processing of food, whether human food or dog food, all sum up to contribute a staggering amount of carcinogens that humans and animals consume alike.

Carcinogens may also come from radiation, X-ray, Teflon, asbestos and more.

These carcinogens, when they have entered the body, will create chemical and biological reactions that may lead to abnormal cell growths.

The Causes of Dog Skin Cancer, Part 1: Environmental Carcinogens

Why do dogs develop skin cancer? There are a variety of reasons to answer this question.

Tumor formation is primarily due to abnormalities, mutations or defects in the way cells grow. Another contributor to these irregularities are what we call risk factors. These risk factors can come from the environment (like carcinogens), or they could also be internal factors (such as genetic or inherited inclinations). In this article, we will discuss environmental carcinogens.

Environmental Carcinogens

Carcinogens present in the environment are inescapable in daily life. Everyone, which includes you and your dog, interacts with these carcinogens every day. Unlike their human masters, however, dogs are unable to wear protection and are therefore at a higher risk. Environmental carcinogens can be classified two ways: as either chemical carcinogens, or physical carcinogens.

Chemical carcinogens are found in products that we commonly use and consume. Examples of these would be lawn-care products, chemicals we use to clean our houses, or even food can contain carcinogenic ingreients. The chemical content of these products may be reactive by themselves, or can be reactive with bodily enzymes that, when introduced into the body, may interfere with the natural cell growth process. Such interference with natural metabolic processes can lead to defective cell growth and the beginning of cancerous tumor growth. Chemical carcinogens can enter the body through the skin, inhalation, and ingestion.

Our food, for example, contains chemicals such as artificial additives, preservatives, by-products, and fillers, while fruits and vegetables are grown with the aid of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Dog food isn’t exempted from these harmful chemicals. Both we and our pets ingest these elements on a daily basis.

As stated before, humans can wear protection. While we wear shoes everyday as we walk out of our houses, or wear gloves and masks, our dogs walk all over our properties barefoot, sometimes licking his feet as any innocent and trusting creature would.

Physical carcinogens affect the body and cause cancer through their physical properties and effects. Some of the most common forms of these carcinogens that are always present in our surroundings are radiation, hard and soft materials, fibrous and non-fibrous particles, and gel materials.

Examples of carcinogenic radiation are electromagnetic radiation, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation. Carcinogenic hard and soft materials are metals and alloys such as platinum, titanium, steel and silver. Some synthetic materials that are also cancer-causing are rubber, cellophane, Teflon, silicone gels, linen, parchment paper, silk, and ivory. One of the most common forms of physical carcinogens is asbestos–an indestructible fibrous carcinogen that is found everywhere, including the air, in homes, and the workplaces. This agent is now even detected in water, food, and drugs.

These environmental factors need not cause you undue alarm, if you are a responsible and caring pet owner. Knowing what to fight against is half the battle. Continue reading the next article in this series called The Causes of Dog Skin Cancer, Part 2: Genetic Factors to know more about what causes skin cancer in your dog.

Other contributors to cancer aside from carcinogens and genetic defects are obesity, vaccinations, immune system problems, and hormonal factors.

Skin cancer may occur when mast cells are chronically or frequently activated by allergic reactions brought about by environmental carcinogens or genetic factors. This is when antibodies bind with mast cells and release reactive agents such as histamines, heparin, enzymes, and cytokines.