What is Integrative Oncology and how can it help my pet?
Let's first start off with touching base on the fact that even though we have major advances in medicine and are living longer, we also are seeing higher rates of cancer both in humans and our pets than ever before. Cancer is one of the scariest diseases as it can pop up at any time, can be incredibly sneaky in some cases and difficult to diagnose and is also often difficult to treat with our best hopes being to put a patient "in remission" vs being able to "cure" a patient of this disease.
Integrative Oncology combines multiple aspects and types of medicine like conventional (radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy), Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, and integrative/supplemental treatments to provide the best quality of life for your pet. The goal of the integrative aspect of oncology is not to work against our conventional oncology team but to work WITH them. Our goal is to focus on overall patient health and wellbeing. If the body is a garden and cancer is a weed, conventional oncology's aim is to yank that weed out. Integrative oncology's goal is to address why that weed developed in the first place and to work on making the garden "soil" healthy.
Some pets may be receiving integrative care as a preventative option. Some may be receiving integrative care alongside conventional treatment. Some pets may be receiving integrative care when conventional treatment is not an option. There are all types of different scenarios. The basic goals are a healthier gut, strengthened immune system, higher energy levels and appetite, decreased pain and hopefully *at minimum* slowing down the growth of any tumors present (in some cases tumors can shrink however I would be concerned if any Veterinarian made you those kinds of promises just because in oncology especially, things can be very unpredictable). The #1 goal is that your pet feels their very best as many days as possible for as long as possible with or without conventional treatment added in as well.
There are numerous treatment options available through integrative oncology and each plan is patient specific. They may include such things as IV Vitamin Infusions, Ozone Therapy, MBRT (Microbiome Restorative Therapy), Supplements (Chinese Herbs and/or Western), Food Therapy, and much more.
If you are interested in Integrative Oncology care for your pet, please let us know. You can text or call us at 817-467-6688 or send an email at frontdesk@animalcarearlington.com. You also can fill out and submit the request form below.