If you have recently found out that your dog has cancer, you likely are dealing with an array of difficult emotions. Many people feel closer to their dog than anyone else in your life. After all, your dog is by your side every day offering you constant support. He or she never judges and always loves you. As a result, as a dog owner, you have the responsibility to do whatever you can to treat your dog cancer.

Although your veterinarian may recommend chemotherapy, you may want to investigate other options including alternative medicine. This article will explore the basics of how chemotherapy is used to treat a dog’s cancer.

Not only does chemotherapy have side effects, it may be too toxic to your dog. First of all, it is important to realize that often chemotherapy will be used alone, in other cases your vet will want to explore chemotherapy to treat your dogs cancer in conjunction with other therapies, such as surgery or radiation.

Chemotherapy is usually employed when your dog’s cancer has metastasized. If your dog’s tumors can be removed surgically and has not spread to other parts of the body, however, the veterinarian may not recommend chemotherapy at first.

If chemotherapy has been recommended to you, here are some things that you need to know in advance. The chemotherapy drugs

attack the cancer cells that are growing in your dog’s body. This part of the process, of course, sounds great. The problem resides, however, in the fact that the cells cannot distinguish between cancer cells and healthy cells. One of the major problems with the process is that it damages healthy cells and normal tissues in your dog’s body and this can cause side effects.

Chemotherapy can harm your dog’s intestinal lining and also his or her bone marrow. Your dog’s hair may also be affected during the process. Of course, your dog can’t simply wear a wig for a few months, so you will just have to deal with the hair loss. However, when the chemotherapy is over, your dog’s hair should grow back normally. Often dogs will also get diarrhea due to the chemotherapy. Sometimes they even need to be hospitalized during this process. Bone marrow can be greatly impacted and the drugs can cause the white blood cell count to drop. This can often lead to infection that can be very serious.

The chemotherapy is sometimes administered through pills that you can just give at home. Of course, in this case, you need to keep a careful eye on your dog’s health and symptoms. Sometimes the process takes place through injections that will require your dog to stay in the hospital. Doctors usually recommend at least two rounds of chemotherapy.

While chemotherapy may work to get rid of your dog’s cancer, clearly, it has a very negative impact on your four- egged friend. As a result, many dog owners are exploring alternative treatments like biofeedback, homeopathy and acupuncture. One of the beneficial aspects of holistic medicine is that it strengthens a dog’s body as opposed to weakening it. Before taking action to treat your dog’s cancer it is important to educate yourself about the various dog cancer treatment possibilities.