Cansema Salve

[Pitchick]

Does anybody know of any vets in australia that have used this on dogs with skin cancers. I really want to try it with my boy who's hemangiosarcoma's keep metastisizing, and surgery is just costing me too much now. I have already discussed an alternative treatment once before with my vet and he wasnt too keen.

It would be good to be able to talk to a vet who has used this before.

[Erny]

Is this the ointment that is black in colour? If it is, then it is probably what my Dad uses on his own skin - he suffers a lot of skin cancer on his face and head. He's had surgery before, and that has left quite a number of 'craters' on his scalp, so deep did they need to cut in. But the skin cancer just keeps coming back. So he used the ointment with a good deal of success and in his opinion it has been the one thing that has helped him to avoid more surgery and skin grafts.

The only thing that would bother me (somebody told me this could happen but I don't know the truth of it) was the possibility that the ointment would heal the part we see, but the rest would go unnoticed. I don't know if it works that way or not.

However, one thing is for sure - in the absence of being able to continue with anything else, I'd give it a try.

But this doesn't really help you as I'm not a Vet and my thoughts are only that - my thoughts and certainly not coming from any experience/knowledge base other than what I've mentioned above.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Erny

[Pitchick]

Hi Erny, yes it is the black salve stuff. I have read quite a bit about it and it seems amazing. I have had enough of spending $850 to $1000 every 8mths or so getting them removed. My bank balance has seriously depleted.

A friend of my mums told me about it the other day and she has used it herself for skin cancers with quite success, but there is different versions of it which are not as good.

I just want to be able to talk to someone who has used it on recommendation from their vet, especially a vet that is a bit more open minded to alternatives.

[wolfgirl]

Have a read of this link, may be of some use to you

http://health.centreforce.com/

[Pitchick]

Thanks Wolfgirl.

[vetrg]

If my reading of the ingredients is correct this is a caustic paste and should not be eaten. You would have to be very careful not to let your dog lick or chew after this has been applied. If it is similar to a product I have used in horses it must be left open ie not bandaged and will burn significantly if ingested. I have not used with product but would advise extreme care in a species like the dog who will lick at such areas.

[Erny]

That's excellent advice, Vetrg - and something I will also take on board as I didn't think of that aspect of it.

[Staranais]

My understanding of this type of product is that it just burns the tissue away, much like applying an acid or perhaps liquid nitrogen to the area.

I guess one of the biggest benefits of doing surgery instead of using this type of thing is that you can send the excised tumour to the lab, & they'll check the borders to see that the cells are microscopically normal & that all the cancer was excised by the surgery. If you just put a caustic salve on top, you really don't know if you've got all the tumour, or if you've left some cancerous tissue there.

Although, if you're just after it for palliative means (i.e. if the hemangiosarcoma is in spleen or other internal organs & can't be cured), then perhaps that would be different?

I've had a look on VIN, & a few vets in america are using it with mixed reports of success (some anecdotal successes for skin tumours, some cases where the dog is left with a large & painful non-healing wound and/or the tumour recurs locally). They also say that the application can be painful for the dog.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Staranais

[Dagmar]

Does anybody know of any vets in australia that have used this on dogs with skin cancers. I really want to try it with my boy who's hemangiosarcoma's keep metastisizing, and surgery is just costing me too much now. I have already discussed an alternative treatment once before with my vet and he wasnt too keen.

It would be good to be able to talk to a vet who has used this before.

Dorothea Hofmann is a vet who says she has used it successfully many times before.

Dagmar

[Pitchick]

Does anybody know of any vets in australia that have used this on dogs with skin cancers. I really want to try it with my boy who's hemangiosarcoma's keep metastisizing, and surgery is just costing me too much now. I have already discussed an alternative treatment once before with my vet and he wasnt too keen.

It would be good to be able to talk to a vet who has used this before.

Dorothea Hofmann is a vet who says she has used it successfully many times before.

Dagmar

Dagmar is she in Qld?

[Pitchick]

My understanding of this type of product is that it just burns the tissue away, much like applying an acid or perhaps liquid nitrogen to the area.

I guess one of the biggest benefits of doing surgery instead of using this type of thing is that you can send the excised tumour to the lab, & they'll check the borders to see that the cells are microscopically normal & that all the cancer was excised by the surgery. If you just put a caustic salve on top, you really don't know if you've got all the tumour, or if you've left some cancerous tissue there.

Although, if you're just after it for palliative means (i.e. if the hemangiosarcoma is in spleen or other internal organs & can't be cured), then perhaps that would be different?

I've had a look on VIN, & a few vets in america are using it with mixed reports of success (some anecdotal successes for skin tumours, some cases where the dog is left with a large & painful non-healing wound and/or the tumour recurs locally). They also say that the application can be painful for the dog.

Your last paragraph is what worries me, hence why I would like to talk to a vet that has used this before. I dont just want to get some, wack it on and see what happens.

[Dagmar]

Does anybody know of any vets in australia that have used this on dogs with skin cancers. I really want to try it with my boy who's hemangiosarcoma's keep metastisizing, and surgery is just costing me too much now. I have already discussed an alternative treatment once before with my vet and he wasnt too keen.

It would be good to be able to talk to a vet who has used this before.

Dorothea Hofmann is a vet who says she has used it successfully many times before.

Dagmar

Dagmar is she in Qld?

Yes - Glass House Mountains