Hello Heidi,

I'm sorry to hear that you and your rat are going through this. Since the two tumors were on widely-separated body parts, there's a good possibility the cancer has spread. If you want to see a veterinary oncologist, chemotherapy or radiation may be an option. If you'll give me your state, I'll try to locate an oncologist for you.

It sounds like you're interested in alternative treatments, too, and you've done a good job of finding some of the better ones. Whole books have been written about alternative cancer treatments for dogs, so much of the information out there is for that species. However, the advice can eb adapted for rats as well. Both conventional and holistic treatments seldom offer a complete cure (though it isn't unheard of), but instead slow the cancer's progress. Integrative treatment involves the best of both conventional and alternative. I believe people get the best results that way. Dr Roger Clemmons, DVM, at the University of Florida is a leading expert on integrative veterinary medicine. I would recommend that you read his article, which includes recommendations for vitamins, herbs, and other supplements. You can read it here:

http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/AltMed/Cancer/Cancer_AltMed.htm

You mentioned flax oil, so I believe you may have heard something about Dr. Joanna Budwig's cancer diet. The recipe is:   

      1 cup Organic low fat cottage cheese
      2-5 Tbsp. of flaxseed oil
      enough water to make it soft

You put it all in the blender. It is to be fed daily. Here is a link to Dr. Budwig's site:

http://www.cancure.org/budwig_diet.htm

There are also mushroom extracts that have shown some promise. If you'd like more on that, let me know. If you have more questions, want more information on certain aspects, or help finding an oncologist, just click on REPLY. I hope your rat's cancer isn't too advanced to respond to treatments.

Anna

It will take me a few minutes, Heidi, but I'll be back with the information you requested. I appreciate your patience.

Anna

Thank you for the information on the blacksalve. It's always good to hear from someone with firsthand experience. When I've read about it being used on dogs and cats, the photos always looked horrible, but the people claim to have gotten good results in the end. I appreciate knowing a little more about it. I'm afraid I've never heard of any other topicals, except bloodroot salve, and I haven't even read of good results with that.

There's no need to click on accept again. Thank you for accepting above.

I hope the oncologist will be able to help your rat.

Anna

Edited by Anna on 9/1/2009 at 10:34 PM