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Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma

by erin - January 29, 2010

I am new to this web site and to TCM/Herbal medicine. I was at the NAVC in floirda last week and listened to Steve Marsden and several others speak and got very excited about the use of Herbs and more traditional medicine. I plan to pursue more education in this area, but i have a case i would really like to treat now and i was hoping you all might give me some advice. Unfortunately, the case is my own dear dog Wendel. He is an 11 yr old MC hound/aussie shep cross (about 54 lbs). I found a pulmonary mass 12/10/09, FNA = carcinoma. He had a left caudal lunglobectomy on 12/16/09. Mass was contained within that lobe and completely removed, but hilar lymph node was enlarged, biopsied and carcinoma cells were seen in the LN biopsy (so it is not completely gone). The mass came back as a pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Wendel recovered well from surgery and we started chemotherapy with an oncologist in my area on 12/31/09. He is on Carboplatin q 3 wks and has had two doses (the second dose was delayed a week due to low wbc). He is also on Carprofen 50 mg bid for cox-2 inhibition. I have started him on fish oil capsules (the ones i take) 1 cap sid and he gets cerenia for 5 days around his chemo. He seems to be tolerating all of this well - no GI upset, no fevers, etc. But the cough has returned - xrays 2 days ago showed mild interstitial pattern, but no visible masses. His PE is WNL, bloodwork WNL. Attempting to use what i learned at NAVC, his tongue is pale pink and has a thin white coat on it. Tongue and gums definitely look paler than they should with a PCV in the mid 40s. I have to push a bit to find his pulses, but once i do they are strong - i am not sure i would say the vessel feels wiry, but it is toned. I plan to finish out his chemo (4-6 doses total) but would like to stay on the light side. I want him to be comfortable and extend his quality life as long as i can (he is in great health other than this). I would also like an antitussive that isn't an opioid (the oncologist doesn't want him coughing, but i am reluctant to use such strong suppressants as the cough is mild). Thank you for reading this long message - if you have questions or would like more info please let me know. I am eager to help my dog as much as i can. oh - i almost forgot - i am currently feeding him a commercial kibble + canned diet and based again on NAVC would like to change that - any suggestions in that area would be welcome too. Thank you!!

by erin

January 29, 2010

i forgot to add that Wendel has been "heat seeking" since at least october (a new thing for him) and his ears often feel cold to me.

by naturevet

February 3, 2010

Hi Erin,

Sorry I somehow missed your post on the 29th. I hope you didn't feel we were snubbing you! We love to help people new to herbal medicine.

Regarding your dog, he seems like the classic situation in which I would use the two formulas I talked about - Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang and Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum). You can use them both together and they should have a synergistic interaction, both between the two of them and with the chemo. The latter will also probably reduce further any nausea concerns he might have and is an anti-tussive to boot. (Remember that I mentioned it's my absolute favourite for collapsing trachea). XFZYT will help with the cough as well.

So that's how I'd start. I do once again apologize for not getting back to you. I wish you lots of success and would love to hear how things are going.

All the best,

Steve

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