Summatra (Reston, Va) on 06/08/2010

Then about 6 weeks ago I noticed a different large, red, golf-ball growth in the same area. This was in addition to the re-grown tumor. The new growth looked like a water balloon.

That's when I started surfing the net looking for options. One night, I spent several hours reading about herbal medicine, and TCM/TCVM vs Western philosophies about cancer and tumors ... interesting stuff, but I just wanted to help my dog.

Also, as an aside, I noticed that Jamie's breath smelled a lot worse than usual ... (sort of sour.) He was in bad shape, and I was in the middle of a move.

There are "vets" out there selling their special blend of herbs and medicines ... but I wanted to "know" what I was giving my dog. So I was looking for something I could get from any herbal supply store.

Affter reading information here and elsewhere, I decided to try curcumin (which is a turmeric extract) It cost about $10/ bottle, over the internet and comes in capsule form. I take 1 capsule apart and sprinkle it over his food (I feed him twice a day).

After 3-4 days the big red tumor burst IT SMELLED AWFUL (sour like his breath) and it continued to leak for about a week. At first, the liquid that came out of the tumor was clear,and greasy. Later there was pus, but there was less and less each day.

By this time, we had moved, and Jamie was still moping around ... and I honestly did not know if he was in pain, or depressed about the move, or what. I decided to keep giving him 2 curcumin capsules a day (since it seemed to make the tumor go away), 1 with each meal, and I also cleaned the wound area with hydrogen peroxide, and kept the wound covered. Jamie did seem to be getting better, but I did not know if it was wishful thinking on my part ... so I took him to the vet a week later.

The vet said that the tumor had ulcerated, which was not good, and he had lots of tumors... but he did not recommend putting him down at this time. He said that this is just what happens to old dogs. He cleaned and shaved the area around the tumor, prescribed an antibiotic, wrapped the wound and sent us home (and charged $250).

It has been a month now, and Jamie has continued to improve. The (red)tumor has "dried up, there is no pus. He still limps a little (but he limped before). Also, the regrown tumor has shrunk ... he still has other tumors, though. I do not know if this is a "cure" ... but I do think that it has bought us some time.

I wanted to share this because I remember how frantic I was 6 weeks, when I was looking for information that could help.

Summatra