Nutrition for animals with cancer

We receive many inquiries about the diet and composition of the feed for animals suffering from tumor disease. A tumor disease tugs at the reserves of the (animal's) body, so attention to nutrition is extremely important for the recovery process.
In the following section, we would like to briefly give you some tips that you should discuss with your veterinarian. We will also show you important information about the intestines of animals, as they play an important role in their health.

• Diseased organ (system)
• No generalised treatment
• Supportive nutritional components
• Intestinal health - an important building block in the fight against tumours
• Apply radical catcher

Diseased organ (system)

 If you are considering a change in diet, you should first look at the diseased organ to support it with the right food. Your veterinarian will be able to select the tastiest food for your pet from a variety of reputable manufacturers. This should already take into account the nutritional components necessary for the organ system, as determined by research. Feed manufacturer consultants can also assist your veterinarian in the selection process.
If you prefer to prepare the feed for your animal yourself, we ask you to use as a guide a feed calculation specially prepared for your animal by a veterinarian specializing in animal nutrition. On the Internet you can find addresses of specialized veterinarians, whom you can contact and ask for advice. Please remember to describe the exact condition (diseased organ) and to follow the feeding and ration recommendations exactly!

You are welcome to request an analysis of the feeding of your animal via the contact email address info@immune-therapy.vet.

It is important to get the current weight of the animal, the disease (the diseased organ) as well as the feed components (name of the feed and/or the individual feed components in daily fed grams) listed. Then, an exact analysis can be made for the specific case of disease.

No generalised treatment

 The reduction of carbohydrate intake recommended in many publications in case of disease may even be a harmful indication for your animal, at least in certain disease patterns. Since the organ affected by the tumor or secondary disease relies on support from easily metabolized feed (e.g., liver disease), the important advice remains to use a feed geared to the affected organ system or to switch your animal to it.
We ask to refrain from feeding raw meat to animals with tumor disease, as the patient's immune system should not be additionally weakened by pathogens contained in the feed and therefore a balanced diet is particularly important in this phase of the disease.

Kölle et al. (2015) have dealt with the so-called BARF diet in great detail in a recent article. However, this article does not address the specific situation of the tumor-afflicted animal, but clearly deals with the undersupply problem of a BARF diet.

Supporting nutritional components

The addition of so-called radical scavengers has proven successful in the nutrition of animals suffering from tumours. These antioxidants fulfil important tasks in the body's own defence, but also, for example, in aging processes and in tumour control. Therefore, they should be added to the diet. In order to be able to provide the immune system with an optimal supply, various trace elements such as zinc, selenium, copper and manganese should be added to the diet. For animals, for example, Basic from Almapharm is introduced as a feed additive mixture to add various necessary antioxidants and trace elements to the diet in a pleasant way. You can also obtain Basic from your veterinarian.
Furthermore we can recommend the product Immunactiv Balance from the company Vetfood. This food supplement has been specially developed for dogs and cats suffering from tumours.

Intestinal health - an important component in tumour treatment

Actually, it is commonly known: Bowel health is an important component of the overall health of the body. Often tumour patients suffer from disturbances of the intestinal activity, so that the better and natural regulation of the digestive processes is very important.
Basically, changes in digestive activity and eating behaviour on the one hand can be part of the clinical picture on the other hand can be the result of tumour treatment (chemotherapy).
Sivan et. al. (2015) stated that intestinal health is an important stabilising factor for the immune system and overall health, especially in tumour-infected animals. In their study, bifidobacteria were responsible for a better reaction to the treatment of tumour diseases and for a better tolerability of the therapy. This product class, called probiotics, has a very positive effect on intestinal health. An example product is the Intestivet Gel which you can buy online or from your veterinarian.
A new formulation of probiotics for dogs and cats is Intestivet. This product can also be obtained from your veterinarian or FeedMyAnimal.

Use radical savenger

Please note that it may also be useful to use radical scavengers for your patient. These are antioxidants that neutralize and break down free radicals released in the body. Free radicals are released, for example, after radiation or tumour suergery and irradiations; the use of these preparations stimulates the immune system and accelerates regeneration.
A preparation specially developed for veterinary medicine is Astoral Basic from the company Almapharm. It is available in 100 and 250 g packages. You can also contact your veterinarian for this preparation. In addition, you can also use the Vetfood Immunactiv to strengthen the immune system of your animal.
All products mentioned here are suitable for permanent use and should therefore also be used.

Literature: Kölle P, Schmidt M (2015) BARF (Biologically species-appropriate raw feeding) as a diet for dogs, Tierärztl Prax; 43 (K) 409-419 Sivan A et al. (2015) Commensal Bifidobacterium promotes antitumoral immunity and facilitates anti-PD-L1 efficacy, Science 27 Nov 2015: Vol. 350 no 6264 pp. 1084-1089

Product overview

alfavet ReConvales Tonic for cats 45 ml
https://www.feedmyanimal.com/alfavet-reconvales-tonicum-for-cats-45-ml.html
Supplementary feed for cats to stimulate food intake and support recovery

Astoral Basic from Almapharm
www.feedmyanimal.de/almapharm-astoral-basic-fur-krebspatienten-100-g-und-250-g.html
Supplementary feed for dogs and cats to strengthen the immune system.

Immunactiv balance capsules for strengthening the immune system of vetfood
https://www.feedmyanimal.de/vetfood-immunactiv-balance-kapseln.html
Often given for oncological diseases.

Intestivet Gel 15ml for dogs, cats and pets from Vetfood
https://www.feedmyanimal.de/vetfood-intestivet-gel.html
Feed supplement for dogs, cats and pets with intestinal problems and to improve the gastrointestinal tract.

Cannabidiol tincture for dogs and cats as an aid to the recovery by ecuphar
https://www.feedmyanimal.de/cannabidiol-tinktur-ecuphar.html
Supplementary feed for dogs and cats to support the recovery phase

Incense

Boscortin from Inuvet is now available. This preparation combines incense with omega-3 fatty acids and for the first time in veterinary medicine offers a proven product with good bioavailability. This greatly simplifies the use of incense for affected animals. You can get this product directly from your veterinarian.