I am looking for similarities
in all individual cases of
Histiocytic diseases.
I wonder if we all tell our
stories we might come up
with some commonality
between the specific
situations in which all of
our pets got this disease.
So please email me the
details and I'll put your
pets story on Shelley's
Histio Website
UW HISTIO VERHAAL
Ik ben op zoek naar
overeenkomsten in alle
individuele gevallen van Histiocytose.
Ik hoop dat wanneer wij onze Histio verhalen
vertellen, wij overeen-
komsten ontdekken over
de manier waarop onze
huisdieren deze ziekte hebben opgelopen.
Stuur mij de details en
ik zal het verhaal van uw
huisdier op de Histio
website van Shelley zetten.
WARNING !
These stories are all
different. Individual
symptoms, situations
and circumstances
may vary and response to
therapy is not always the
same. - Disclaimer -
WAARSCHUWING !
Deze verhalen zijn allemaal
verschillend. Individuele
symptomen, situaties en
omstandigheden kunnen
verschillen en de reactie
op therapie is niet altijd hetzelfde. - Disclaimer -
HISTIOCYTOSIS IN
OTHER LANGUAGES
German - Hund
Maligner Histiozytose French - Chien
l'Histiocytose Maligne Italian - Canis
Maligni Histiocytosis Spanish - Perros
Histiocitosis Maligna Dutch - Hond
Maligne Histiocytose
My name is Steve Mauriello and this is the story of my beloved friend Zeke and his battle with Malignant Histiocytosis (MH) a most potent and dreaded form of canine cancer.
First I have to mention that Zeke had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and at a later date a diagnosis of equi. erlichia another tick borne disease. He always had many ticks on him as we would walk and run and play in the woods. I used a natural spray but it did'nt work all that well and rather than keep him always in the house I would just remove th ticks when we got home, never realizing how bad it may have been for him to even have them for even one minute.. I always think these tick bites weakened the immune system and left him vunerable to cancer. I've read many a good article on tick borne diseases and one expert soldier who had taken care of german shepard dogs during the Vietnam war said almost every dog that had tick borne diseases over there, would eventually come down with some form of cancer, because the immune system was so overburdened with trying to fight off the parasite.
It was May of 2004 and my wife called me at work and said Zeke didn't want to eat his morning meal. That concerned me, because I've always been very aware of his eating habits as I know it is a good indicator of a dogs overall health. So when I got home, I tried to feed him but still he wouldn't eat anything and he seemed down, so off to my vets we went. We did all the usual blood work and things like listening to his heart etc. When the blood work came back the vet said: "I think I have some bad news, I think Zeke may have cancer." My heart sunk and my mouth dropped, but when she said she thought it was a very tough and potent cancer I was devastated and asked her what could be done. All she said was there is no good outcome with this type of cancer and maybe he would have three months with treatment. She also said she had heard of a dog living 8 months with aggressive treatment but that was very rare and I thought to myself what quality of life did that dog have during those 8 months with "aggressive" treatment.
I went home with Zeke and right away went online to find out everything and anything I could about MH, but it was not good info that I found. I was referred to a cancer veterinary clinic here in Boston and went to talk to the specialist there, but again no good news. I was sent home with toxic chemo therapeutic drugs to administer at home with special disposal instructions and rubber gloves to handle this stuff with. I ended up throwing it out and not putting zeke through what I was told would be a three month ordeal of chemotherapy and scary trips to the vets (he was petrified of the doctor, like I am)...
I am into herbs and natural health so I decided I would give my friend the best shot at good "overall" health that I could without poisoning him with toxic drugs that only further weaken the already beat up immune system. You must understand that cancer occurs because the immune systems stops working at its peak rate. We are all exposed daily to cancer causing substances and we are able to fend off the invaders as long as our immune system is functioning properly. Knowing this I knew I could at least boost Zeke's immune function and hopefully it was not too late to slow the cancer growth and even halt it.
Zeke did extremely well and to his doctors surprise lived for almost 10 months and feeling good and energetic for most but the very last three weeks when the cancer overtook his body very rapidly. Zeke was a special dog very affectionate and loving with eyes that told a story when you looked at him. He is deeply missed daily and will be forever!
I sure hope some of the info I listed here will help even one person make the right decision, whether it is a traditional approach or the route I took. I would like to thank Mo for putting up this website in honor of her beloved dog's and her trying to find some help/options for owners whose dogs who are stricken with this horrible cancer and also my vet who helped me as much as she could.....Thank you Mo,
Be sure to seek the advice of your veterinarian about any question you may have
regarding your pet's health and behavior. No diagnosis can be done without a veterinarian actually seeing and examining the patient.
DOG OWNERS SHOULD REPORT ALL CASES OF HISTIO TO THE BREEDER AND THE BREED CLUB!