Cancer Diagnosis

Expect a Dedicated Approach

A diagnosis of cancer brings a rush of powerful emotions that can feel devastating and create a reeling mental process trying to grasp and ascertain the implications for the family. The consideration is for you to take a deep breath and be willing to have the heart and faith to look at the beginning of something else.

So often we want to grasp onto an assured miracle cure. This thinking, coupled with our reeling emotions cloud us into temptation. With integrity yet with clarity, I must be firm to claim that there is no miracle magic bullet to cure cancer. There is no over the counter supplement that will certainly produce results. There are many Internet sites willing to prey on your reeling state.

The most current evidence based medicine and meta-analysis concludes that the best clinical outcome, defined as a longer period of life with high quality is obtained by an integrative approach to treatment. The current best protocol is to de-bulk a tumor when present as best as possible by surgery or other mechanical means; followed by foundational and lifelong changes in lifestyle. This changes and addresses the biological terrain in the body that allowed the tumor to form in the first place. There is not a shortcut or one best herb, drug etc. A multifaceted and highly individualized approach is the current best protocol.

There are options.

It all begins with a reconsideration of beliefs, a willingness to be honest and forthcoming and faith and courage to keep the big picture of the opportunity to explore something else.

In authenticity, I must also speak to value. Having the expectation that because this is holistic or integrative, then it must just be the cost of the supplement or herb and those surely can be found much cheaper on the Internet is misguided at best.  While it is true that a holistic approach is a fraction of the cost of traditional diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, we are still considering hundreds to thousands of dollars versus thousands to ten thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars if on the human side. The value is the choice in quality of life that your spending dollar can bring. The education of lifestyle choices coupled with the conscious support of quality of life giving treatments is truly invaluable. That being said, every family must realistically consider their available finances. Without judgment or guilt, given the situation of limited finances, the option to do palliative care coupled with conscious dying and grieving support holds incredible value.

Because Dr. Backus's clinic is at her house, she has been able to create a unique, private, warm and safe healing space for individualized care. Her emphasis and commitment is to provide non-toxic cancer treatments designed for each animal and family as well as supportive coaching. She has completed over 250 hours of instruction and mentoring in animal communication at the Gurney Institute and offers that invaluable service to honor and share the animals' wishes and insight.

Expect a dedicated approach taking whatever time is required to support the information gathering process, the creation of an individualized action plan and a skilled and compassionate implementation of the plan. Expect an unwavering commitment to honest and open communication in a team approach, honoring each chosen member of the health care team. Expect to be held to this same standard, embracing the gift of embarking upon a journey.

Read more about our cancer screening process

Cancer Blood Testing

TKcanine Cancer Panel

For the detection and therapeutic management of cancer in dogs with suspected or confirmed cancer.

Cancer is a common disease affecting dogs of all age, size & breed. The signs of cancer are often nondescript and can mimic many other types of diseases making the diagnosis of cancer challenging, often invasive and expensive. Once diagnosed, veterinarians have had few tools available to effectively monitor the course of treatment or disease progression.

TKCANINE CANCER PANEL has been clinically proven effective on a wide variety of tumor types. When a suspicious mass is identified, or the dog presents with other indicators common with cancer, the cancer panel is used to detect the presence of neoplastic disease.

TKCANINE CANCER PANEL combines the information obtained from two independent measures of cellular irregularity; abnormal cell division and systemic inflammation. Thymidine kinase type 1 (TK1) is a measure of dysregulated cellular proliferation - a hallmark of cancer. C-reactive protein (CRP) is elevated in the presence of systemic inflammatory disease. United through the Neoplasia Index (NI), the test panel provides objective evaluation for disease.

he panel is useful for monitoring treatment and disease progression. For patients undergoing therapy, results from the cancer panel can quickly indicate that the patient is responding to the treatment protocol, as indicated when both TK1 and CRP decline from the initial pretreatment assessment. With resistance to therapy, TK1 and CRP will be unresponsive and remain elevated. Upon disease recurrence, TK1 and CRP will elevate from baseline. Retesting intervals are recommended at 4-8 week intervals.

TKfeline Cancer Panel

For the differential diagnosis and monitoring of intestinal lymphosarcoma in cats.

Gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal lymphoma (LSA) are commonly encountered in feline medicine. The challenge with these two similarly presenting diseases is how to quickly distinguish between the two.

TKFELINE CANCER PANEL combines the information obtained from two independent measures of cellular irregularity; abnormal cell division and systemic inflammation. Thymidine kinase type 1 (TK1) is a measure of dysregulated cellular proliferation – a hallmark of cancer. Haptoglobin (HPT) is elevated in the presence of systemic inflammatory disease. United through the Neoplasia Index (NI), the test panel provides objective evaluation for disease.

The panel is useful for monitoring treatment and disease progression. For patients undergoing therapy, results from the cancer panel can quickly indicate that the patient is responding to the treatment protocol, as indicated when both TK1 and HPT decline from the initial pretreatment assessment. With resistance to therapy, TK1 and HPT will be unresponsive and remain elevated. Upon disease recurrence, TK1 and HPT will elevate from baseline. Retesting intervals are recommended at 4-8 week intervals.

This information was taken directly from Veterinary Diagnostic Institute (VDI). For more information or to learn more, click here to be linked to their website.