Can turmeric shrink my dog's benign tumor? What's the science?

Hello. Turmeric is a mild anti-inflammatory that does seem to have some anti-tumor activity, but I would certainly not rely on just this. I would seek out the assistance of a veterinary oncologist who will be totally up to date on what the best course of treatment is for Patrick. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While in theory anti-inflammatory medications can help to reduce the blood vessels feeding the tumor, this is only when combined with a chemotherapeutic agent such as cyclophosphamide given in a metronomic fashion. However, we have not found this to result in a better outcome in patients with metastasis (spread of the tumor). While those herbs are unlikely to be harmful, they unlikely to help. You can always however try the herbs and focus on her quality of life at this time. I would encourage you to seek a consultation with a veterinary oncologist that can review the case in detail and make recommendations. Good luck!

There is no way of telling without the lab results but rapidly growing, poorly structured /crumbly tumors are highly suspicious for being severely cancerous and bone tumors are very often extremely painful so it is important to monitor her quality of life and pain levels at all stages. Diet manipulation such as hills n/d and some herbal supplements have promising results in slowing some tumor growth rates but should not be relied upon for a cure or used if she is in pain which cannot be controlled

Unfortunately there isn't really any way to shrink or remove a tumor without surgery, I have had some veterinarians have some luck in helping to stop bleeding from tumors with a Chinese medicine called yunnan baiyao. I would ask your vet if they feel this would be useful for your dog if the tumor is bleeding.

Hi we cannot see previous questions that you have posted on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If you have a more complex case feel free to set up a consultation with myself or one of the other experts. But I'll do my best to answer the question do you have here. There are some tumors or cancerous masses that may appear to decrease and increase in size such as mast cell tumors or histiocytomas that may spontaneously regress on their own but can recur in other places. Certain medications can also cause tumors to shrink in size but they may regrow ones that medication is not as effective. Depending on the type of cancer and what organ system in the body it is affecting, many dogs live seemingly normal happy lives up until the point they can no longer compensate or the cancer spreads. For many different reasons owners do not always choose to pursue cancer treatment or in some cases it's not possible. But the pet can still live months to years relatively happy. I hope that was some help, if you have further questions feel free to open up a consultation. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would not stop the benazepril. Unfortunately there is no scientific proof tumeric works, and leaving Lucy's CHF untreated would be awful for her. You can give it to her in addition to the benazepril.

There are really no scientific studies demonstrating efficacy of tumeric for conditions in dogs, but there is some information about it helping with gastritis, parasites and liver disease with mice. However, the dose used was 500mg/kg, which is a lot of tumeric. Without there being any good information about its use or the recommended dosage, I cannot recommend it for allergies. It's a very safe spice to give, so you can always give it, but I can't say that it will do anything. Additionally, tumeric will not be nearly as effective as the prescription medications. I understand that the prescription medications can have some undesired side-effects, but Apoquel is a promising new drug with less side effects; so it looks like you are already giving him the best treatment. Another option is to have a skin and blood test to try and determine what he is allergic to. After this is done, an allergy shot can be formulated; which is about the most natural and effective thing you can do for allergies. Your vet or a veterinary dermatologist should be able to help you with this.