When cancer strikes, the first step in a veterinarian's treatment plan is usually to test for parasites. Dogs are ideal hosts for many kinds of worms and parasites. Their sniffing, licking, scooting and digging habits can pick up pests from the dirt, trash or poop they encounter. The vet will take a stool sample and examine it for worms or worm eggs under a microscope.

Roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, whipworms and heartworms are some of the invasive invaders that can make dogs sick or even die. Some of these worms nest in the intestinal tract while others, like heartworms, live in the heart and lungs. Mosquitoes carry the offspring of these worms from one dog to another via their bites.

Very few tumors and cancers have a known cause. But most seem to develop due to a complex mix of risk factors, some environmental and some genetic or hereditary. Some have been linked to chronic inflammation, radiation, trauma or foreign bodies, and others are associated with autoimmune disorders or are the result of old age.

Despite the fact that very few tumors and cancers have a single known cause, advancements in chemotherapy and radiation therapy are helping to save many lives. And some holistic pet supplement providers are now advocating that a common, inexpensive dog dewormer - fenbendazole - could also be an effective cancer treatment. This is not only being promoted by holistic pet advocates, but is being discussed in some of the strictest peer-reviewed scientific magazines in the world. dog dewormer cancer