The Role of Ozone Therapy to Treat Cancer in Animals

These days, it seems most pets are being diagnosed with some sort of cancer, whether it be a rare or common form. But, does cancer have to result in euthanizing a beloved pet? Absolutely not! Ozone therapy is a little known treatment that can help your pet’s body attack cancer cells and restore his/her health.

THE NUMBERS

Animals, like humans, are living longer than their ancestors, but living longer exposes animals to more diseases and other consequences of aging.
According to the Animal Cancer Foundation, there are an estimated 65 million dogs and 32 million cats in the United States. Of these, approximately 12 million are diagnosed with cancer each year.
An organization named FETCH a Cure published an article indicating that cancer is the leading cause of death in 47% of dogs and 32% of cats. Some of the more common types of cancer in pets include:

• Lymphoma - Cancer of white blood cells, which circulate through the blood and lymphatic system
• Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) - Accounts for 85% to 98% of all primary bone tumors in dogs
• Feline Leukemia - A virus that can be spread through a cat’s saliva, nasal secretions, feces and milk
• Mass Cell Tumors – Have the potential to appear in all different regions of the body
• Cancer of the Head and Neck - Originates in the lips, oral cavities, nasal cavities, sinuses and throat

MITOCHONDRIA AND CANCER

Mitochondria are tiny cellular structures that help create energy for cells. Although small, they make up 10% of an animal’s total body weight. Healthy mitochondria are crucial to the health of our pets. If you do a quick search on PubMed for “mitochondria” AND “oxygen” you’ll get 44,609 results. That’s because there is a direct link between mitochondrial health and oxygen utilization.

The formula goes like this: Optimal Oxygen Utilization = Healthy Mitochondria = Healthy Pet

Dr. Otto Warburg, winner of the Nobel Prize for cancer research, said,

“Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the cells of the body by an anaerobic (i.e., oxygen-deficient) cell respiration.”

In essence, Dr. Warburg was saying that, if we can correct the breathing patterns of cells, we can eliminate cancer.

HOW IT WORKS
If you purchase a box of Kellogg’s Smart Startcereal, you will see “Original Antioxidants” printed in bold letters on the front. Everyone knows the importance of antioxidants, but we really have no clue as to why they are important. Antioxidants are important because they protect us and our pets from too much oxidation.
Picture a rusty nail. The rusting is the process of oxidation at work. Oxidation breaks down the steel that makes up the nail, and, if given enough time, oxidation will cause it to disintegrate completely. The same is true of cells. While they need oxygen to live, too much oxidation will ultimately destroy them. It’s a balancing act. Like a tightrope walker, your pet’s body must use oxygen efficiently without allowing it to overwhelm your beloved’s antioxidant defense system.
The antioxidant system is ultimately stimulated through the use of ozone therapy. A small, controlled dose of ozone applied to the body will produce an ideal amount of oxidative stress. This stress will produce antioxidant enzymes, which are critical to optimizing oxygen utilization.

That is what ozone therapy is all about--Optimizing Oxygen Utilization!

Oxygen is the single most important nutrient that animals need. In fact, Dr. Arthur Guyton who wrote The Textbook on Medical Physiology said,

“All chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused by a lack of oxygen at the cell level.”

 A pet with a disease ALWAYS has a decreased ability to utilize oxygen.If we can improve the ability of an animal’s body to utilize oxygen, better health will follow. It’s that simple.

“Whether they are being managed strictly with holistic care or concurrently with conventional care, my cancer patients’ quality of life is far superior to the average cancer patient….in fact I can’t think of one that hasn’t far exceeded their prognosis for length and quality of life.” – Dr. Judith Shoemaker

THE RESEARCH

The IVC Journal published an article entitled Ozone Therapy for Cancer in Veterinary Medicine. The article explains that ozone contributes to the formation of healthy cells AND destroys unhealthy cells. This combination is the key to helping animals diagnosed with any type of cancer.
In her insightful book entitled Ozone Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Zullyt Rodriguez reviews various studies that have successfully observed the effects of ozone therapy when it comes to cancer. In fact, an entire chapter is devoted to this subject and to understanding the mechanisms of action that may be involved.
The types of cancer discussed in the book include:

• Lung Tumors
• Leukemia
• Sarcomas
• Leix Lung Carcinoma
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• VX2 Carcinoma

Major Autohemotherapy (MAHT), rectal insufflation, intratumor gas injections and intraperitoneal gas injections were the methods of ozone administration used in these studies.
Some of the effects that were observed as result of ozone therapy include:

• Reduced metastasis of lung tumors
• Reduced number of disseminated cells
• Reduced tumor size
• Increased leukocytes and prostacyclin leading to greater survival rates
• Regression of the tumor mass
• Reduced inflammation
• Preserved tissue structure
• Protected kidney tissue by restoring the enzymatic antioxidant system

Beyond what ozone therapy can do for cancer, a section of that chapter in Dr. Rodriguez’s book was also dedicated to showing how ozone therapy can be used as a complement treatment to radiation and chemotherapy. When animals undergo radiation and/or chemotherapy, they are prone to numerous side effects, which can lead to their deterioration.
The studies proved that ozone therapy can effectively lower inflammation, reduce long-term oxidative stress (this does not contradict what we mentioned earlier), protect the tissues and organs, increase appetite and improve quality of life of a cancer patient. In some cases, ozone therapy allowed traditional treatments to continue where negative side effects would have definitely put a halt to them.
That same chapter concludes with two tables that summarize the data contained in the chapter. Those tables are combined into one chart below.

STUDY	TREATMENT, APPLICATION ROUTE AND DOSAGE	RESULTS	REFERENCES
Murine Tumors: Ehrlich's Ascites (TAE), Lung Tumor RL-67, L1210 Leukemia and L-P388 Leukemia	Rectal and intratumoral routes (6, 12 and 49 mg/L)	Tumors were not reduced. Only lung metastasis decreased	Rodriguez et al., 1998
Mice with TAE and Sarcoma-37	Rectal route, OOP (19, 26 and 42 mg/L) 1 ml per animal, 12 days	Reduced the number of disseminated cells in the lung, dependent dose	Menendez et al., 2008
Lewis Lung Carcinoma (Mice)	OOP 4, 11, 20 and 35 mg/L, i.p route, 15 applications	Significantly reduced tumor size of Lewis Lung carcinoma cells	Menendez et al., 2008
Rabbits, VX2 Tumor, Head and Neck	OOP (50 mg/ml of OOM 80 ml/kg volume of weight) intraperitoneally, during 5 days	50% survival and 85% had regression of the tumor with no metastasis. Increased leukocytes and prostacyclin	Schultz et al., 2008 Schultz et al., 2012
Rabbits, VX2 Tumor, Head and Neck	OOP (50 mg/ml of OOM 80 ml/kg volume of weight) intraperitoneally, during 5 days	Regression of the tumor mass, associated with the increase of the CD3 white cells and its infiltration to the tumor tissue and COX-2	Rossman et al., 2014
Proctitis Induced by Irradiation in Rats	Treatment with OOO, rectal 1 ml, during 10 days	Reduced inflammation and histological changes	Gultekin et al., 2013
Radiation Damage to Liver, Lung and Intestine in Rats	OOP (60 mg/ml of OOM) vol. 2, 3 ml/ animal, for a 0,7 mg/kg dose intraperitoneally, during 5 days prior to the injury	Reduced FNT, IL1 and AST and ALAT levels. Increased SOD activity and preserved tissue structure	Bakkal et al., 2013 Gultekin et al., 2013
Damage to Methotrexate-Induced Ileum, Liver and Kidneys in Rats	OOP at 0,72 mg/kg dose, applied intraperitoneally for 15 days	Increased GSH content in renal tissue and reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines	Kesik et al., 2009 Aslaner et al., 2015
Kidney Damage by Cisplatin in Rats	OOM treatment (10, 30 and 50 mg/L) applied rectally for 5 consecutive days	Attenuated renal histological damage and restored levels of GSH, CAT, SOD and GPx depleted by CDDP	Gonzalez et al., 2004
Kidney Damage by Cisplatin in Rats	OOP applied rectally for 15 days in the model of CDDP-induced renal damage. OM at the same doses as the previous one	Protected kidney tissue by restoring the enzymatic antioxidant system (SOD, CAT, GPx) of renal tissue, thus preserving both renal structure and function. Reduced Apoptosis	Borrego et al., 2004 Borrego et al., 2006

LIVING PROOF OF THE POWER OF OZONE THERAPY

When it comes to your beloved pet, ozone therapy could be the difference between life and death. We’ve had some pretty amazing testimonies, and here are just a few of them.

CARDIAC CANCER - Dr. DAN AHRENS
“We had a real miracle case and now ozone is something that we use in all of our cancer cases. One particular case that got us excited was a Golden Retriever that came in in respiratory distress. She received a diagnosis of cardiac cancer that had metastasized to the lungs and liver. It was recommended for the dog to just go home, get comfortable and then be euthanized when the fluid recurred in the next 7-10 days. She came in and we did ozone therapy (MAHT and mAHT) with UV. We did it daily for five days and then we did it twice the second week. We then had it ultra-sounded by a specialty ultrasound practitioner from Texas A&M. She could find no cancer. We’ve had it ultra-sounded and radiographed two more times. We’re now six months into this and completely cancer free.”

CANCER TREATMENTS AT HOME - JULIE HOFFMAN
“Woo hoo! I just did my first ozone treatments with my girls all by myself! I opened the front door, placed some pureed beef on the screen door glass and while each one was licking it off, in went the catheter, pushed the plunger on the syringe, held their tail down and all was happy! Treats after for all! I made it a celebration! Thank-you O3 vets for being so kind this morning and walking me through what I thought would be something I could never do! Ozone is for both of my girls who have cancer. It has made a tremendous difference in their lives!”

OSTEOSARCOMA - LAURIE AND JAN HAGEMAN
“I remember the first day we actually did the ozone here at the vet. She had so much energy when we left even that evening. The next day we could definitely see a difference because that was right after she'd been diagnosed, and we didn't have her on a protocol of herbals or anything like that at the time.
We're doing the subcutaneous when we come to the vet. We actually purchased a device that we can do at home, so we do it almost daily, and it's a really quick treatment. Cierra tolerates it really, really well. We give her a treat while we're administering the ozone, and she doesn't mind it. We set an alarm pretty much every day. We both work from home so it's easy, and we think it's definitely helping. Now she can walk a half to a mile without any limping. She seems to have more energy. Her personality is pretty much the same. I would say she’s more playful than she's been in a while.”

Malignant Tumor in Thoracic Cavity
“Predominantly she has received ozone therapies, fecal transfers, and recently UV blood treatments. She has responded miraculously!! The blood ultraviolet treatments have, to date, provided the most significant improvement. Imperative to me at the onset was the fact Olivia have, at the very least, a good quality to every day I attempted to keep her alive. There have been a handful (three, maybe four) of days where it was clear she was not feeling well, did not want to eat, was having difficulty breathing. But those have been far and few between.”

CONCLUSION

 If your pet has cancer, the only obvious conclusion is to make sure they are receiving ozone therapy.
We recommend finding a veterinary ozone practitioner and getting started right away. Here’s a list of all the ozone veterinarians that we know of. If you can’t find an ozone vet near you, there’s always the option to treat your pet on your own at home. If you choose to do this, we recommend that you have some sort of veterinary oversight.
We truly hope that you will benefit from the information in this article! And, we would love to hear from you. Please comment below or drop us an email at info@o3vets.com.
If you would like more information about ozone therapy and cancer in animals than what this article contains, you can watch this video.