Is your dog lumpy ? Fatty lumps (lipomas), other lumps and why surgery is not the best choice

If you  find  yourself  confused about what  to do    when you  find a lump or immediately think of the worse  case scenario,  I hope that this blog will be useful.

One of my  readers sent me an email with a question: “My dog has a lump, where can I get it removed?” How could I  forget to write about such an  important  topic, I thought.  I need to share what  I have learned about lumps right now.  So, I  dropped  my  original plan and have taken on the lumpy topic to save your pooch some trouble and make things easier on your pocket.

It seems that most  people  think that lumps are like aliens from a  sci-fi movie and  we have to  get  rid  of  them. I went online and surprisingly, all the blogs and articles talk about diagnosis or surgery and I could not find any information about their prevention or any suggestions as to why  they happen.

Over  the years ,  I have observed lumps and  bumps on many dogs.   Most  of them are fatty lumps called  lipomas. The name suggests  that  they are composed of  lipocytes –  fatty  cells  that decide to grow more than they should.

A relatively small  percentage of lumps end up in the “malignant” category, however, I  always like to know what I am dealing with before giving treatment  recommendations.The interesting thing that I have noticed is that most  lumps appear to be associated with the spinal segments that have the tightest  muscles or  evidence of inflammation and injury.

To  make things clearer, imagine  that  your  dog has a lipoma on the chest.  If you  draw a line from the lump up to the chest following the ribs,  you end  up at  a certain vertebra. If you  explore this area  further, the  muscles  are usually tight and inflamed and your dogs skin often twitches, suggesting  sensitivity discomfort and injury. If you find it  challenging to grasp the concept of  energy lines, imagine a salmon. The energy lines are much clearer as the muscle is separated in segments corresponding with the number of “ribs” or fish bones.   Mammals  do not have this clear visual definition, however the energy channels exist  along the same  lines.

I started to see  clearly that there was a connection between tightness or injury of  a certain spinal  segment and lump formation. I have always believed that a healthy back is the key to a healthy body and that the back is the energy flow channel that  maintains  even  energy flow throughout  the body, tissues and organs.

If  the  back gets  injured  or  tight,  the energy flow stops. I like to see the energy flow as  light flowing through the body’s channels; which Chinese practitioners  refer to as meridians. If the light reaches an injured or congested area, then energy stops flowing and  these  inflamed  areas ” suck the light – the energy out”  like the dementors from Harry  Potter books.

These injured parts are the black holes  of the body;  stopping the flow, creating congestion,  which leads to lump formation. In the most severe and chronic cases, this leads to cancer formation. I see the lumps and bumps as the signals of the body that there is  something wrong. They are  the markers of these injuries, inflammation and blockage and must not be ingored.

If a lump is removed,  the problem, the  congested  energy  spot and  the tightness  remains. Lumpectomy can be compared to removing the signal lights  on your car’s  dashboard at  a time when your  oil  is leaking.  You  will not see the signal, but the problem will go on if not  addressed  at the same time.

Here are some practical suggestions to addressing lumps

• If you see a lump,  do not panic. I  suggest    getting  it examined physically and perform a fine needle aspirate, (collecting a few cells by inserting a needle in the centre of the lump).   The procedure is simple and the samples of a few  cells  obtained  can be sent to the lab.  Sometimes people  wonder if there is a potential of spreading a malignant tumour  this way. I have not seen  any  evidence of worsening  prognosis if fine needle  aspirate is done. Ultimately, it is better to know the diagnosis  than worrying sick over a lump that is benign.
• Most veterinarians have not been trained to see the connection  between back or  muscle  injury  and lumps and many practitioners will not even recognize that there is an energy  flow issue or injury in the related spinal segment. I suggest  finding a good  animal  chiropractor  or o physiotherapist using a technique called  IMS –  intramuscular  stimulation  to  reset  the muscle  fibres and  improve the energy  flow.  Both  treatments,  chiro  or  IMS  have to  be  repeated  until the body “relearns” its patterns.  One treatment is often  insufficient to yield good results and in  older dogs  it is better to create a preventive treatment  plan –  once a month or so to help the body stay  in  balance.
• In my opinion, lipomas should not be removed  unless they obstruct your dogs  movement.   Removing lumps gives us an illusion that the problem is gone, while in reality, it doesn’t  get rid of the cause; the “black hole” in  the spinal energy  flow. I often see dogs  getting  worse  after surgery with more  lumps  cropping up.  It seems as if the body is trying even harder to signal that there is something wrong.  The signals get “louder and louder” and if we do not hear or can’t  recognize them, sometimes cancer sets in.
• If you see  a lump,  track it to the  related  spinal segment by drawing a line from the lump to the back. It is relatively simple. Follow the ribs or if the lump is on the abdomen,  draw a line up and slightly  forward on an angle that is parallel to the last rib. If lumps  are present  on the hind legs,  the issue is  usually  located in the lumbar region.  If on the head,  neck or  skull,  alignment may be the problem; if on the abdomen,  lumbar or thoracic, the spine needs attention.  If the spinal segment is tight,  I  recommend treatment by a chiro, physio and massage in conjunction with homeopathy.
• I have also  noticed  that some lipomas occur in  areas where the skin and fat  under the skin or the underlying  muscle gets  injured or overstretched .  Some people believe that the  excessive stretch of tissues  results  in  trauma  to the fatty  cells – lipocytes.  These lipocytes try to repair, start multiplying  and a lump is  formed. If your dog is a fast  and wild runner, lumps may be more likely to happen.
• If you are wondering if there is a miraculous natural  cure  for lipomas.  From  what  I have seen,  I must say that  once  they happen,  they usually  do not  disappear. You may as well spare yourself  the money buying “miraculous” lipomacures and spend it on a chiro or  physio  instead.   You can  decrease their  growth  rate by improving the energy  flow in the spine and the body in general.
• If the cytology  results of fine needle  aspirate come back with confirmation of cancer, this is a much more complicated topic and a consultation would be needed. I  personally am  not  in favour  of chemotherapy and  radiation and have seen dogs living longer and happier lives without  these. I find  it  ridiculous to see that we have accepted poisoning as one of the ways of “healing.”
• Surgery may be a reasonable measure  in  case of some malignancies – for  example  bone tumors because they are so  aggressive.  I have seen some dogs  surviving for years. However,  once again  I want to remind  you  that surgery does not remove the original cause of the tumor and the treatment should include  changes in  nutrition,  supplements, homeopathy and spinal alignment  techniques.
• Some people  believe that the higher tendency to inflammation the body has, the higher tendency to cancer.  I agree.

Here is what you can provide for your dog to statistically decrease the chances cancer :

• Healthy exercise,  not   too much.
• Good natural, ideally  raw  diet.
• Feed  less than 1/3 of large animal  red  meat as it has a tendency to  cause more  inflammation in the body.
• Use a good source of whole food anti-oxidants and minerals for proper function of the immune system and every cell. I could not  find one on the market,  so  I  formulated one myself - GreenMin.
• Use only  natural  vitamins  and supplement. Synthetic supplements are not what nature intended and often create disharmony of excess in the body.
• The body knows the difference. My dog Skai  has also been getting Tiny Tabs – a whole food vitamin supplement (originally made for people but dogs do  great on it).
• For muscle injury and back pain or  as a general cancer  prevention,  I like  using Zyflamend, a turmeric based  anti-inflammatory  that is also known for its anti-oxidant, anticancer  properties.  If your  dog  has a  moderate to severe problem,  you can give  Zyflamend daily or  as a preventive once or twice a week.When it  comes to  omega oils,  I like to give Skai and my patients  WholeMega – a wild salmon oil that is processed gently to  maintain  its properties.  For cancer prevention, you  want to go for a Omega 3 as in most diets  these ones  are missing.
• As a general  cleansing and immune system support, I like to use Probiotics.
• Activated mushrooms such as LifeSheild Immunity.

Click here if  you want to learn more about cancer prevention.

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