Treating Your Pet's Cancer at Home with Ozone Therapy

What's in this news article

Almost 50% of the pet guardians who purchase ozone therapy equipment to use at home on their pet do so because their pet is struggling with cancer. Over the next few minutes, we're going to outline:

• Common cancers in pets
• How ozone therapy can help cancer patients
• The clinical effects of ozone therapy on animals
• Ozone therapy research
• At home ozone therapy protocols for pets with cancer
• Combining ozone therapy with conventional treatments

By the end of this article, you'll know most everything you need to know about how ozone therapy works, what to expect and how to get started if you want to treat your pet at home or even just talk intelligently with your veterinarian about using ozone therapy in your pet's treatment plan.

Common cancers in pets

Most likely you're here because your dog or cat has cancer, but there are a host of animals that get cancer with a few that almost never do.

• 63% of Ferrets and Hedgehogs
• 25% Dogs
• 25% Chickens
• 20% Cats
• 15% Rabbits
• 5.4% Hampsters
• 0% Mole Rat

If you're the proud owner of a mole rat, you shouldn't have to ever deal with cancer, but you do have to deal with that ugly face the rest of it's life as there's no known cure. For the rest of us who have pets, there's a good chance that our beloved companions may have to experience this devastating disease. If you find yourself in this category, you shouldn't panic and never give up hope because there are effective treatments.

And cancers in cats are fairly similar to cancers in dogs with some of the most common cancers being lymphoma, mast cell tumors, carcinomas squamous cell carcinoma, mammary tumors and adenocarcinoma. In the following graphic, the left side is data for cats while the right side is for dogs.

One of the issues that many fail to consider is the economic burden that results from a cancer diagnosis. I talk to lots of pet guardians who tell me that they've spent $10,000 or $20,000 on all the treatments that their pet has undergone. Purchasing pet insurance that will cover these unforeseen events is advisable, but make sure that you have a policy that includes alternative or complementary treatments like ozone therapy. Only a few insurance companies will cover those treatments as well, so it pays to do your homework before making a decision.

How ozone therapy can help cancer patients

Even as early as the 1930s, ozone therapy has been used as an antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal treatment. It wasn't until 1976 that a study surfaced in Germany that related the effects of ozone therapy to cancer and it was 1989 before any significant research was undertaken. Fast forward to 2024 and you'll find that the amount of cancer research on ozone therapy tripled that of any previous year.

Briefly then, how does ozone therapy work when treating cancer?

1. Antioxidant Production

Ozone therapy has been clearly understood to provide a controlled oxidative stress which in turn boosts the production of antioxidant production through the activation of the Nrf2 pathway. This is probably the most important way that ozone therapy works and is likely the primary activity that makes it successful as an anti-cancer agent.

When it comes to antioxidants, glutathione stands head and shoulders above the rest as the master antioxidant responsible for protecting cells against oxidation and death. Ozone is a potent regulator of glutathione that is critical in fighting cancer.

The beauty of ozone is that it is a natural inducer of antioxidants like glutathione which is much more potent than synthetic supplements. With ozone we are able to encourage the body to provide the necessary anticarcinogenic antixoidants all on its own which is significantly more powerful than any supplementation.

2. Increased Oxygen Supply

Oxygen is THE most important nutrient that we have. Without it, our cells will starve and die. As an experiment, just try this. Plug your nose and see how long you can hold your breath. I bet it's less than a minute. In comparison, you can go long periods of time without food, water, sunlight and sleep which are also critical to health.

Cancer cells, however, are different. In the 1920's, Otto Warburg discovered that cancer cells needed huge amounts of glucose and almost no oxygen to break it down and create energy. He was famously quoted as saying, "Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the cells of the body by an anaerobic cell respiration."

One of the result of ozone therapy can be identified as increased oxygen supply to the tissue through a complex chemical process that increases cellular energy at the same time.

3. Improved Blood Flow Properties

Alongside of increase oxygen, is the improvement of the red blood cells which also increases their oxygen carrying capacity. When the red blood cells are flexible and elastic, they are able do their job better. Ozone contributes to both the proliferation of red blood cells and improves their health so that they can carry out the important functions that they were designed for.

A study done on the treatment of female dogs with mammary cancer demonstrated that ozone had a profound effect on the quality of life and the length of life as well. In that study, "...an increase in red blood cells, platelets and leukocytes was observed".

Awhile back, I interviewed Dr. Dan Ahrens of Veterans Memorial Drive Animal Hospital and he recounted one of his first cases with ozone therapy.

“It’s a protocol that we use on all of our cancer cases now…she (golden retriever) had a diagnosis of a cardiac cancer that had metastasized to the lungs and to the liver. She came in and we did ozone therapy with UV daily for five days and then twice the second week and then had an ultrasound done by a specialist from Texas A&M and she could find no cancer….we’re six months into it now and we’re completely cancer free.” - Dr. Dan Ahrens

the clinical effects of ozone therapy on animals

There are a number of effects that we're looking for when treating an animal with ozone. Some of them are visible and some of them are invisible but they are all important.

• Quality of Life
• Enhancing chemotherapy
• Decreased tumor size or progression
• Prolonging life
• Eradicating Cancer

Of course, it be amazing to have the outcome that Dr. Ahrens recounted above. That's our hope and goal, but the reality is that it doesn't happen all that often. So let's talk briefly about what does happen.

QUALITY OF LIFE

When pets have cancer, they are bound to have effects that make life difficult. It may be trouble urinating, it may be a reduced appetite, vomiting and diarrhea or simply a lack of energy. Unsightly oozing tumors or lumps that cause pain and agitation. Regardless of what it is, we've been able to help many patients get their energy and appetite back and improve their quality of life.

ENHANCING CHEMOTHERAPY

Adverse reactions with chemotherapy can cut treatment short, but with ozone therapy, the adverse reactions can be muted. Not only that, but ozone treatments can actually enhance the action of chemotherapy by reducing cellular resistance to the drug.

DECREASING TUMOR SIZE OR PROGRESSION

One effect that has been consistently documented when treating cancer with ozone is a reduction in tumor mass. Slowing the growth and shrinking tumors is a positive outcome and can lead to a substantially better outcome.

"My dog was diagnosed with a splenic tumor in Nov 2021. His integrative oncologist recommended ozone therapy. The closest provider was 2 hours away. I bought the Hummingbird Generator and provide my dog with rectal insufflation every other day. To date his tumor has not grown nor has it burst as splenic tumors can. It is very empowering to be able to do it at home. It is easy and safe. I even give my other dog rectal insufflation since she is a senior with health issues." - Barb C.

PROLONGED LIFE

I talk with pet guardians all the time who are not looking for a cure, but just for more time with their beloved pet. That's exactly what Renee B. got when she began treating Eben with ozone therapy at home. Eben ended up living for five years after his cancer diagnosis and had phenomenal quality of life up until the very end.

ERADICATING CANCER

It happens. It's not that we expect this outcome, but we certainly pray for it. I've had a number of stories recounted to me regarding cancer diagnosis that seemed like a death sentence being reversed. Dr. Betsy Hershey is an integrative oncologist in Arizona who has used ozone therapy for over a decade. She had a case of osteosarcoma with a very poor prognosis. Her patient, Izzy, was given weekly treatments of ozone and ultraviolet blood irradiation (O3UV) along with minor autohemotherapy leading to the regression of the disease and eventually a clean bill of health. Izzy lived four more years after her diagnosis with excellent quality of life.

Ozone therapy research

I don't want to bore you to death with research. I've already shared enough scientific data, but I do want you to have a sense of what the medical studies say about the effect of ozone therapy on cancer.

A quick word search on PubMed ("ozone therapy" and "cancer") results in 75 studies and articles. Only a handful of them are animal studies. The best resource that I have found is a book by Dr. Zullyt Rodriguez called, Ozone Therapy in Veterinary Medicine . In the book, she has a chapter on veterinary oncology where she discusses the following types of cancer:

• Lung Tumors
• Leukemia
• Saracomas
• Leix Lung Carcinoma
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma and
• VX2 Carcinoma

Major Autohemotherapy, rectal insuffaltion, intratumor gas ingjections and intraperitoneal gas injections were the methods of ozone administration used in these studies. Some of the effects that were observed as a result of ozone treatments include:

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

Besides this, ISCO3 is a credible organization in Europe that develops ozone therapy protocols and guidance while contributing to research as well. Every 5 years they put out what is called, The Madrid Declaration on Ozone Therapy which updates guidance for both the human and animal use of ozone therapy.

At Home ozone protocols for pets with cancer

Now we get intensely practical. Protocols shared here are not intended to be specifically geared towards your pet, but give general guidance on how most pet guardians will use ozone therapy when doing it at home.

It's always recommended to have a veterinarian who has prescribed ozone therapy and is involved in the overall care of your pet. If you are in need of a veterinarian who can help you with this, we have a map of ozone veterinarians available. If you are not able to locate a veterinarian near you, you may want to look for a telehealth veterinarian like Dr. Judy Jasek who gives expert guidance on how to implement ozone therapy along with other non-traditional treatments in the care of your pet.

For all at-home treatments, you'll need the Hummingbird Ozone Generator, an oxygen tank and the accessories necessary depending on how you're going to administer ozone.

RECTAL INSUFFLATION

This is the most common administration method used to treat animals at home because it's easy, fast, well tolerated and is a great systemic method. With cancer, it's important to get a whole-body effect and rectal insufflation does that.

To administer ozone rectally, you need the Bronze Accessory Package. O3Pets provides training so that you know how to use it, however, the general process is simple. You draw uip ozone into a syringe based on the body weight of your pet. Inserting the flexible rectal catheter about 2-3 inches into the rectum, infuse the ozone gas and then remove the catheter.

TOPICAL CUPPING OR OILS

Tumors that manifest topically can be treated in part by applying ozonated oil directly on the tumor or by ozone cupping. With ozone cupping, a special ozone cupping system is attached to the ozone generator and then placed over the tumor. Ozone is generated and flows into the cup and then is absorbed through the skin. Excess ozone exhausts through the integrated destruct on the cup and is converted back to oxygen.

Ozonated Oils can also be used very simply by applying a pea sized amount to the location in question. Larger amounts can be used if necessary and should be applied daily.

NEBULIZING WITH OZONE

If your pet happens to have a nasal or oral tumor, sometimes the easiest way to treat with ozone is simply to bubble it through oil and let them breath the vapor that's full of ozonides. You may have heard that ozone is not something that you want to breath and that is true when we're talking about ozone gas. But once the ozone gas is bubbled through oil, it reacts chemically and can then be safely breathed in.

In fact, this treatment was used in Italy and Spain during COVID-19 to treat patients in the hospitals there. This treatment requires a special ozone oil bubbler with an inlet and exhaust. The exhaust part of the bubbler is connected to our cupping system which doubles as a mask for breathing. A typical session will last 5-10 minutes at a flow rate of 1/4 LPM.

OZONATED FLUIDS

Distilled water can be ozonated with the help of our special 500ml ozone fluid bubbler. Ozonated water has been used for everything from drinking to rinsing wounds, eyes and ears. In the case of cancer, drinking ozonated fluids may help as a systemic administration method or also when trying to treat mouth or throat cancer. The problem with this, is that most animals don't like the taste of ozonated fluid so it must be syringed into their mouth.

In special cases, subcutaneous ozonated saline may be indicated, however, it takes slightly more training and should be under the guidance of a veterinarian.

combining ozone therapy with conventional treatments

We've already briefly discussed the use of ozone therapy with chemotherapy, but there are other treatments that may be happening when treating cancer patients. One of the beautiful things about ozone is that it is what we call a natural biological response modifier. In a gentle and natural way, it is going to help the cellular biology of your pet to respond differently than it has been to the cancer in their body thereby improving health. Since ozone reacts quickly and is converted into biological products and processes, it becomes a natural part of your pets biology avoiding any interactions with other drugs or therapies.

In summary, it can be used alongside of other treatments both conventional and complementary.

Conclusion

Years ago I sat down with Dr. Judith Shoemaker who had been practicing medicine for over 30 years. She had this to say:

“Whether they are being managed strictly with holistic care or concurrently with conventional care, my cancer patient’s 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.”

Although you will not hear of ozone therapy from conventional veterinarians, there is solid evidence from scientific literature to testimonies that demonstrate that it is safe and effective. It's worth exploring the effects that ozone therapy may have on your pet. Many pet guardians use it for multiple pets and even as a preventative treatment to keep their pets healthy.

References

• https://news.asu.edu/20241024-science-and-technology-cancers-reach-across-animal-kingdom
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0300985820973460
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379926265
• https://www.zumalka.com/blogs/blog-pet-health/vet-verified-cat-cancer-risk-by-breed
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8346137/
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3673338/
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11200475/
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10318431/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34677153/