Incurable to Cancer-Free in One Year: How Nate-the-Cat Survived High Grade Lymphoma
Like so many cancer stories, this not a simple one.
It involves conventional treatments that don’t work out, but it ends with natural treatments and a happy cat!
This story is a big deal to me because I lost a cat to high-grade (large cell) intestinal lymphoma. While low-grade lymphoma is more treatable, cats are not known to survive high-grade lymphoma. Even with intense chemotherapy, the best we were told to hope for was 6 – 9 months.
So I always have my ears open for helpful cat cancer healing stories. When I heard that a woman in Illinois named Connie Fischbein had a story to share (complete with pictures of the oncology scans), I set up an interview as fast as I could.
I was stunned to learn that her cat had survived high-grade intestinal and kidney lymphoma. I could hardly wait to hear how her 7 year-old Maine Coone, Nate, pulled this off!
Note: All the resources that worked for Connie’s cat are listed at the end of this (long!) article.
How it starts
LIZ: First of all, I want to know all about Nate’s initial diagnosis.
CONNIE: It was in the small intestine…he had been vomiting and losing weight and I had been going back and forth to the vet…I was leaving for work one morning and he hid under a chair, something he would never do unless there is something really, really wrong. I ran him up to the emergency clinic… he had an ultrasound. There was a tumor in his small intestine…it was removed surgically, they tissue typed it and gave me some options for chemo… We started him on the treatment that I thought would be least stressful for him….Lomustine [oral chemo].
LIZ: What did they do with the surgery?
CONNIE: They basically removed the tumor [it was blocking his digestion]. And resected the bowel.
LIZ: And what happened after that?
CONNIE: Within a couple of days he was pretty much eating his regular diet…And then 10 days later I brought him in to get his stitches out and that was when they started the oral chemo.
LIZ: I don’t think I was given surgery as an option. I don’t remember that ever coming up.
CONNIE: Well this was a single tumor. I know there are some forms of lymphoma where it’s more diffuse and it’s not that easy to remove surgically.
LIZ: The word “diffuse” does sound familiar. Maybe that’s what it was. So then Nate started the Lomustine. And what was that like?
CONNIE: He would get the dose once a month and he seemed to tolerate it fairly well, but after a couple weeks he would start having really bad diarrhea, which we would treat with metronidazole…
Connie begins researching alternatives
“After his first Lomustine dose I started looking online for alternative therapies in case the chemo didn’t work…I spent hours just searching, trying to find [good] products.
I found a cancer support product called ES Clear…it’s supposed to help with side effects from chemo. At work there’s a database I can use where I can look up interactions of some natural medicines and conventional medicines…and I didn’t see anything that was going to be a significant interaction.
I talked to the oncologist and he was fine with it too… With the ES Clear, Nate really seemed to perk up and had less diarrhea and less lethargy after his chemo doses.
I saw a vet online recommending a product from a company called Vitality Science. I talked to LeLa and to Steven Becker there. The whole approach was the opposite of the approach that conventional chemotherapy is about. Conventional chemo is all about suppressing the immune system and killing everything basically. Cancer cells metabolize faster so they absorb these toxins more readily, but pretty much every organ system is affected. But the alternative approach is to boost the immune system, give the animal a chance to heal itself.
I thought, “maybe this is plan B, because I’m kind of committed right now to the chemotherapy.” The approaches seemed to contradict each other. I couldn’t get my head around doing both at same time. They said you could, but I wasn’t convinced, so I decided to make it plan B.”
The cancer comes back after surgery and oral chemo
CONNIE: Nate did well for 5 rounds of oral Lomustine. He had his last dose at the beginning of May 2012. But at the end of that month we had a routine scan and unfortunately it had come back in his kidney. It was like a small 1.5 cm tumor at that point.
LIZ: How many months was he on the Lomustine?
CONNIE: Five. He was diagnosed early January and it came back at the end of May.
LIZ: It was the same high grade, large cell lymphoma – but this time in the kidney?
CONNIE: Right. And so we tried Elspar, which is specific for lymphoma. But the cancer was resistant. It just kept growing. So the week after that we tried [another drug] I wasn’t thrilled about. Heavy duty chemo. It was given by IV and made him sick…He wouldn’t eat from his food dish and became lethargic. His white blood cell count dropped and he was placed on prednisone and antibiotics.
Heavy duty chemo doesn’t work for Nate
“So we were just watching his white blood cell count every week. About 2 or 3 weeks later it came up enough but the tumor…didn’t shrink.
And then it started growing again so we tried one last resort called Palladia. ….But after 2 or 3 doses of that oral medication, he was vomiting and then he stopped eating.
He was kind of saying ‘I won’t do this anymore.’
Switched to 100% alternative therapies
“I talked to the oncologist and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore to him. I’ll just try to make him as comfortable as I can. And I think I’m going to try these other herbal products.’“
Since he wasn’t eating, I ordered a product (Feline Granular) that you mix into his food, which he absolutely loved, and it got him eating again. He was still taking ES Clear.
I also added another product Tripsy, which is for kidney support. I figured, even though he still had normal kidney function and all his labs were normal, he might need help excreting the metabolites of these products. I started him on Tripsy and the Vitality Science Advanced Immune Restoration Protocol [for cat cancer]. So I started these about a week after this last Palladia [chemo] dose.”
Surprise!
“About three weeks later we took him into the vet for a scan and surprisingly it has shrunk over 30% and he was…almost strangely energetic. I thought there was something wrong with him. I was like, “What’s going on? He’s acting weird.” It turns out this tumor is shrinking.
I brought him back three weeks later and it had shrunk another 30%. Both the oncologist and I had been skeptical before starting these alternative therapies. The oncologist was very surprised by the results and I was kicking myself that I hadn’t tried them earlier along with chemo.
The second time it shrank he called me into the consulting room, closed the door and said, ‘OK, what exactly are you giving him?’
I told him about all the products…he said, ‘Well, just keep doing this. He’s moving in the right direction. We’ll see what happens.”
I brought Nate back a couple months later and the tumor was still shrinking. Not quite at the same rate, but it was still moving in the right direction and then I think his third scan was in October 2012.
Then I brought him in January this year for another scan and it was completely gone. Normal kidney.”
LIZ: Wow.
CONNIE: Yeah. He gained weight… and he had another scan at the end of February…The scan was clean everywhere. His gut and his kidney and all of that. His recent scan [May 1st] was also completely clean.
LIZ: I’m blown away that even though Nate went through some really intense chemo his body was able to get rid of the cancer when you stopped – even though chemo breeds stronger cancer cells.
CONNIE: He wasn’t quite 7 years old when he was diagnosed…he had that going for him… And I think I got lucky with finding Vitality Science. I think those products probably made the biggest difference…there are ingredients that specifically have anti-cancer properties. And immune boosting properties. I think that was the big gun. Although it’s hard to say because there are no controlled studies.
LIZ: The tumor shrinkage you saw in late July – the doctor did not think it was from the earlier chemo, correct?
CONNIE: Correct, he had a scan after the chemo; it was still growing, not shrinking. …In fact, Nate’s oncologist was very excited about what happened with these herbals, so he now recommends it to his clients who don’t respond to conventional chemo.
Important Note: Only after a number of clean scans did Connie begin to taper down the alternative therapy doses that Nate was taking. I learned the hard way that this is essential. With cancer treatment, especially after chemo has been used, the strongest tiny cancer cells are the ones that survive, so if they start growing again they can come back with an unstoppable vengeance. For this reason, I would continue periodic cancer scans and have my cat on a maintenance dose of an alternative therapy for the rest of his or her life.
The resources that worked for Connie
Connie used a number of supplements – “the kitchen sink” – as she joked, so it’s hard to be sure which ones made all the difference. But, she suspects the Advanced Immune Restoration for Cats and Tripsy may have been most essential to Nate’s healing.
Nate’s anti-cancer supplementation
Advanced Immune Restoration for Cats – A combination of powerful enzymes, special prebiotics, probiotics, blue-green algae, active aloe, and key nutrients for the immune system; herbal anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic; fish oil, Astaxanthin (extracted from Haematococcus Pluvialis microalgae), and natural vitamin E. [Vitality Science is offering 10% off with coupon code catcare10 ]
Nate’s immune, nutrition, and kidney support supplements
Pet Wellbeing Nu-Pet Feline Granular with Antioxidants – for appetite & nutrients
NHV ES Clear – for cancer support and immune strengthening (contains ingredients of Essiac tea, a reputed anti-cancer formula)
NHV Tripsy – for kidney, renal and urinary disorders in cats
(The last two products were originally available through Pet Wellbeing, but they have since reformulated them, so now you can get the original formula Connie used only through NHV.)
Nate’s treatment for chemo-related diarrhea
Pet Flora – When Nate stopped responding to the metronidazole for his chemo-related diarrhea, Connie tried this special soil-based probiotic, which cleared up his diarrhea in 24 hours. [Vitality Science is offering 10% off with coupon code catcare10 ]
UPDATE June 2016
I just got this update from Connie. Nate is still cancer-free after 4.5 years. She wrote: “Nate is doing very well (knock wood). He and his sister celebrated their 11th birthday this past February. Still can’t believe he’s a 4 1/2 year survivor. I feel like everyday with him is a wonderful gift. “ Connie added that she now gives Nate some new supplements recommended by his new holistic vet and she also performs Reiki energy healing on him from time to time.
UPDATE September 2017
Nate lived nearly 6 miraculous years past his terminal diagnosis, to age 12.5. By his own choice (he refused to consume the supplements anymore), he had been off his original healing protocol for a couple years when the cancer came back. Beloved Nate lived several years beyond his prognosis and we honor and thank him for letting us share his amazing story.
Here are a couple other cat cancer success stories:
For anyone coming back to this in hopes of finding a cure, I’ve compiled a list of everything that has been suggested (here, and across the internet). I hope that some of this stuff can help you in your battle with cat cancer.
I’m currently trying all of these regiments.
Prednisolone – vet prescribed, a low dose of 2.5 mg twice per day.
CBD oil – 0.5 ml per day. Cancer fighting properties and pain relief. I’m using a variant with no THC. Bought from cbdpet.ca. Twice per day for now.
Carbon c60 – about 9 to 12 drops. Approximately 1/4 teaspoon. This is supposed to help with healing. There are studies that show that it extended lifespan of mice by 90%. The brand I’m using is Slic60. Bought from Amazon. Once per day for now.
Pet wellbeing life gold. 6 drops. Immunity booster and has herbs that have some cancer fighting properties. Twice a day.
NHV cancer kit 4. This includes ES Clear, turmeric, milk thistle, and omega3. 0.5ml of the first three, twice a day. 1/4 tsp of the Omega 3, once a day.
Low carb food (raw, or high quality wet food. Fancy feast, etc. Try to add variety).
I am also going to try the following two.
Fenbendazole (brand names Panacur or Safe-Guard). You can buy these online. These are dog dewormers that have been used to treat cancer in humans and animals. The regiment is 50mg per kg of bodyweight. So a 5kg cat will get about 250 mg.
You can find these in tablet form, where 1 gram contains about 222 mg of the medicine.
The regiment here is to try it once per day for 3 days, and then 4 days off. Try for a month to see how the cat reacts. It’s very safe with little to no side effects. Look up Joe Tippins and how he cured his metastatic cancer.
Colloidal silver. There are studies showing that it causes cancer cell death.
I hope this information gives anyone reading a good starting point to conduct more research and try this out.
Praying to God that he heals our animals and gives us patience during this time.
Ivermectin works well also. There are other drugs but you should check with your vet if they’re safe: Accutane, thalidomide and Antabuse. Don’t forget herbal extracts of cat’s claw, devil’s claw, boswellia and cordyceps (not herbal but effective in combo)
Thank you 🙏🏻🙌🏻
Hello all, so devastated, my beloved 16 yr. old Siamese mix Elvis came back from a previous vet visit with all good numbers except fro some kidney number changes. Then she stopped eating, stopped playing, stopped coming to see me. I noticed her tummy to be a little bloated. I took her to the vet. They say she has lymphoma on one of her kidneys, her liver and a growth in her tummy which the oncologist saw. We saw and oncologist and decided that we just cant put her through that kind of hell in the hands of people that I just couldn’t get a sense of dedication and love from. I’ve ordered the Lymphoma kit from NHV and the vitality science one. Also, want to stop using the appetite stimulant from the vet, I did notice that she did not want me putting it on her ear yesterday and there are side effects that I don’t like so I got the natural one suggested above. I’ve started her on kitty probiotics from homeoanimal, a Canadian company. The question I have is how do I give her all this together. I have two different kits with 3 products each so 6 different products plus her prednisolone and pain medication. How should I do this? Can someone with Connie’s experience or if Connie her self sees this, please help – just feel so overwhelmed and heartbroken at the moment. There are a total of 8 items and the es clear has to given twice a day as well as the tripsy and the third supplement in the nhv kit. Not sure how many times the vitality science one needs to be given a day, I have not received it as of yet but the es clear seems to have given her the runs which I was told could happen. I was relieved to see her going to the bathroom as she’s always had a history of constipation but the runs may not be a good thing so giving her a little more probiotic. Could someone tell me how I should space these tonics apart, some or most of which have to be given more than once a day? Thanks so much in advanced. Elvis is the sweetest girl and my sunshine and the apple of my eyes. The thought of losing her is unbearable but some things are not in our hands. I just want to help her put up a solid fight and I will fight for her too but the holistic way and just pray for a miracle. Any other tips/advice would be so appreciated. Praying hard for miracles for all of you with sick little silent ones.
thank you for putting out this info, just found out after many tests, many visits to vet, that Miss Kitty has Lymphoma in her stomach…she is very picky, and has lost appetite, but then i notice when I give her food she does want to eat she just quits after a bit, so I read in Dr Pitcairn’s book that I could put food on finger and put on roof of her mouth, I was worried that she would bite the heck out of me, but, it works…she is a small cat and has lost a bit over 2 lbs….she had brain scan, ultra sound on her stomach, needle biopsy and surgery biopsy…her Veterinarian listed 4 options, all include a steroid, there is a product called onco support, that I got at the veterinary hospital, and used for a miniature schnauzer, I have asked the gal at front desk to ask Vet if that might be good to use in this situation…she will receive the steroid tomorrow, and we need to make a decision about which way to go… the info here will be highly considered as we move forward, so thank you very much, again.
Sincerely,
Miss Kitty’s Mom
I’m so sorry to hear about your kitty. Mine had small cell lymphoma and somehow, I stumbled onto a great Facebook group that was sooo helpful – Raw Feeding for IBD Cats – it has information on many things regarding cat health.
Best wishes to you and Miss Kitty!
Sadly our beloved Naloleon was put to rest at our home two days ago. He had the exact same cancer as Nate. We live in the UK so were able to order the NHV products which he did take for a while. The advanced immune restoration took so long to get here from the USA, when it did I think we were too late. Napoleon would not tolerate any of their products except for the fish oils no matter how well I mixed it in (it arrived about 2 months prior to his death when he still seemed pretty well).
We only used a small amount of this product so if there is anyone in the UK that wants to try this stuff let me know.
Thanks,
Katy
Mary yes please if you still have the products . Happy to pay for it.
Sure that would be great, email me at: haylockbow at gmail.com
Hi there yes let me know, here is my email bowman.katy12 at googlemail.com
Hi all I am in the UK and have listed my vitality science and ES Clear and Trispy on ebay. We didn’t get the chance to use it much as Poli sadly passed within a month of the stuff getting to us. Delivery from the USA is so slow so if anyone is interested (from the UK) take a look at our listing as it is a shame for it to go to waste. Thank you, Katy
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vitality-Science-Cat-Cancer-Care-with-ES-Clear-and-Tripsy-/224506333953?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286
Hi do you still have your ES Clear? I’d like it if you do! Please email me if so
We just discovered a 6 cm mass on our 8 year old cats cranial abdomen. Suspected large cell lymphoma.
Any guidance and advice is appreciated. Her gums a very pale and she has lost 4.7lbs. She also has black diarrhea. Trying to get in to see an internal medicine specialist but we are a low income family so this is so hard for us to afford. Please offer advice!
Dawn, I’m neither a vet nor a pharmacologist. I seriously recommend surgery. I’d suggest local charitable organizations and national ones such as GivingGrid, ASPCA, etc.
For supplement options, there’s MSM, St Johns wort, cat’s claw, devil’s claw, boswellia, cordyceps (all of those 7 from bulksupplements), krill omega 3, bromelain, and iodine. Best administered on empty stomach.
Read the author’s post and relevant links here:
https://loveofacat.com/2010/12/3-ways-to-help-your-cat-prevent-cancer-now/
You could try CBD. It’s pricey and could backfire. When I gave it to my little one in therapeutic doses, he stopped eating. THC and CBD balance each other. I’d say find an unflavored one and try it on your kitty. If they stop eating, stop the CBD and save it for yourself.
For drugs, there’s fenbendazole (available OTC), metformin and thalidomide (although IDK if it’s safe for cats). Those are just the ones I know of but more resources can be found here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-020-00213-8
Be forewarned, check to see if those drugs listed in the nature article are safe for use in cats.
While you could try the supplements and drugs as a front line treatment, I think you’d have the best odds in concert with surgery to remove the tumor(s) with my lists as a natural booster. Start low and ramp up. These supplements are quite powerful and not to be taken lightly.
The only 4 things I’d discount are: oral baking soda (only neutralizes stomach acid), peach pit, bleach and standard chemo. Everything else is fair game. I’m a huge advocate of a shotgun approach. If MY life were on the line, I’d throw everything except the kitchen sink at the issue. I would do no less for my fur baby.
I know this was TLDR but please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you for the response. I ordered some products from NHV that is suppose to help, at least it was listed on this website. The ultrasonographer said her entire stomach is almost all tumor. It was one of the worst he has ever seen, We found this out today. So surgery is out. Hoping Prednisolone, Life Gold – Trusted Care for Cat Cancer, Colloidal Silver Advanced, Natures Immuno For Cats and ES-Clear helps shrink the tumor. So heartbroken
Dawn, I’m so sorry to hear that. To reiterate, if I were in that position, I’d throw everything I could at it. The odds may be long, but the fight isn’t over yet.
I’ve read the true story of a neurologist who was diagnosed with “terminal” glioblastoma, which usually is universally fatal. By taking numerous supplements and off label drugs he was able to beat the cancer and is still alive today. Maybe if you’re able to hit the cancer from several different angles, you can help your girl beat it?
There are plenty of people who have beat cancer when sent home with no options. There was even a book written about it by a PhD called “Radical Remission”. While this book may have only slight relevance to this situation, I cite it as hope. I believe it’s better to go down swinging and put up one hell of a fight if you’re going down either way. If there is any information you want, just ask and I’ll be happy to give it.
I was slightly in error. Dr Ben Williams PhD was a psychologist. I think he eventually passed away but outlived his GBM prognosis by 25 years. He dedicated a website to patient empowerment here:
https://www.survivingterminalcancer.com
Dr Marc Halatsch is in the documentary on Ben’s website. He proposes a combination of 9 rather safe commonplace drugs to treat cancer. I wish you the best.
Liz, I didn’t realize who you were when I left my comment. My little one passed away recently- I posted on your 9 lives are never enough page. I would like to add magnesium may be protective against cancer as it is used by mitochondria and protects telomeres. Iodine at an appropriate dosage probably wouldn’t hurt either. As I said before many herbs have in vitro effects. The enzyme Bromelain was studied against the chemo drug 5FU and found to be equal to or superio durining an inivo study. Finally, another drug I recently heard of is called fenbendazole. I believe it’s safe to use in cats at the species appropriate dosage.
Mark, thanks for all your kind comments on this post. A lot of interesting and hopeful possibilities out there. I have always held back from giving extra magnesium to cats, esp male cats, in case it could contribute to dangerous urinary blockages (stones). Although this article by Dr Jean describes how the magnesium question is not black and white: https://www.onlynaturalpet.com/blogs/holistic-healthcare-library/ash-magnesium-in-cat-food