Lymphoma & Flea Medication

[JenniferO]

Hello!

I'm new to this group, thank you for having me and creating this space!

Long story short, my 5 y/o male mutt (wolfhound mix named Tito ) was diagnosed with B-Cell Lymphoma in July of 2023. I immediately pulled him off of all vaccines and preventative medication other than his CHOP therapy, and he has been in remission since January of 2024. Whether it is related or not, I'm standing firm in keeping him off of all medicine.

However, our vets at Ohio State found fleas on him yesterday. They immediately gave him Capstar, which I know was the right move. However, they gave me NexGard that I'm supposed to be giving him today but I just hesitate giving him any medicine in fear that it will cause issues with his Lymphoma, and I don't want to go back to giving him medicine if I don't have to. IF you feel that NexGard is safe and doesn't have any correlation, I'm more than happy to take that route, I just want some sort of understanding on its safety levels. But I also know I have to act fast on this.

If not, do you have any recommendations or advice on what I can give him to kill the fleas (and keep them away). I don't know much about flea collars, so I will take any sort of recommendations you have.

Thanks so much in advance.

@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff

 

[JenniferO]

@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff Sorry for the double tag, I forgot to add them in the first time so I wasn't sure if they came through when I added them to the edit. Apologies, first time poster

 

[Dr. Christina]

Welcome to Holistic Actions, where you can learn how to easily make these many decisions as you schedule time to learn and read and listen to all the amazing resources to help your whole family stay healthy. Watch the video that shows you how to access all the amazing information we have assembled over 8 years.

First - quick answer - No Nextgard

Download the Fleas Be Gone document. There is no one magic solution for fleas (chemical or holistic). Flea comb several times a day. One of my favorite tags is Tickless USA – Chemical-Free Tick Protection for Pets, Kids & Outdoors and for the yard (if Tito hangs out in the yard much) is Flea Destroyer nematodes.

Vibrantly healthy dogs do not get fleas, so your job now is to build Tito's health.

Step one - spend time really reading (including links) and absorbing the 101 class.
Step two (concurrently) - create a holistic health care team. To find a holistic vet, read this whole article, then go to every website listed. the 101 class talks about other members of your team.
Step three - schedule your one on one 15minute Q/A call.

Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I just hesitate giving him any medicine in fear that it will cause issues with his Lymphoma

Exactly!

If he is also under the care of a vet homeopath, s/he may have specific advice about homeopathic medicines.

If you are not already consulting with a trained vet homeopath, now's a great time to start.

In addition to Dr. Christia's great suggestions, drug safety-wise, I find lufenuron (Program/Sentinel) to be the safest drug to control flea infestation.

However, it is more like flea birth control and does not kill or prevent fleas.