# "Alternative" therapies for melanomas



## OwnedbyJoe (17 February 2014)

We have a 20 year old cremello mare with melanomas under her tail. They have been there a long time, are slowly growing, they do not ulcerate and she is otherwise rudely healthy. I have been quite comfortable with leaving them as I always reckoned she would die with them rather than of them. However she has now popped one up on the lower eyelid of her left eye. I checked with the (horse) vet (I'm also a vet but I do sheep and cows!) and his advice was to leave well alone: if and when it starts to trouble the eye (rubbing on it, getting big enough to mean she can't close the eyelids properly) then she could have the eye removed. I am comfortable(ish) with that approach - this is a mare who will be twice as smart and capable with one eye as most horses are with two, and she is 20 after all. She wears a fly veil all day to reduce the sunlight getting to the eye.
However, I find myself almost obsessively monitoring this lump! It would be a real shame if she were to lose her eye and there was something else out there we could have tried. I tried topical sandalwood oil on one recommendation but it made no difference. I have just started her on turmeric which will probably help the old girl morning stiffness she gets but I'm hoping it might slow down the melanoma as well.
Anyone got any other ideas? Please bear in mind I am NOT after radical surgical approaches or some sort of equivalent of Xterra cream or black salve: this lump is near her eye and she is 20 years old: I don't want to treat with something that will cause huge irritation. I'm probably thiking more along the lines of herb supplements. I am looking for something that might slow/stop the growth, without stirring the damn thing up. All the vet advice i have had for old horse melanomas is that you don't want to upset them...


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## flaxen tail (17 February 2014)

I have heard turmeric may help and topically the use of neem. I have just googled turmeric and melanomas and also neem and melanomas and there is some imformation on both of these and may be worth investigating, she sounds a lovely character.


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## Gloi (17 February 2014)

Have you read about the vaccine that has been being trialled? I've no experience of it but in the articles it sounds promising.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/28888/new-cancer-vaccine-for-horses-in-the-works-aaep-2011


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## Bess (17 February 2014)

Cimetidine is one option you might consider, it is thought that it can help slow down the growth rate of the melanomas.


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## Queenbee (17 February 2014)

http://horsesar-x.com

I can reccommend this product, it's been used on three horses at our yard, including mine, I actually used it on my boy for a wound that was not a sarcoid but  that had become excessive scar tissue and proud flesh, as it was on his muzzle he kept knocking it, it really helped, it dried it out and calmed it all down, allowing it to heal.  I used both the supplement and the spray.  The other horses at the yard had two different forms of sarcoids, one was just below the eye, same treatment, spray and supplement and for one it shrank it right down (by now it could be completely gone, but I couldn't say as the horse has moved yards) for the other horse it shrivelled up and dropped off.  The supplement basically works by changing the horses internal ph, helping to create a more hostile environment for these things to grow in, and I think it also boosts the immune system helping their body to fight it (although I may just be imagining this bit) I've heard with some horses it almost aggravates it first, and then it starts working, but I've not witnessed this with any of the horses I've seen this used on, and all of them have had positive results with it.


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## glenruby (17 February 2014)

How about you take some photos and fill out a sarcoid referral form from Liverpool. Seeing as you are a vet yourself you can do it yourself directly and get a advice from the right sources. For what it's worth the latest recommendations from Livwrpool are to treat melanomas not leave them be however the newest treatment would not be appropriate for eyelid melanomas. Worth asking Dr Knottenbelt whether bcg would be effective on a melanoma in that area - it is a very effective tx for eyelid sarcoids.


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## shergar (18 February 2014)

Google REACTIONS TO VACCINATIONS ,some are not advised for horses that have health issues and I am sure I read on those pages  that  some vaccines can make Melanomas grow faster , I thought that was of interest as my friends horse also has a Melanoma.


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## OwnedbyJoe (18 February 2014)

Thanks for all the replies.
Glenruby I very much doubt I would be able to get the Liverpool cream through Australian customs, although I would like to! I will see if I can get in touch with Dr Knottenbolt though. BCG might be an issue too - Australia proudly claims to be TB free so I don't expect there's much BCG floating around..
Shergar, luckily we don't have to vaccinate for influenza, and I don't even bother with strangle as it is very uncommon here, so all she gets is her tetanus shot about every 4 or 5 years.


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## EstherYoung (18 February 2014)

Melanomas aren't sarcoids, so the same treatments (Liverpool cream etc) won't work. They are proper cancer, albeit a slow cancer, and there are no herbal cures for cancer. You've got to be so careful, as if you use anything that promotes healing it can also promote the growth of the cancerous cells. If isn't ulcerating I would be tempted to leave well alone. Your vets advice is sound.

My old mare had a zillion melanomas, mostly under her tail. She had one appear in the corner of her eye, but that's all it did, appeared and sat there for years. She died well into her 30s from other old age related issues.


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## Queenbee (18 February 2014)

EY no you're right, there is no herbal cure for cancer, but there are things  which can slow down growth rate even further, i would consider the supplement I've provided a link to but yes, definitely as another poster has posted, tumeric, tumeric is one of the few that does have stats to back up its claims.


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## glenruby (18 February 2014)

Esther young - I didn't recommend Liverpool cream, I recommended he contact Dr Knottenbelt -for which you need to fill out the sarcoid referral form. Well aware they aren't the same thing BUT the advice has changed in the last few years. New treatment is available but from my personal experiences with the technique it would be very difficult if not impossible to treat an eyelid tumour in this way. Melanomas are cancer as are sarcoids (you are incorrect about those) but can be either benign or malignant.

ETA - a quick check has indicated that human melanomas have been treated with bcg for years with some success so perhaps that is an option. I've previously bought mine from human hospitals - not the easiest to get anyhow!


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## Fransurrey (18 February 2014)

I would look into the turmeric route. I'm not sure I'd want to apply neem oil to the eye area.


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