I Paused My Dog's Chemotherapy. Here's the Holistic Protocol We're Using Instead.

A story about Lola, conventional medicine, a pivotal pause, and going back to basics.

Her name is Lola. She is a 13-year-old Yorkshire Terrier who weighs all of 13 pounds, and she is my best friend. About six months ago, she started getting sick. What followed was one of the hardest, most exhausting, most eye-opening experiences of my life as a pet owner.

I'm sharing this because so many of you follow along on my wellness journey for yourselves. But this one is for your dogs. Especially if you have a senior dog, a sick dog, or a dog you are trying to give the best possible quality of life.

The Diagnosis: GME

GME stands for Granulomatous Meningoencephalomyelitis. It is a serious inflammatory condition of the central nervous system that affects dogs, and it is not common. When Lola started showing symptoms, I brought her to a neurologist right away. I did everything that was recommended. No hesitation.

That meant steroids to manage the inflammation, and chemotherapy to suppress her immune system, which was essentially attacking her own body. The plan was six months of treatment, and then we would reassess. Hopefully she would be in remission.

I want to be clear: I am not anti-conventional medicine. Not for me, not for Lola. The neurologist was doing exactly what the science supports. I followed the protocol completely.

Six Months Later, a Pause

At the six-month mark, the neurologist recommended continuing chemotherapy. And right around that same time, life threw us a curveball. We had to do a fairly urgent move, which meant pushing the appointment anyway. It wasn't planned, but honestly, the timing made me stop and think.

I noticed that Lola had been getting visibly nervous before her appointments. Anxious. Like she knew what was coming and didn't want to go. And when I really sat with it, I wasn't sure the chemo was moving the needle the way I had hoped. She wasn't thriving. She was getting through it.

There was also something happening in my own house that I have to be honest about. Lola and I also have a little dog named Alfie. Alfie, bless his heart, has a habit of eating things he absolutely should not eat. During one of Lola's chemo cycles, Alfie got into her waste. Chemo is excreted, and it is toxic. Alfie ended up in the emergency vet and nearly didn't make it. We had to separate them for five to seven days after every single treatment just to keep him safe.

I'm not sharing that to scare anyone away from chemotherapy. Sometimes it is absolutely the right call. But I am sharing it because it was part of my reality, and it added to the weight of everything I was already carrying.

A Different Conversation

A friend of mine, Dr. Heather Wolfson, is a chiropractor and the founder of Wild Mamas. She knows animal nutrition at a level most vets don't, and she walked me through exactly what Lola needed. She recommended the raw rabbit, the bone marrow bones from Northstar Bison, the emu oil, the salmon fish roe, all of it. And the organ supplements Lola takes every day? Dr. Heather formulated those herself. I did my own research, gathered everything she suggested, and brought it all to Lola's vet.

Lola sees Dr. Gretchen Koch at Kaibab Animal Hospital in Scottsdale. I cannot say enough about her. She is the kind of vet who looks at the whole picture. She can do conventional medicine and she does it well, but she also understands holistic approaches and takes them seriously. When I brought in the supplements and asked her what she thought, she loved them. Every single one.

We had a real conversation. About Lola's quality of life. About what we were and weren't seeing from the chemo. About whether a pause made sense and what we might try instead. Dr. Koch was honest with me, and I was honest with her. We both know we cannot turn back time. We know we cannot bring perfect health back to Lola at 13. But we can make choices that give her the best possible days she has left, whether that turns out to be weeks, months, or longer. We genuinely don't know. And I am at peace with not knowing, as long as she is comfortable and happy.

What We're Doing Now

We are keeping Lola on her steroids. That stays. The steroids are managing her inflammation and we are not removing that support. What we have changed is the chemotherapy, which we have paused, and replaced with the following:

Ozone Treatments

We just did Lola's first ozone treatment at Kaibab Animal Hospital. The difference was immediate and obvious. She never had a dip in her appetite. She came home calm. She was herself. After some of her chemo sessions, that was not the case. We are doing a series of ozone treatments and watching how she responds.

Mistletoe Therapy

If ozone goes well, we are planning to try mistletoe therapy next. It is a lesser-known treatment that supports the immune system and has shown promise in oncology settings for both humans and animals. I will share more as we go.

LifeWave X39 Patch

Lola is also wearing the LifeWave X39 patch. I wear it myself and have written about it separately. The X39 is designed to support the body's natural repair processes by activating stem cell production. I have seen it work in my own life, and I wanted that same support for her.

Supplements

All of the following were approved by Dr. Koch and are things I genuinely believe in. Worth noting: I am taking several of these myself. Lola's main issue is inflammation, and so is mine. We are in this together.

• Emu oil by Wild Mamas, a powerful anti-inflammatory
• Salmon fish roe by Wild Mamas, rich in omega-3s and nutrients
• Bison organ multi by Wild Mamas, whole food vitamins and minerals

Use code MEGANGRAHAM15 at wildmamas.com for 15% off your order.

Real Food

This has been one of the most joyful parts of this whole shift. Lola is now getting:

• Raw rabbit and raw lamb from Northstar Bison
• Bison bone marrow bones from Northstar Bison

I want to tell you about the first time I gave Lola a bone marrow bone. She is 13 years old and four pounds. I gave her a four-inch bison marrow bone and she licked and worked at it for thirty minutes straight. I don't think I have ever seen her so happy in her entire life. And watching her go after her raw rabbit with that kind of delight, knowing what she's been through, knowing what might still be ahead, it is honestly everything. It is the whole point.

Where We Are Now

We are taking it one day at a time. I have not closed the door on chemotherapy. If we need to go back, we will go back. This is a pause, not a permanent decision. Dr. Koch and I are watching Lola closely and making choices based on how she actually responds, not just what the protocol says to do next.

What I know right now is that she had her first ozone treatment and she did beautifully. She came home and she was Lola. She ate her dinner. She was calm. She was comfortable. And that matters more to me than anything else right now.

If you have a senior dog, a sick dog, or you are just thinking about doing things a little differently for your pet, I hope this gives you something to think about. You do not have to choose between conventional and holistic. You can find a vet like Dr. Koch who will help you hold both at the same time.

I'll keep sharing updates on Lola as we go. She is worth every bit of it.

About Megan Graham

The modern world was built for convenience, not health. I'm doing things a little differently. More like the 1980s, honestly. This channel is everything I've learned and everything I'm still discovering. Low-tox living. Organic everything. Holistic pet care. Beauty that doesn't poison you. Wellness products I personally use and swear by.

I spent 24 years as an award-winning hair colorist on Newbury Street in Boston. Loved it, until the chemicals caught up with me. Autoimmune conditions. A health spiral. The hardest part wasn't leaving. It was not knowing if I was good at anything else. Turns out the canary in the coal mine finds things out that most people never think about. I won't say getting sick was the best thing that ever happened to me. But finding meaning in it, and being able to help others because of it, that part has made it worth something. Come along for the ride.

I am an independent MONAT Market Partner and LifeWave Brand Partner. Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and based on personal experience. This post is not intended as veterinary or medical advice. Results vary. Always consult your veterinarian before making changes to your pet's treatment plan.