Carrie the Cat: Cancer and the Nosode Carcinosinum

Carcinosinum and Cancer: A Story from Experience

The opinions of homeopaths on prescribing the nosode Carcinosinum in the active stage of cancer are sharply divided. Half believe it should never be used in such cases, while the other half argues that treatment should begin with it.

In my own practice, I have had to make decisions on this, and as of now, I am more inclined to consider other approaches with minimal risks, often turning to remedies such as Medorrhinum instead of Carcinosinum in some cases.

Until recently, I had never had the opportunity—or perhaps the courage—to try Carcinosinum on a patient diagnosed with cancer. In the early years of my practice, I didn’t know which approach to trust. But over time, I’ve come to believe that we should take a different path—one that minimizes risks to the patient. Often, when we feel a nosode is needed and Carcinosinum comes to mind, it may actually be that Medorrhinum is more appropriate.

(For example, Spinedi says his teacher, Dr. Künzli, never once prescribed Carcinosinum. And Spinedi himself had many patients whose cancer developed after receiving it.)

My favorite classical homeopaths—both past and present—prefer to begin cancer treatment with an organ-specific remedy. For instance, in uterine cancer, they might start with a remedy derived from the uterus. This approach isn’t just logical; it has been consistently validated by successful clinical outcomes. Another method, often used by Indian homeopaths, involves selecting a remedy with strong affinity for the specific tumor type.

Once the acute disease process is stabilized, they turn to the patient’s constitutional remedy. And only when the tumor regresses and the cancer’s destructive course slows down, they may introduce a nosode. At that point—and only once—Carcinosinum may be used, provided the patient’s history (including family history) supports it.

But then I was given a chance to try Carcinosinum in an oncology case.

It wasn’t a human patient, but my cat - Carrie.

Carrie the cat 

Carrie had been part of our family since 2008. She’d moved houses with us several times, even spent a couple of months in the Carpathians with me and my son. From her medical history, I’d note her sterilization (after 12–15 litters of kittens!) and three rabies vaccinations with a monovalent vaccine (I wasn’t always a homeopath…).

In the spring of 2021, we realized that Carrie was seriously ill. By human standards, she was around 90 years old. She lay on the warm bathroom floor near the laundry basket and barely moved. She stopped drinking and lost all appetite. The only thing she could manage was a bit of jelly from her cat food, and even that with great effort. She’d lick it and then lie back down.

A tumor appeared on her abdomen near a nipple—about the size of a large currant. During an ultrasound, the vet said it was amazing she was still alive.

The diagnosis: stage 4 liver and mammary gland cancer with metastasis. There was virtually no healthy tissue left in the liver.

The prognosis: about one week to live.

It was unclear whether the cancer had started in the liver or the mammary glands—the process was too advanced to say for certain. I suspected the origin was in the mammary glands—so many kittens, then sterilization... But finding a remedy made from feline mammary gland tissue? That seemed impossible.

So, I chose to give Carcinosinum 200C (prepared from epithelial carcinoma of the human mammary gland). Just once. There was nothing to lose—time was running out.

Two weeks later, Carrie began licking more jelly from her bowl, used the litter box, and started drinking small amounts of water. She was still frail and emaciated, but began walking around the house again, even going outside. Another two weeks passed, and she was finishing entire packets of food. Our other cat, Kelly, started gaining weight, since she was getting all the leftover kibble.

Carrie and her daughter Kelly (left)

Based on my experience treating breast cancer in women, I chose Phosphorus 200C as Carrie’s constitutional remedy, given twice.

Carrie steadily improved.

A month later, she was full of energy—still very skinny, but lively—and started ambushing me by the fridge, constantly demanding food. She ate a lot, yet didn’t gain weight. Based on that symptom, I gave her Iodum 6C, just once (it was the only potency I had at home, but it worked beautifully).

By the end of the summer of 2021, Carrie had gained weight and was running across the lawn, fighting with the neighbor’s cats, and catching mice. The only lingering reminder of her illness was a swollen nipple—now grape-sized and slightly bluish—with rare discharges, occasionally tinged with blood. But that was infrequent.

More than a year passed since her terminal diagnosis, and she had only been given a week to live. Carcinosinum had done its job, and my fluffy companion was still enjoying life.

Still, despite this experience, I’m not yet ready to begin cancer treatment in humans with Carcinosinum. I feel I need more “practice on cats” to be fully convinced that starting treatment with it can be both effective and safe—if the case truly calls for it.

P.S. Carrie, diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, lived for another year and a half after her homeopathic treatment. She passed away peacefully on November 26, 2022, just shy of 15 years old.

22 September 2022