First of all, I'd like to thank everyone that responded to me with
information and support about Shirley and her illness.  This list is a
valuable resource for ferret friends.
 
I need some more help/info for Shirley.  She was diagnosed with
Lymphosarcoma on Monday.  She has an enlarged spleen and both lymph glands
in her neck are affected.  She is also very anemic.  Her nose was white as
a sheet.
 
We started treating her with prednisone 1/4 tablet once a day on Tuesday
(my vet treats many dogs and cats and has tablets on stock.  When I go back
for more I will ask for a script for pediapred because the tablets are
tough to give).  She is also being treated for possible ulcers (even though
my vet does not know for sure that is the cause of the blood loss).  She is
given Sulfacrate 4x, Pepto 3x and Amoxicillin 2x.
 
Although she is eating and drinking well... she is losing weight.  She was
only 1.5 pounds to begin with but she is skin and bones now.  Her nose
doesn't seem to be as white as it was but it isn't her normal color.  At
this point, in my untrained opinion, I think that the anemia is causing
more trouble for her than the tumors.  She is weak and sleeps a lot.  What
else can I do to help her?  I have taken the advice of some list members
and have ordered some Tomlyn Ferret Drops and some vitamins.  I have also
ordered some Essiac.  I put in a rush order but still have not received any
of it yet.  I've been given a suggestion of feeding her raw high quality
steak... would that help?
 
The hardest part right now is not knowing if I am helping her or not.  I
am not sure of what is causing the anemia so I don't know if the meds are
doing anything or not.  I keep telling myself to give the meds a chance to
work and as long as she is eating and maintaining her fluids, she is ok.
But am I making the right choice?  Am I prolonging her life for my own sake
or will this help her?  Those are tough questions that only my husband and
I can answer.
 
Another thing that is bothering me is that my vet received information
from Dr. Dutton in NH (she called him about Shirley for protocols for
treatments).  He faxed her information stating that the cause could be
viral.  This past May we lost her littermate Laverne to unknown causes.
She had diarrhea for 6 months with no response to a multitude of
treatments.  At the end I had taken her to a vet in VT and they were
working on her.  They called me and said that she was failing and to take
her to Dr. Dutton in NH.  The morning that I was to take her, she passed
away.  My vet called me in the morning at 5:30 to tell me so I didn't make
the hour and a half drive to the office in VT.  I didn't think of it and
he didn't mention it on the phone and when I got to the office to pick her
up and the cage they asked to do a necropsy.  I was upset and crying and
didn't want to wait around, so I said no.  Now I regret it because it may
have been lymphoma in her stomach/intestines.  That would let me know if
she passed it on to Shirley or not.
 
Now I have to worry about 3 other ferrets in the household.  Am I going
to go through this with each one?  Is there anyway of preventing it or
detecting it early enough to not be in the dire situation that I am in
with Shirley?
 
This is a long post... I apologize for it.  But I know that there are folks
out there that have been through this and have information that they could
provide me.  Dr. Williams has dealt with ferrets both as an owner and a
vet, so he is a wealth of information.
 
Once again I thank everyone on the list for their understanding and love of
these special creatures.
 
Korri
[Posted in FML issue 3241]