Dear Sue:
 
>Says too, that the itch is not from allergic reaction..(as if I didn't
>know that).  He also warned me that he could become very agressive towards
>the other ferrets in the cage.  Told me to keep his nails short which I
>already do.  He told me that the itching is from "dry skin".  Jonesys skin
>does not appear to be dry.  I asked some questions I wish I had not asked.
>Seems like the tumors will spread to his little liver and finally to the
>prostate.
 
Actually, it sounds like your vet has a lot of the facts about adrenal
disease, but doesn' have them correct.
 
Itchiness is a common sign of adrenal disease in ferrets - if you treat
the adrenal disease, it goes away.  If you don't, you can expect him to
have it continuously.
 
REgarding adrenal tumors - the neoplasm only rarely spreads to the liver
(and that is if you don't do surgery, as he is advising ) and NEVER go to
the prostate - the prostatic changes are secondary to the estrogen that
the tumor secretes, and not the result of tumor metastasis.
 
>Says if the prostate becomes enlarged, we could put him on meds to shrink
>it and then do some surgery, but prognosis is not good at that point and
>that he could die while we wait for the prostate to shrink enough for the
>surgery to be done..  He continues to discourage surgery..says you can
>never get all the tumors on the pancreas so will only prolong things and
>that they will continue to grow back..
 
It seems as if this particular vet is well-versed in what happens when you
don't do surgery - he seems to have a lot of experience, and STILL doesn't
recommend it?!!  Adrenal surgery is the standard of care today and adds SO
much to most ferrets lives.
 
We can make this short - find a ferret vet who is willing to do the
surgery and go for it.  This vet is not helping Jonesy at all.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3298]