Part 1 of 3 [combined in this post]
This is from 2005 so some URLs will have changed! If I have time I will
put in the new ones. Also, spacing is lost when I copy this so will be
re-spacing and that may change.

 From http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/

   ----------------------------

I actually have not had to run this info for over a year which means
that many people have probably learned this, but some are appearing
again who don't know these important things, including that most
adrenal growths are not malignancies but still need to be tackled.
See:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG5054
from Dr. Bruce Williams which reads in part:
>Actually tonight I am working on a promised article to Ferrets Mag
>about adrenal disease. But >I think that Melissa and Sukie have
>covered the dire possibilities very well (and they are very real.)
>
>However, even under the best conditions, when there is no malignancy,
>there is no bone marrow toxicosis, there is no prostatic cystic
>disease - even the most mild prediction is a sad one. Ferrets with
>adrenal disease have a diminished quality of life - they have
>progressive muscle loss, low grade anemia, they tend to redistribute
>weight to the abdomen, further making it difficult to walk, they have
>an increased incidence of gastric ulcers as a result of the stress of
>chronic illness, decreased bone density - none life-threatening, but
>all life-compromising. Even medical treatment, which is not my
>preferred way of treating adrenal disease, gives slight relief to
>symptoms. Doing nothing is not kind and not in a ferret's best
>interest.

(Since then careful and controlled testing has shown Lupron Depot,
Suprelorin, and to a lesser extent also melatonin to be more useful
than previously thought for actual proven adrenal growths though
surgery is still the most effective approach for most ferrets.  The
meds  offer an option when surgery can not be done.  Two excellent
places to learn more about them:  http://www.miamiferret.org/ and
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ (esp. posts from AFERRETVET).)

BTW, there are two every interesting new articles on melatonin use in
ferrets in the latest JEMM&S 9(that would have been in 2005 so hardly
the latest any longer ) so if your vet gets that see if you can arrange
to pay for photocopies. It may be that for some small ferrets (under
600 grams) the current implant dosage would be too high, and there are
further possible refinements for this approach. (There is still debate
on if that one ferret in study had a problem instead from one of the
anesthesia types used so have your vet check for you.)

 Subject: from FHL: If you worry "CANCER"  here is a Golden Oldie which
                     eases many people's minds
Please, note up-front that even though most adrenal tumors are benign
that removal is still normally advised for both quality and quantity
of life except for those ferrets who are not surgical candidates due
to many factors including dangerous complications. (If surgery isn't
possible Lupron and other meds are advised: See info from Dr. Jerry
Murray on that.) You will also want to see past info written by Dr.
Bruce Williams on how prompt surgery for insulinoma (when cases give
early warning) can be curative is about 60% of cases. See:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ , and
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html, and
the references in http://www.ferretcongress.org/
Most adrenal growths are benign neoplasia and some others tend to not
spread readily to distant sites in the body though some types can do
so; insulinomae also tend to not spread, though at times they do. There
is yet more on that aspect and on why blood tests do not diagnose
lymphoma/lymphosarcoma at
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/Clin_Path/ClinPath.html
and elsewhere.

Many actual health professionals avoid the words "cancer" or "tumor"
because they are so often misused and misunderstood.
[Posted in FML issue 4930]


There are multiple pieces of info on the misuse of the term "cancer";
here's one which combines the marvelous post of a veterinary
pathologist who is a highly respected ferret expert (Dr. Bruce
Williams) and some dictionary definitions from veterinary/ medical
dictionaries.
For example, message 6510 (There ARE others with more info):
At 8:59 AM +0000 8/20/01, Dr. Bruce Williams wrote:
BEGIN QUOTE
The thread on this is pretty good, and both Sukie and Stephanie have
very valid points. The terminology of neoplasms can be confusing, and
I'm sure even vets can be confused from time to time. The proper term
for what you are talking about is neoplasm (or literally "new growth).
For one reason or another, a clone of cells begins to grow uninhibited
by normal substances or mechanisms.

The word "tumor" may be technically correct, but it is actually non-
specific - tumor is Latin for a swelling, but it could also be an
abscess, or anything else that causes swelling - so I try to stay away
from it.

Now this neoplasm may be benign - without the ability for cells to
detach into the bloodstream or lymph, move to another tissue, and set
up shop - or malignant (where they can do this.)

The process of a microscopic piece of a tumor moving to another organ
is called metastasis. Metastasis is the hallmark of malignancy. The
worst tumors have the propensity to go anywhere and start growing (like
lymphoma). However, we can recognize malignant tumors even before they
metastasize, often by characteristic features seen under the
microscope.

Adrenal carcinomas (malignant adrenal tumors) are interesting
neoplasms. Although they possess the ability to metastasize, only a
small number do, and usually only late in the course of disease. It is
likely that they do metastasize a lot, but have trouble gaining a
foothold in distant tissues, so it takes a long time and many attempts
if they ever truly metastasize.

Insulinomas are generally not malignant tumors as they only very rarely
metastasize. The presence of multiple tumors in the same organ over
time is not metastasis. We do not understand the mechanism behind the
generation of these tumors, and when we do surgery to remove them, we
really are only treating the end point of this process, without
addressing the cause. Thus it is really no surprise that the rate of
recurrence is about 40% within 10 months.

With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM
END QUOTE

Treat this as a supporting document to Bruce William's excellent post
above taken from FHL digest 348.

I especially liked his providing the direct translation of "tumor" as
"swelling", and his explanation that not all growths which can
metastasize do so readily.

These definitions below are combined ones from medical, veterinary,
and biology dictionaries, but emphases are mine and i am willing to be
corrected if I blew it...

(New note in 2005 -- in the 4 years that this has run no one has
disagreed with the medical dictionary definitions and it has been read
by vets, physicians, and other experts in that time. In 2010 that is
now 9 years with the definitions still being treated as acceptable.)

Important Note: some more recent dictionaries don't even include the
term cancer as a valid health term any longer, and I have heard vets
who won't use it due to the widespread confusion out there, and even
some vets who avoid using "tumor' due to too many assuming that any
tumor is malignant and the word itself meaning too many things (and Dr.
Williams partly feels that way about the second word per his letter
above in this post).


TUMOR: ANY abnormal mass resulting from the excessive multiplication
of cells; a swelling, especially that resulting from the growth of new
tissue; a neoplasm

CANCER: Any MALIGNANT tumor; carcinoma; a carcinoma or sarcoma

MALIGNANT: pertaining to or denoting progressive growth of CERTAIN
tumors which if not checked by treatment spread to DISTANT SITES,
terminating in death; a tendency to progress in virulence, cancer is
the best known example

BENIGN: not malignant, as in CERTAIN tumors; not recurrent, favorable
for recovery

NEOPLASM: a tumor; ANY new growth, specifically one in which cell
multiplication is uncontrolled and progressive, neoplasms may be benign
or malignant

(Subsets from Saunders:
NEOPLASM, BENIGN: a neoplasm having none of the characteristics of a
malignant neoplasm (see below), i.e. it grows SLOWLY, expands WITHOUT
METASTASIS, and USUALLY does not reoccur [See the notes of Dr. Bruce
Williams above in relation to why LOCAL reoccurance is NOT metastasis.]

NEOPLASM, MALIGNANT: a neoplasm with the characteristics of ANAPLASIA,
INVASIVENESS, and METASTASIS There are several other subsets of
neoplasia in this dictionary.

METASTASIS: the transfer or disease from one organ or part to another
NOT DIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH IT

ANAPLASIA: LOSS OF DIFFERENTIATION of cells

Those who have the _Saunder's Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary_
will find that this resource often provides details beyond these bare-
bones descriptions, (though certainly there also will be nuances in
practise that those of us who are not medical professionals simply
won't understand). It is a marvelous resource; I love it and i highly
recommend it to anyone who has any type of pet and any level of
expertise. If I had a rating for refs around here it would be among the
best buys. It's better than any of my other medical dictionaries, even
for sorting through things too technical for me in the _PDR_ books on
herbs and on supplements that i have at home. Marvelous book: clearly
written and very inclusive; more than worth what it cost.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6866]