Hi folks, sorry it's been so long since we posted.
Nancy, there is no way to say if the representations of different
cancers (a grouping of several hundred separate illnesses some of
which vary extremely widely in survivability, treatability, speed
of progression, etc.) is larger than can be accounted for by
genetics. Within human populations there are some people who
apparently carry genes which make them a bit more susceptible and
a few who actually carry genetic make-up which almost guarantees
that members of their families will have some forms of cancer.
To understand what is going on one would have to have reliable
documentation of ferrets cancers (still lacking), an
understanding or even a reasonable inkling of how many specific
genes are involved and how they express themselves, and
reasonable ball park figures of how common these individual
variants are in the population. Obviously, with a small enough
gene pool and the right individuals you could breed humans to be
virtually guaranteed some form of cancer. Breeders who want to
could try to track enough of their animals to get an inkling of
the health of their gene pool (yes, inbreeding can also create
healthier animals but that result is not as common) and present
their stats to potential buyers. There is no way at this time or
for a very long time after to make estimates on genetic
representation. Be wary of those who try to make definitive
remarks since there's no way to do that. (By the way, Black
Footed Ferrets have a startlingly high instance of lymphosarcoma
after a certain age, but the remaining population is of necessity
very inbred so whether this reflects what COULD exist is not
known.)
Most ferret specialist vets I know think that the shortened life
spans in U.S. ferrets over the last decade relate to inbreeding
among both large and small breeders and that some types of
cancers may reflect that, while others relate to the virtually
total lack of veterinary nutrition information on ferrets.
(Florida is starting a vet nutrition program, I gather, but such
are even rarer than human physicians knowing about human
nutrition. Even for humans there is an extreme lack of knowledge
and lack of classes.) An example of a possible nutrition problem
is the warning that brewers yeast should be given to ferrets in
case the foods here are too low in chromium. It may be or it may
not; we give our's yeast figuring that it probably can't hurt and
may help. Wild ferret and mink diets are little help since they
do not really reflect what pet owners want to know since those
are more likely to be optimized for survival through the first 3
or 4 critical breeding years only. Also remember this IMPORTANT
warning: going "natural" does not mean that foods are more
balanced, safer, better preserved, or contain fewer carcinogens.
There are naturally occurring fungi which can invade foods and
which are dramatically potent carcinogens; others which can cause
lung or liver illnesses, and still others which have sent entire
human populations insane (as in the example of an old walled
French city which was turned into an asylum after the town's
bakers got bad grain and sold it in their breads). Ditto
bacteria and other life forms which can feed on our foods or our
pets' foods and may be themselves dangerous or produce by-
products which are dangerous.
Then there is the category of environmentally caused cancers.
Among humans, with the marked exceptions of exposure to tobacco
smoke, or radiation, these are a much smaller amount than diet
relate cancers, but then we react badly to at least some fats and
ferrets react VERY differently to fats and actually can become
very ill from monosaturated fats that appear to be safer for
human heart health than others. This component is unknown with
ferrets.
Can ferrets survive cancers? Bandit is an excellent example of
one with lympho who is doing splendidly. Fritter showed that
even with both lympho and insulinoma a ferret can have an
extended period of survival. Hjalmar is going strong even though
he first had symptoms from his adenocarcinoma over a year ago.
In our first decade of ferret ownership we thought they were very
fragile. Now we are more inclined to think that once owners and
vets know what they are doing ferrets may actually be more robust
with some illnesses than cats are. Cost of treatment varies with
the type of cancer and individual case. Hjalmar's chemo is not
too bad, and neither was Frit's, but Hjalmar's surgery and two
sets of sonograms added up to about $1,300.
Here's what has and is happening with Hjalmar (now over 7 years
old): after his Cushings had been going on for about 11 months
he started having too many Addisons crises despite his Lysodren
in Nutrical. Surgery was for a very large tumor and had a bad
prognosis, being so involved with the vena cava but it was the
only chance. Afterwards he became the first ferret known to have
tumor suppression of the other adrenal so had to go on Florinef
till it restarted. Now he is going through Ann Jeglum's lympho
protocol with Pred added basically since no one has done chemo on
this type of tumor before so that's our best guess. He's happy
and doing very well, but for how long no one can say. Current
estimate day to day is that he could live 2 days or 2 years more.
(Those with Cushingoid ferrets who want to know more or those
with ferrets with adenocarcinomas who want to stay in touch are
welcome to call us E.S.T. 10 to 10. 908.580.0506)
old elephants foot palm we have.
We have personal experience with inbreeding by one Pennsy
breeder. They try for special colors, kit coats held through
life, and short faces. Ruffle is one of theirs and suffers
(literally since her legs and back have difficulties) form a form
of dwarfism as well as the separate problem of being quite
intellectually impaired (but trainable with consistency and
time). 'Chopper is also one of theirs and is partially deaf from
a genetic cause which is well documented in much of mammalia and
also responsible for her white forelock. Both have luxurious,
long, satiny kit-like coats.
Meltdown was also one of their's from before they started having
such obvious inbreeding difficulties. It's hard to imagine a
more responsible critter than she grew to become.
Our latest addition is a Marshall farms boy who is pure white and
hence named Spot. He is ENORMOUS, very healthy, has never even
come close to breaking skin, was our easiest ferret introduction
so far for those he knows, and is kind of like the husband on the
show "Roseanne" in personality.
Wonderful holidays to
all, Hjalmar, Meltdown,
Ruffle, 'Chopper, Spot,
and their servants: Sukie
and Steve
P.S. Hjalmar was on I.V. for 5 days and a heating pad that long
after op. Many vets would have given up before then and we are
very happy that ours did not.
[Posted in FML issue 0378]
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