As some of you may recall, my eldest ferret Bud had an adrenal tumor
removed on August 22nd. At the same time the vet took tissue samples from
his liver, spleen, and pancreas. Well, the pathology on those samples is
back. It's not all good news, but it could be worse. The adrenal tumor was
categorized as malignant, based on certain details of its structure. However,
the vet said when he took it out that it was well demarcated, with no sign
of spreading into the surrounding tissue. The pathology on the spleen, liver,
and pancreas also showed no signs of cancer having spread, with one possible
exception. There was a nodule of glandular tissue on the pancreas which may
have been a spread of cancerous adrenal cells, but it was well encapsulated
by the surrounding tissues, and was removed as well.
 
So, if we got all the cancer out (and at this time there is no evidence
that we didn't), Bud's chances are good. We'll just have to wait and see
how he does in the long run I guess.
 
If any of you are interested, you can view Bud's pathology report at
 
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/Ferrets/bud_patho.html
--
John Rosloot, Caregiver to Buddy, Cassidy and Sammy
Technical analyst, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/
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[Posted in FML issue 1316]