Hi everybody
 
My Angel died of pancreatic adenocarcinoma last year.  My vets didn't know
until the post mortem was done and sent to the lab.  I then read about it
in the James Fox book and Angel's symptoms were exactly the same as the
ones listed in the book.  The cancer had spread all through her, was on the
lungs, heart, all internal organs, intestines, all was lined with tiny
tumours.
 
Now I've been worried about Jack, Angel's her brother, for a while.  He was
thin all over but had a big, sort of hard, tummy and I posted about that a
while ago.  My vet did an x-ray but couldn't find anything so I lent her
the James Fox book and Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents.  She didn't get back
to me so when I wanted to make another appointment with her, I was told she
had left the surgery.  So I made an appointment with another vet for
Monday.
 
But yesterday a collge class visited me to see the ferrets and learn about
them and I showed Jack to their teacher and she felt his tummy and said
"fluid" immediately.  I had been worried about him and thought to myself he
had cancer because a lady told me some signs to look out for that indicate
that a ferret has cancer.  The spine and skull change a bit or the fat
deposits around the spine and skull disappear and Jack's spine was like
that and felt like "stairs" so I thought he had cancer but it didn't sink
in.  Now I hear fluid and of course I think he has what Angel had.  He
looks like she did.  But I read both the ferret veterinary books and in the
Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents book it said there is no treatment for
pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
 
So I was wondering whether anybody has had a ferret with this disease, how
they cared for the ferret.  I mean wouldn't prednisolone help at all?
Whenever I go to the ferrets I start crying because Angel went so quick and
now I think I have to go through all that again with Jack.  It is such a
horrific disease...
 
Hope you can help me.
 
From Ulrike
 
and Jilly, Jack, Igor, Bella, Tom, Mason, Baby, Dana, Fox, Reno, Rose, Hope
and Jasmine
 
Missing Angel
West Wales Ferret Welfare
HTTP://www.ferretlove.freeserve.co.uk/
[Posted in FML issue 2865]