Clare,
Bandit thanks you for your good wishes and says *he* is feeling quite
fine, thank you! :-) These days, he's a real beggar for grapes, fortune
cookies and Goldfish crackers, and will stand at your feet in the kitchen
staring mournfully up at you until you give in and give him something, the
sneak! (Oh, yes, I do love him so!)
> Ben is rather thin, although she usually goes through a thin stage in
> the spring. Her activity level is good. The doctor said her spleen
> felt OK. So I think that if she does have cancer, we've caught it
> early. We will be taking her back for her follow-up appointment in
> about 2 weeks.
I would be more concerned about the enlarged lymph nodes than the spleen,
actually. Enlarged spleens are pretty common in ferrets, but the fact
that Ben doesn't have an enlarged spleen doesn't necessarily indicate
anything one way or another about lympho. Though Bandit's spleen was
enlarged, our vet was alarmed at the size of Bandit's *liver*.
Do you feel your vet is experienced with ferrets, or more specifically
with cancer in ferrets? I would suggest a consultation with a vet
who does have experience with lympho. Dr. Karen Rosenthal of the Animal
Medical Center in NYC is *very* good, and oversaw Bandit's initial
ultrasound, surgery, and biopsies. She can be reached at 212-838-8100.
> I assume that a biopsy involves general
> anesthesia. How risky is this for ferrets? I know that chemotherapy
> can be a horrible ordeal for humans. How bad are the side effects
> for ferrets? How often does a ferret have to visit the vet during
> treatment?
Ferrets respond positively to treatment and tolerate surgery and
chemotherapy *very* well. Dr. Rosenthal was somewhat concerned when
Bandit first had anesthesia because he was extremely debilitated at the
time, but he came through it with flying colors. His incision healed in
*9* days! (Since then, our ferret Molly had to have surgery to remove an
adrenal gland tumor, and she also came through surgery and anesthesia with
no trouble.)
As for chemo, I was assured by all vets concerned that it is only humans
who suffer so much from chemo, and that ferrets tolerate it better than
most. No hair falling out, nausea, etc. Thinning hair may be seen from
longterm steroid use (part of the chemo protocol). Bandit had chemo for a
year. We warned of possible side effects, but Bandit had only one adverse
reaction during the entire period, which was attributed to becoming
overheated in the car (we had an UN-air-conditioned car at the time) after
an injection of Vincristine, the strongest of the chemo drugs he received.
Bandit's chemo regimen, as I mentioned before, was a 5-week rotation of
drugs, in combination with a daily dose of Prednisone, a steroid. He had
approximately 10 rounds of it, for a total of 50 weeks. He has been off
chemo for a little over 2 months now, though he is still on Pred (we are
weaning him off of it), and is due for his 7-week checkup next week.
The only way I know to alleviate your concerns about surgery and
anesthesia is to urge you to find a vet who is experienced with ferrets.
Inexperience can mean *disaster* when it comes to surgery, because ferrets
are so small (compared with dogs and cats). Just ask Bill Gruber -- his
ferret Slink nearly died from a botched operation, and still has not fully
recovered.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions or concerns, please
let me know.
Good luck!
Katie, Jeff, Bandit, Molly, Charlie, Pogo & Sigmund
---------------------
Katie Fritz
Internet: [log in to unmask] CIS: 71257,3153
Small Mammals Section Leader/CompuServe Pets Forum
[Posted in FML issue 0491]
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