>While almost all mast cell tumors are benign, but not every growth that
>looks like a mast cell tumor actually is.
 
Very good point, Kara.  It's yet one more example illustrating why those
thinking of skipping treatment and pathology should know that route is
not a good idea.
 
Oh, another thing to not skip: if a ferret dies of unknown cause then be
sure to get a necropsy with pathology.  I was glad to day to see someone
following that logical step.  Finding the cause of the death has multiple
times for FML members led to finding a disease cause that could then be
tackled, thus saving other ferrets.  Twice now, I think, if memory
serves, it has led to finding a cause which also would have become
dangerous to other family members, including the humans.
 
Pathology work by a ferret knowledgeable veterinary pathologist is
extremely useful; don't go for shortcuts.
 
Sevie update: in a few days she will have gone 5 months despite having
a complete A/V Heart Node Block that entire time.  This is a situation
in which the electrical communication and synchrony between the heart
chambers is lost and in humans it leads to an emergency pacemaker
placement.  Sev wasn't a pacemaker candidate for other medical reasons,
but for those who want to know there are new types of pacemakers that are
small enough for female ferrets.  She is on medical treatment, and this
has been harder since she began having complications about a month or so
ago, but except when she is getting her meds and despite being terminally
ill and able to die any time she's a happy girl -- still playing and
still kissing -- despite having been expected to survive mere days early
on.  A/V Heart Node Block is an extremely rare complication of insulinoma
so it is still something about which we are all learning in relation to
ferrets.
 
Advanced insulinoma: two things that your vet may want to have
consultations on: Prednisone levels are now thought to be
individual-dependent so if the ferret copes with higher levels then
those are possible.  (Watch out for ulcers, and know that some
illnesses preclude or limit the amount of Pred that can be used.) Dr.
Karen Purcell is among the folks your vet can speak with on that regard.
The other is Dr. Bruce Williams who has reported that the insulinoma
tumors themselves are not responsive to blood sugar levels so in advanced
insulinoma using dietary sugar won't have bad results.  As a result of
these pieces of info when elderly Warpie's insulinoma got advanced she
had higher levels of Pred than are found in the texts, and dietary sugar
was added to her intake.  The result was that she comfortably went months
more and had a good time for almost all of that added time beyond when
the older standard approaches failed to work.  In fact, her insulinoma
remained under control and what finally took her was her lymphoma.
 
Hope this helps.
[Posted in FML issue 3968]