Hi to all the ferret slaves and dooks to their owners!  I'm a little late
on the introduction band-wagon, but I wanted to catch up on my reading
from December's list first (almost there).
 
My name is Lisa and I recently moved to the Boston, MA area.  I owned my
first ferret in 1984 and lost her to what I believe was insulinoma in 1989.
I am currently owned by two of the most lovable fuzzbutts in the world.  My
youngest, Casper, is just over 2 years old and weighs in at about 4 lbs.
My oldest (and my baby) Ozzie, is almost 6 and not doing as well as I would
like.
 
Oz had surgery in May for adrenal disease and appeared to be doing well
until early October.  At that time I was referred to a wonderful vet by a
person I located via email from Ferrets Magazine (who also is a subscriber
to FML and sent me a copy - I've been hooked since).  After doing several
blood tests for insulinoma and an chest ultrasound to check his heart, we
decided to do surgery.  At that time I was prepared for some bad news but
not all that I recieved.  Oz did indeed have insulinoma, just as I had
feared from the "drunken sailor" routine and dazed looks, but that wasn't
the worst of it.  He was anemic, had a slight case of hepatitis and as if
that wasn't enough, his left adrenal was 3 times normal size and hard as
a rock.  Because of the scar tissue, my vet was unable to locate what was
left of the right adrenal so was only able to remove a portion of the left
adrenal.  Upon testing we found that he has cancer in his left adrenal
gland.
 
He is on Pred right now which is helping the insulinoma, but the vet
doesn't feel that regular chemo would work on him for the cancer.  I am
interested in Lupron, but my vet contacted the manufacturer and found that
the cost is approx $400/shot and would need to be given every 2 weeks to
start.  I love him more than anything in the world but $800/month is more
than I can afford right now - esp.  since I just spent over $1200 between
the surgery, biopsies, ultrasound, bloodwork and meds!
 
Is there anyone out there who is using Lupron or any other treatments for
cancer?  If so, could you let me know how it is working and approx how much
you pay for the shots and how often they get them, esp if you are in the
Boston area!  I would appreciate any info that I can get.
 
I want to do all I can for my little angel because he has been the only
constant in my life for the last 6 years, but most importantly I want to
make him as comfortable and happy as possible for as long as I have him
here for me to love.  At this point I don't want him to suffer any more
than is necessary but I also realize that there is only so much I can do.
 
Finally, does anyone have a good recipe for duck soup as I am sure I will
be needing it at some point.
 
Thanks in advance for all of your help!
 
Lisa - the worried mom
Ozzie - aka "Angel" - "mom, can I kiss you some more?" (Sure, just pick a
different spot - it's starting to hurt there.)
Casper -  aka "Chubs" - "mom, how come you always know when I'm doing
something wrong?" (Maybe you should stop hissing to give yourself away!)
Missing: Alli (the bathing beauty) - 12/15/89 and Peanut (the can I be a
ferret too, dog) - 10-12-99
[Posted in FML issue 2921]