Hi all!  I posted about Zen's lump a week or so back and got a couple of
responses.  Thank you to all who helped!  I have a lot more information
now and mostly need some help, advice, input, etc.  so I can make informed
(and hopefully the right) decisions.  This is the scoop:
 
On May 15th, I took Zen to the Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital as
my regular vet referred me there to have an ultrasound done on a suspicion
lump in her midsection.  He wanted to verify what is was to see if we
definitely needed to operate.  They did the ultrasound which identified a
large lump that was either on her liver, spleen or adrenal glands (they
couldn't tell) but determined it would need surgery to remove it and test
it.  They also noticed a spot on her kidney that the Dr. thought was a
cyst but she couldn't be sure.
 
The next day I took my baby girl to my regular vet to have the surgery.
She had already dropped over a third of her body weight and was a tiny
thing to begin with.  Pre-op she was 1 lb.  2 oz.  Post - op she was just
a pound.  The tumor that was removed weighed almost 3 oz.  I think.  I saw
it after the surgery and it was almost the size of a plum!!  It was truly
amazing how it even fit in her and of course I felt terrible that she had
been suffering with this thing in her for however long.  I've already been
beating myself up for not noticing sooner even though I checked her
regularly to make sure she was ok.  It was just a fluke.(?).  I don't
know.... He looked around her while he was operating and couldn't find any
evidence that the cancer (if it was cancer) had spread.  He did see that
it was definitely attached to her liver and saw another suspicious lump on
another part of her liver.  He made the decision not to remove the other
lump as he would have had to remove the other largest lobe of her liver and
did not think that would leave her with enough of her liver to survive.  He
informed me later that he had expected to see that it had spread throughout
her body and was very surprised to find it had not.  He also (I found out
later) did not expect her to survive either the surgery or after surgery,
yet she has done amazingly well and has completely recovered at startling
rates and without a hitch.
 
After a week of me not being able to function in my daily life, think
clearly or stop crying, she came home and now, another week later, is doing
fantastic!!  (Knock on wood).  I finally received the results of the biopsy
and tests on the tumor.  The doc said it was definitely cancer, liver
cancer to be exact.  He said the results were not very detailed, and also
that liver cancer in ferrets is VERY rare (?) so he did not have a great
deal of information for me.  He did say it had metastisized (sp?) or that
it would/could metastasize (sp?).  He believes the other lump on her liver
is probably the same cancer that had already spread, but couldn't say for
sure.  He told me I now have 3 options: 1) do nothing, give her the best
life I can for the remainder of her days; 2) monitor it with monthly or
so ultrasounds then make decisions if/when it grows/spreads; or 3) begin
chemotherapy.  He won't make a recommendation until he sees her again June
1 to remove her stitches from the surgery but did say that, depending on
how fast the cancer is spreading, that she probably has only 3 or so months
to live if nothing is done, and 3 - 6 months w/ successful chemo.  He
admitted he's never done chemotherapy on ferrets but often has on dogs and
indicates there are not the side effects that one sees in chemo w/ humans.
He said that there are not any side effects unless there's an overdose.
 
Of course, now I don't know what to do.  I know nothing about this stuff.
Have researched and haven't found much.  I need help!!  I need guidance!  I
don't know what to do.  I do NOT want to cause her any pain.  I do NOT want
to prolong her life only so *I* don't die of heartbreak, but nor do I want
to shorten her life prematurely when I could give her a longer, happier
life.  I know NOTHING about this chemo, or really any of this.  The thought
of the chemo scares me to death, even though he said it won't hurt her.
I know someone on here mentioned they're doing it with one of their ferts
right now so perhaps that person could provide some guidance?!  Another
issue is my other baby girl who almost died of heartbreak during the 4 days
Zen was gone having surgery.  Those two are soooo in love and inseparable.
It shatters my heart to think of one without the other and I also don't
know what to do about that unfortunate inevitable day..... <sigh/sob>.
Zen is a 5 1/2 yr. old MF baby.  The most beautiful and sweetest thing
ever and otherwise perfectly healthy.  A week+ after major traumatic
surgery, she won't stop eating, drinking and now that I'm finally allowed
to let her out of confinement a little to move and play, acts as if nothing
ever happened and she's a perfectly healthy 3 yr old frisky love who's not
been through anything that could stop her!!!  It's truly amazing to see!!
 
Sorry this was so long.  Thank you all in advance for listening, for your
help and support.  My heart goes out to all whose babies are sick or are
not with them anymore.  Feel free to write me privately or post to the FML
or both, though I am quite a few days behind on them with all that's been
going on.
 
Peace and love - Queen Zen (surgery shmurgery, PAH!), Queen Bu (give me my
ZEN!!!) and their humble servant Laura
[Posted in FML issue 3066]