Hello,

We are looking for some help figuring out what to do. Our ferret Farley
is not yet three years old. He has two large masses in his abdomen (one
on each side, one roundish, the other oval with a pronounced lump on
it) each about the size of a golf ball. When Farley was six months old
(or less) we took him in for his distemper vaccination booster and he
had an anaphalactic reaction that nearly killed him. Fortunately the
vet was able to get him through it with a series of injections. About
six months later we found a puddle of urine that seemed rusty coloured
and assumed it was bloody and rushed him to another vet. Unfortunately
we had moved and had to try a new vet (that supposedly knew about
ferrets and had been recommended to us but upon seeing his Marshall
ear tattoos, she commented on the "strange pigment in his ear"). She
did an aspirated urine culture that turned up negative and suggested
that probably he had adrenal because he had two small but palpable
lumps. We researched and found another vet (vets that know anything
about ferrets on the island we live on seem very hard to find and we
are still looking). The new vet began his examination at Farley's head
and commented on how incredibly healthy he was all the way along his
body until he reached his abdomen. The vet was very surprised given his
healthy looking condition and behaviour and then gravely told us that
Farley has cancer and we would be looking at four to six weeks until
he died. That was a year ago. We went back and forth on all the usual
questions. Could he have chemo? Was he in pain? Should we proceed with
X-rays and ultrasounds? Exploratory surgery? The vet (who seems quite
knowledgeable about ferrets) didn't recommend any of these lines of
treatment/diagnosis and again stressed that lymphosarcoma in juvenile
ferrets is aggressive and untreatable. We did a bunch of research and
it seemed that all hope was lost and we would soon lose our beloved
Farley. But, that was a year ago and we don't know what to think
anymore. When his condition hadn't really changed (save the slight
growth of the masses) We saw a third vet who was interning with our
usual vet to get her opinion and when she came in to the exam room she
couldn't believe that this was the ferret with juvenile lymphosarcoma
she'd read the file for, because he looks fantastic. But she again
stressed that there was nothing that could be done for him. (Sorry this
email is so long but we are desperate for experienced advice and figure
that a proper history and understanding of his condition is required.)
On the way home from the vet after we dried our eyes, yet again, at the
idea of losing Farley we thought we should stop in at the pet store and
get them some treats for being so well behaved at the vet. As we were
walking out we heard one of the sales people (who also has ferrets)
say to another about our boys "those ferrets are like model ferrets"
How can this be the case if one of them is on deaths doorstep??

Here is Farley's current condition (for the past eleven months):

- He has lost 0.04 lbs, which is essentially nothing but there is some
muscle loss around his neck and shoulders, and his backbone is fairly
pronounced.

- He gets thirsty a lot and pee's a lot, but not much more than a
"normal" ferret, and he has been like that since he was a baby.

- His masses feel like he has swallowed two golf balls. Which he has
not. Basically they have gone from acorn size to golf ball size in
just under a year.

- His fur is fine, no fur loss or "ratty" appearance at all. Most days
during playtime he gets tired out after 15-20 minutes, but still has
some days where he plays as hard as any other ferret.

- The masses are clearly distracting him and causing him discomfort
and he stopped eating dry kibble about 9 months ago so we feed him
homemade duck soup three to four times a day.

- Initially he had several episodes of vomiting after eating, but he
has not vomited at all since we began feeding the soup.

- This past month he has started tooth grinding which we understand
indicates abdominal pain :( no wonder with the giant masses in his
tummy.

The main point is that we are skeptical of the diagnosis of lymphoma.
There is certainly no denying the presence of the masses but because
of the lack of further cancer symptoms over the period of time, we're
wondering about other options such as renomegally etc. The masses could
very well be his kidneys and the vet agreed this was possible. We don't
really want to keep trying (and paying for) other vets, especially if
we're just in denial. We have had many sad evenings discussing what we
should, or if there is anything we can do. Are we just in denial or
does this sound to anyone else like it could be something other than
cancer? Has anyone else out there had a ferret diagnosed with
lymphosarcoma continue without much change for a year's time? Also,
if there is anyone in the Victoria/Vancouver Island, or even Lower
mainland of BC area that could suggest a great ferret vet that might
be worth consulting that would be very helpful as well.

Thank you, the FML is such a wonderful resource for those of us owned
by dookers.

Ed & Sarah

[Posted in FML 7543]