We finally had to have Holly put down last Friday after her bout with
insulinoma.  It appeared that the cancer had spread as she also had a
palpable mass in her abdomen.  So far, I have owned four ferrets, three of
which have died of (some form of) cancer.  So here's the question:
 
Has anyone compiled statistics on the number of deaths from various forms of
cancer in ferrets?  It would be interesting to see some cause-specific
rates, even if they were just relevant to the ferret mailing list.  Do we
know how long ferrets are actually living...since cancer seems to claim so
many?
 
Finally, do people think it would be a service to try to compile a database
containing this information (EG age at diagnosis, age at death, type of
cancer, etc)?  Seems we might be able to provide a good resource, even if
only in a descriptive sense, that might help us understand ferrets better.
I would be curious to here feedback, and also willing to discuss formation
of such a database if it seems productive.  Thanks, Scott
[Posted in FML issue 1643]