>From:    Marc Wilson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Vet quest.: mast cell tumors
>Question to the vets and the FML as a whole: should I be worried?  Is there
>a high probability of this type of tumor spreading to Slinky's organs, as
>Jennifer wrote in her post?  If so, I might just have this tumor removed
>right away.  Any help and/or info you can supply on this condition will be
>greatly appreciated.  BTW, the tumor on Slinky's neck is only about as big
>around as a flattened small pea...
 
I won't pretend to have any medical knowledge, but let me tell you about my
experience with skin growths on two of our ferrets.
 
Punky Doodle (may he rest in peace) had a particularly nasty looking growth
on his side.  It was blackish, stuck out considerably and he'd scratch it
and it would bleed.
 
Max had a barely visible bump on his head, right between his ears.  You
could only see it by parting the hair and it looked like a very small
mosquito bite, or something like what you describe is on Slinky.  It was
never red or inflammed in any way and its size remained constant.
 
We took Punk in first because to me, his seem to be something particulary
bad.  As it turns out, it was a benign somethingorother.  Don't remember the
medical name, but nothing of any concern and it never came back.
 
We waited a bit on Max because his bump looked so harmless, but three or
four weeks later had it removed just because.  As it turned out, it was some
really nasty cancerous growth.  I don't recall the name of that one either,
but the vet really scared the hell out of me when he told me about it.  He
said there was a likelyhood of it spreading, but to this date, a year or
more later, he's been free of any further cancerous bumps.
 
So it seems to me, without a biopsy there's no way to tell what it is for
sure.  As a result of what Max had and how harmless it looked, bumps will no
longer stay on my guys once I've seen 'em.  Your vet said "...Most likely
benign" and if I recall correctly, so did mine, but recommended removing it
anyway.  I sure am glad I did.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael F. Janke - [log in to unmask]
* Member, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
*
* Shelter Home Page - http://www.bridge.net/~mjanke
[Posted in FML issue 1863]