Greetings-I'm the person who wrote a few days ago about needing a ferret
sitter in Northern VA; I'm afraid it's no longer necessary as we have a
new challenge:
 
Our middle ferret, Max, who is just 2 and a half years old, has developed
a golfball-sized mass in his abdomen.  We just noticed it last night and
brought him to the vet today.  We have a very knowledgable ferret vet (Dr.
Stahl at Pender Vet Clinic in Fairfax), who preliminarily diagnosed the
problem as being one of several things: enlarged spleen, pancreatic cancer,
or kidney cancer.  He did not rule out insulinoma (though he is showing no
clinical signs) or lymphosarcoma.  I should note that Max JUST went through
surgery for adrenal gland cancer SIX MONTHS AGO and everything else looked
normal (he is also growing the hair back on his tail and everything).
 
So now we have some tough decisions to make.  If I knew that this would
be the end of his surgical needs, I would sign up for exploratory surgery
tomorrow (though I'm a bit concerned about how his already weak system
will handle another surgery just six months after his last one).  But I'm
nervous (and so is the vet) that Max just has a weak system in general, and
that another surgery will simply be one in a chain of surgeries needed to
keep this little guy healthy, and we don't know how much he can take.  So
it's not necessarily a cost-issue, but more of a prolonged-problem/quality
of life issue.
 
My question is twofold: has anyone out there had an experience like this;
and has anyone had success with chemotherapy with something this large?
 
It's just amazing.  You'd never know this ferret was sick!  He eats, drinks
and plays normally.  He has been slightly lethargic lately, but nothing
unusual--he's awake for at least an hour at a time.
 
So if anyone out there has any wisdom for me and Max, we would greatly
appreciate it.  Feel free to respond privately.
 
Cheers-
Tamara & Jeff & the Three Mustelidteers (Ginger, Max,
and Moonshine)
[Posted in FML issue 2997]