between my friend & I, we have had around 50/50 results with chemo and
lymphoma.
 
we had 1 ferret that passed within 2 weeks of diagnosis, and 1 that was
diagnosed after passing.  for the first we are not sure if the chemo
did anything (we started her on a very mild one) except made her feel a
little better for a couple of days, she was 8 years old.  had another
ferret with multiple problems including lymphoma.  his other problems
were more severe, and our vets were trying different things that kept his
quality of life good for another 10 months... we were hoping for a year..
he passed from kidney failure.  we had 1 ferret where chemo kept him
alive for about a year.  he was still sickly, his health goes in cycles,
where he would feel the best right after he got his chemo, and get worst
slowly..  we kept him until we felt his quality of life was compromised.
another ferret Chika with lymphoma went through a chemo protocol, went
into remission, and she's still doing very well after over a year, she
was a bit lethargic when she was initially diagnosed.  my Sprite was
diagnosed with lymphoma over a year ago, we caught it very early, she
was showing no signs of illness or lethargy.  she went through the same
protocol Chika did, but did not go into remission..  currently she's gets
epirubicin every 3-4 weeks, depending on her blood tests, and she's doing
very well..  the only other thing I have tried is Essiac, in conjunction
with the chemo, but I didn't notice any changes and eventually stopped
(ferrets didn't like it much).  a few vets I have asked believe Essiac
improve the quality of life, and I'm quite willing to try it again.
 
I guess for us, we will always try chemo.  our vets usually start off
with milder drugs, and the ferrets where the milder ones don't do much
have always responded to epi.  other things we used were erythropoeitin
to make rbc values go up and filgrastim to make wbc values go up, when
the chemo is a bit rough on the blood values..
 
--
 
as an aside to this post, we are really lucky to work with vets who are
willing to delve into research and try out new medicines or treatments,
as well as listen to our suggestions and explain things to us.  we are
also really lucky that we live near Toronto where Ferret Aid 2006 will be
held..  when I was chatting with Randy a little while ago, she mentioned
she was paying the fees for a vet who had done a fair bit for her, and
it occured to me that I should do the same thing for my vets.  We have
offered to pay for conference fees for the 3 vets at the teaching
hospital we go to, and hopefully they can all make it.  after Randy
chatted with her accountant, they are now able to offer tax receipts to
any canadians wishing to pay for their vet to attend the conference, so
if you are canadian, and especially if you are in the GTA area, please
consider sponsoring your vet!
 
if you are driving up, you might have a spot in your car for a vet,
and could perhaps share hotel rooms?  while Ferret Aid can only offer
receipts to Canadians, if you are american and interested in sponsoring a
vet, why not discuss matters with the IFC and see if they can help with
making the sponsorship tax deductible?  conferences are expensive, and
good vets don't make that much, so if you can, I am sure this is a gift
your vet will appreciate.
 
Selina, Sprite, Dart, Clef, Popcorn, Sorin & Mochi
 
----
IFC Ferret Aid 2006
POOF! Ferret ART Show & Sale
have you started your artwork yet?
[Posted in FML issue 5185]