Hi, everyone,
 
As some of you know, our not quite two year old albino ferret Pertwee had
surgery to remove his left adrenal gland a little over three weeks ago.
Whenever our vet does an adrenalectomy he sends the removed gland to a lab
to get a pathology report.  As most of you probably know, adrenal tumors
are almost always benign and rarely spread.  Please note the words "almost
always".  Pertwee is that rare exception.
 
Our vet called yesterday with the pathology report.  Pertwee's tumor was
a malignant carcinoma.  We caught it early, so it was still quite small
and probably did not have a chance to spread.  If that is true, Pertwee
will still be OK and we are very hopeful.  The only reasons we are still
concerned: Pertwee is *not* gaining weight, and hair regrowth is extremely
slow so far.  He goes back for a recheck next Wednesday.  Please keep my
little guy in your thoughts and prayers.
 
If Pertwee is OK, it is only because we caught this early, and because both
our vet and I were persistent in our search for the cause of Pertwee's
problems.  Since hair loss was the last symptom to show up, and since
Pertwee had some gastrointestinal problems immediately before this, the
diagnosis of adrenal disease was not obvious for a while.  As a result,
this little guy was subjected to all kinds of tests.  Yes, I've spent about
$1,200 on his care in the last few months, but it probably saved his life.
 
Here on FML I frequently read about people postponing adrenal surgery for
financial reasons.  After all, adrenal disease progresses slowly, and it's
quite some time before it becomes life threatening to the ferret.  That's
almost always true.  Please note the words "almost always".  It would not
have been true for Pertwee.  The cancer would have grown and spread in a
ferret that had already lost 40 percent of his body weight.  Waiting much
longer would have been a death sentence.
 
Please, please, I know some of us sound like broken records, but do save
for your fuzzies health care, and don't ever postpone treatment if you
think something is wrong.  Keep Pertwee's story in mind.
 
Again, please send whatever good vibes you can that Pertwee does make a
complete recovery.
 
Regards,
Caity
--
Caitlyn Maire Martin
[log in to unmask]
http://www.caitys-world.com
[Posted in FML issue 3057]