Exactly three months ago, Dr. Weiss removed a huge tumor from Ben's abdomen.
Ben lost so much blood that she needed a transfusion.  Dr. Weiss took Ben
home with him than night instead of sending her home with us as he would
have done after a routine surgery.  A few days later, the pathology report
delivered very bad news: lymphosarcoma.
 
We couldn't bear to think that Ben had survived this ordeal only to succumb
to cancer in two months, so we decided to pursue the treatment that had the
best chance of helping her: chemotherapy.  We took Ben to Dr. Lisa Fulton, a
veterinary oncologist recommended by Dr. Weiss.  On February 27, Ben had her
first chemotherapy treatment.  Side effects were pretty mild, and soon Ben
began to feel much better than she had at any time since the surgery.  She
continued getting chemotherapy treatments, usually once a week.  She became
more active and playful and kept gaining weight.  She even started to eat on
her own sometimes.
 
We were alarmed when a mass in Ben's abdomen was discovered, but after a
change in the treatment protocol, the mass (most likely an enlarged lymph
node) got smaller.  Ben reached a point a couple of weeks ago where she was
having a lot of gastrointestinal distress.  Someone on the FML recommended
Centrine (thanks Diane!) and we requested this medication from the doctor.
Ben improved dramatically; she stopped fighting her "duck soup" and she
began to eat dry food by herself again, at least occasionally.
 
Ben has now graduated from weekly treatments and only has to go to the
clinic every two weeks.  She just had another visit today.  Dr. Fulton
thinks she looks good.  Ben has gained still more weight.  Her white blood
cell count was somewhat low, though, so she is back on antibiotics as a
precaution.
 
Ben is active and playful, bright and alert.  She goes through the dryer
hose maze, carries toys to their proper place, and even does the ferret
dance.  She begs eagerly for raisins and Ferretbites.  All this would be
good for any ferret of 7 1/2, let alone a cancer patient.
 
We're very grateful to Dr. DiMaria for finding the mass in Ben's abdomen, to
Dr. Weiss for removing it, and to Dr. Fulton for treating Ben's cancer so
effectively.  If not for these caring and skillful doctors, our beloved Ben
would not be with us.
 
Clare Sebok
 
P.S.  Today at the clinic, people asked me how many ferrets I have, and I
almost said "Five" but immediately realized "No, only four."  Ben's sister
crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 15; we still miss her.
[Posted in FML issue 1927]