>I have a sad question to ask.  When my 5 1/2 year old sprite, Xena, had
>surgery for adrenal and insulinoma a couple of weeks ago, they removed
>the left adrenal.  The path report came back as adenocarcinoma.  It also
>said that they found cancer cells in the surrounding adipose tissue that
>was taken at the margins of the tumor.  My vet takes this, as do I, as a
>good sign that it has probably metastasized.  I was surprised, considering
>that these tumors don't spread very quickly.
>
>>My question is this.  How long does Xena have, realistically?  My vet
>wasn't going to venture a guess, but I would like to know.  So far it
>has invaded no organs, and now that she has recovered from the surgery
>she is as bouncy as ever.  (The insulinoma that was removed appeared to
>be in its early stages, so I am most concerned about the cancer.
 
Dear X:
 
The prognosis is not as bad as you have imagined.  The extension of the
carcinoma outside the adrenal capsule is not a negative prognostic factor
in ferrets - this just as often occurs with benign neoplasms and even
non-neoplastic hyperplasia - the ferret capsule appears to be unable to
contain ANY lesion.  What is of more importance in this case is if your
vet thinks that he removed the entire tumor.  The assumption that there
is metastasis here is not warranted by the path report and the typical
behavior of this tumor in ferrets.
 
Regarding how long she has, I wouldn't hazard a guess, but I'll bet it's
quite a while.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3635]