At 04:32 5/25/00 +0000, Susan Malone wrote:
>According to the owner, about 1.5 years ago, his kids put the ferret in
>the microwave oven and turned it on.  He doesn't know for sure how long
>it was in there... but long enough for the end of his tail to burn off.
 
This is exceedingly hard to believe and I recommend you discount it very
heavily.
 
>Our thoughts here include:
>The sun rays which cause melanoma are magnified by how much in a
>microwave oven?
 
Not at all.  The sun's rays and microwave energy are different things,
They are both electromagnetic radiation, but the frequency is so different
that they behave completely differently.  The sun causes cancer via tissue
damage from ionizing ultraviolet radiation.  A microwave burns by
generation of heat due to absorption of radio frequency energy.  Ionizing
radiation breaks chemical bonds which can result in damage to DNA and
generation of carcinogens from otherwise benign molecules.  Damaged DNA and
carcinogens can result in cancer.  "Radiation" from microwave ovens is not
ionizing radiation.
 
>If it is cancerous... is amputating more of his tail an option to prevent
>it from spreading?
 
Definitely.  The ferret can do without his tail far easier than he can do
without his adrenal glands and we hear of adrenal surgery almost every day.
 
>Since a microwave oven cooks from the inside... and this damage was done
>to his tail... what about his internal organs?
 
One and a half years have passed.  Whatever was done is long done.  If this
ferret were actually ever "cooked" inside you would almost surely see more
evidence of it than just the tail.  Quite frankly I'd be inclined to forget
that story about the microwave.
 
I also suggest you put a pork loin, roughly the size of a ferret, in your
microwave and zap it for a few minutes, then cut it open.  That will end
the notion that microwave ovens cook from the inside out.  They do cook to
a greater depth faster than conventional ovens because the microwave energy
can penetrate a bit before it is converted into heat, but they don't cook
from the inside out.
 
Bottom line - I think that if you address the tail lump with your vet that
you need have no concern about the rest.
 
I'm glad to hear you have the little guy now.  If the microwave story is
true, those kids need help.
 
--
Jim H
[Posted in FML issue 3063]