It is no secret - at least on this list, that I far prefer to do surgery
early on, and reserve medical treatment for non-surgical candidates.
 
It is inevitable that these ferrets will become refractory to the
prednisone over time, and then surgery will be required.  However, at
that point they may have become non-surgical candidates.
 
Surgery gives a 60% chance of cure if done early, and this number
decreases over time.  The remaining 40% will develop additional tumors
within the next 10 moths, but that's the equivalent of a 10 year interval
for a human.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3665]