To Liz:
 
>My eldest fuzzy, K'Ehleyr (5 and 1/2 yrs.), has been diagnosed with
>lymphoma.  With the help of liquid Pred. and Timmy's special diet, we have
>halted the growth of the tumors, but haven't been taking their size down.
>She is *much* improved in the areas of activity and perkiness, though, even
>if she still won't play.  My vet has given me the option of 1) leaving her
>on the Pred "until she gets worse" (0.8ml every other day now) or 2)
>starting her on Vincristine (sp.?) shots, which requires that she be sedated
>every time. ...
 
I guess the first question I would ask would be how the diagnosis was
arrived at and what signs does K'Ehleyr show.  Are we looking at general
enlargement of all of the lymph nodes?  Was a biopsy done?
 
For the moment, if it was one of mine - and she had already survived two
months with a well-diagnosed case of lymphoma, this may be one of the rare
cases that I might consider other chemotherapy.  In my experience, other
forms of chemo besides prednisone generally have little effect on ferret
lymphomas, however, most ferrets rarely live longer than a month after
diagnosis.  Remember, however, that lymphoma carries a poor prognosis in the
ferret, regardless of treatment.  However, I do believe that if something
doesn't hurt the animal, it may be worth a try.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
Dept. of Veterinary Pathology               [log in to unmask]
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1664]