First I would like to offer a VERY heartfelt thanks to all the people who
wrote to me regarding little BJ and his diagnosis of lymphoma.  Virtually
all of you told me I should try him on Essiac.  I had abit of a time
getting it locally but finally found it and he started on it about 2 and
a half weeks ago.  The swollen lymph nodes in his hind legs have gone down
considerably!  The one very much so!  He does seem to have a swollen area
in his right side that was not there prior to the Essiac..is this the
drawing together of the tumor cells some of you mentioned?
 
The best news however, is that yesterday, for the first time since April,
he actually got up on his hind legs and WALKED!!!!!  Prior to that he had
been splaying his hind legs out behind him and kind of "dog-paddling"
across the floor.  He played for about a half hour and most of that time
was spent walking and playing with his favorite toy bear!!!!  It was so
good to see that..and so unexpected!  He also climbed into his hammock with
his sister for the first time in all these months (and he looked quite
pleased with himself too!!!!!)
 
I had also contacted or recontacted I should say, the vet's office who made
the diagnosis and asked how they could possibly say he had lymphoma without
doing anything other than a physical exam.  They admitted they couldn't...
he will be going in shortly for that test (and NO CHARGE for the office
visit!)
 
I can't thank you guys enough for pointing me in the direction of the
Essiac..I feel at least that I've given him a chance...have also been doing
range of motion exercises with his hind legs (which he's not too pleased
with) so that the muscles don't atrophy.
 
Do any of you know if the Essiac will help with adrenal?  I had mentioned
in my other post that Sweetpea was diagnosed with adrenal, only symptom a
swollen vulva.  The last 2 days she has begun to lose hair on her chest
area.  The vet charges $915 for adrenal surgery and I have at least 2 who
have it!  There are not many ferret wise vets locally (Buffalo NY area) and
the lowest quote I've gotten is $780.  There is just no way I can come up
with that kind of money....personally I think it's disgusting to charge
that much regardless of how state of the art you are!  It encourages people
to not get the care or worse yet to think..well for almost $1000 bucks I
could get 8-10 ferrets!  Unfortuantely there is no organization that I know
of locally that can help with the costs...there is an emergency fund doled
out to the different vet hospitals by the Vet.  Association but it's
depleted.  If I was working I'd be hard pressed to come up with that kind
of money, but I'm not.  I became disabled 2 years ago and only get a small
amount per month.  Any ideas on any other options?  I've been selling off
personal items and some furniture so that at least one of them can get the
surgery they need.  (I also have a ferret with a tumor on her back...$484
for her) and one who may have insulinoma and/or cardiomyopathy.  You can
see how pricey this is all getting...but I love my furkids and I want to do
the best I can for them, so if anyone knows of any other options I'd
appreciate it if you'd let me know.
 
Again, thank you so much for your many emails, your support and your
concern!
 
Love to you all from me and BJ!
[Posted in FML issue 3511]