>I recently had to help our elderly ferret DJ to pass from an agressive
>lymphoma and now have another elderly ferret who also has lymphoma, which
>seems to be progressing at a slightly slower than normal rate.  What I
>have noticed is that with DJ (deceased), I clipped her nails and when it
>was time to clip them again they looked as though they had not grown.
>Now with Tish, she had a part of her fur shaved off about 3 months ago
>and only the shortest, tiniest amount of fur has grown back.  I am
>assuming that this is because of the lymphoma.  Can anyone explain what
>is going on in the ferrets body at this time that is causing this to
>happen?  Also, what is happening like this to the organs, etc.  that is
>like this but we cannot see.
 
In animals with systemic or aggressive tumors, a common generalization is
that the metabolism of the tumor overshadows that of the organism as a
whole.  Most animals with malignancy end up losing weight, the so-called
"cachexia" of malignancy.  Nail growth and hair growth may be signals of
this; however, a lack of hair regrowth may also be evidence of adrenal
disease, and every older ferret should be suspect on this count.
 
Generally, organs not affected by the tumor do not fail any faster than
normal - only those which contain tumors or infiltrates of neoplastic
cells will degenerate over time.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3418]