>Subject: Lymphoma questions
>
>I have a ferret that is between the age of 4 and 5 yrs old.  She has seen
>the vet and three sets out of 4 of her Lymph nodes are swollen.  The
>doctor suspects Lymphoma.  We are waiting on the lab results to know for
>sure.
>
>He has said there are different types of kemo meds out there.  Could I
>please get some feed back on what others have used and how long it
>allowed your fuzzy to live?  I love China dearly.  I do not want her to
>suffer.  I want her to live out her last days with me as pain free and
>happy as possible.
 
I have a ferret that was diagnosed with adult-onset Lymphoma (based on
a biopsy of a lymph node) in Dec 2001.  At the time, she was a tiny bit
over 4 years old.  My vet and I opted to try Chemotherapy and we followed
the protocol described in Hillyer and Quesenberry's Ferrets, Rabbits and
Rodents.  In a nutshell, the treatment goes in 6 week cycles - the first
6 weeks there is a treatment every week, the next 6 every two weeks, etc.
The third and sixth treatment use doxorubicin - all others are
cyclophosphamide and vincristine.  She was also on a daily regimen of
prednisolone - which has since been cut back to 3 times a week and may
soon be discontinued.  Each treatment was prefaced with a CBC - if her
white/red cell counts weren't within the normal range, we had to skip
that treatment.
 
Diana is still on chemotherapy today and a couple of weeks ago,
celebrated her 6th birthday!  We are looking at ending the therapy
sometime next year.  My vet is confident that Diana will live a normal
lifespan (8-10 years) based on her response to the treatments.
 
I am very happy that Diana has continued to be in my life - and I credit
my veterinarian, Dr. Peter Fisher, for his diligence in treating and
continuous research into the disease.
 
I will say that chemotherapy is not cheap - in the past 21 months, it
has added up to be about $4,000.00 - and my friends look at my like I
am crazy - I get the typical "But for $130.00 you could get a baby
ferret"...oh yes, I could - but they wouldn't be Diana.
 
If you decide to go this route - I can also say that the first 6 weeks
are the roughest on the ferret...Diana lost about 3 ounces of weight,
and she did lose all of her whiskers.  If you get past the first 6, I
think you will see her become more energetic and active.
 
I hope that this helps - and good luck to you both.
 
Lisa Leidig, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
www.ferrethaven.org
[Posted in FML issue 4288]