>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]