Terri wrote; >According to the medical data I have read, Lupron does not shrink or >suppress adrenal tumors, so under the circumstances it would be no >surprise that her tumors were so large. Seems to me Lupron was a poor >choice for this particular ferret at such a young age. There are some EXCELLENT past posts by Dr. Jerry Murray in the FML Archives and the FHL Archives on this topic. It does appear that if ONLY neoplasia is present that Lupron can shrink it, and I have run into two vets who think that it may be that it can control early enough cases of neoplasia well enough to prevent further tissue change into a possible malignancy. Those vets STILL prefer surgery as a first choice, though. One reason for that preference, of course, is because the ONLY way to know if what is present is NOT neoplasia is to remove the gland and do pathology. There is also some on-going work on Lupron use as a possible adrenal growth preventative. >Her right adrenal gland was malignant and far advanced. It's my >understanding that Lupron does nothing for malignant tumors. Exactly. >The doctor successfully removed her right adrenal gland (again >contradictory to the volunteer belief that it can't be done due to its >proximity to the vena cava). Depends on the gland and the surgeon. MOST of the right adrenal glands we've had to have removed HAVE come out cleanly. It's not a large sample, but it's our usual experience and luck could also play a part in that. We use Lupron when surgery isn't possible, NOT as a first choice treatment, but it IS the second: not the third choice, and certainly not the last... It can be a very , very useful medication but like anything else in life it has its limitations. >Frankly, at this point if I saw him, I'd probably bite him on the chin >too, for being such a big whiner! > >-Heather W. Yeah, I know what you mean. Ben Stiller is a complete TURN OFF. We've been wondering about the movie, "Along Came Polly". and our wondering was mostly positive till we wound up encountering his total brat exaggerated "me, me, me" whining diatribes placing full blame on the ferret and exaggerating any risk factors. Now, we don't know if we'll go to the movie or not because he acts like such an obnoxious loser who can't take responsibility for his own action. If we go it will be for the ferret and Aniston. If we don't go it will be because he turned us off so badly that we need some temporal space from his whining -- in which case we'll probably rent it at some point. What a blasted baby! Something I have noticed in the count is a situation which has been commented on many times before: a number of folks who are relatively new to ferrets, don't yet know the demands in attention, time, and expense for providing sufficient medical care, but go out and get a lot (sometimes a lot in the same age brackets so they are later likely to experience many deaths together which is very hard emotionally). One thing I have noticed is that over time a great many folks who DO have long ferret exposure wind up with fewer ferrets over time: 3 to 5 seem to be common numbers then but it varies. In non-shelter households there seem (This is impression only.) to be two times when household ferret numbers peak: early on before folks realize the demands and aren't prepared, and at about 10 to 15 years in when there comes a feeling of competency. Later, though, when there has been a lot of care of ones with great needs there can be a time of needing a rest for a while and having fewer, healthier ones to stay get an emotional breather. We are doing that now, and know a number of people who have been in that position. We have 4 right now and honestly we LOVE the amount of individual interaction this allows and the great deal of care which can be provided for individuals. I doubt we'll have more than 5 in the future, though we have had in the past. This appears to be an oft-repeated pattern. [Posted in FML issue 4380]