Exactly three months ago, Dr. Weiss removed a huge tumor from Ben's abdomen. Ben lost so much blood that she needed a transfusion. Dr. Weiss took Ben home with him than night instead of sending her home with us as he would have done after a routine surgery. A few days later, the pathology report delivered very bad news: lymphosarcoma. We couldn't bear to think that Ben had survived this ordeal only to succumb to cancer in two months, so we decided to pursue the treatment that had the best chance of helping her: chemotherapy. We took Ben to Dr. Lisa Fulton, a veterinary oncologist recommended by Dr. Weiss. On February 27, Ben had her first chemotherapy treatment. Side effects were pretty mild, and soon Ben began to feel much better than she had at any time since the surgery. She continued getting chemotherapy treatments, usually once a week. She became more active and playful and kept gaining weight. She even started to eat on her own sometimes. We were alarmed when a mass in Ben's abdomen was discovered, but after a change in the treatment protocol, the mass (most likely an enlarged lymph node) got smaller. Ben reached a point a couple of weeks ago where she was having a lot of gastrointestinal distress. Someone on the FML recommended Centrine (thanks Diane!) and we requested this medication from the doctor. Ben improved dramatically; she stopped fighting her "duck soup" and she began to eat dry food by herself again, at least occasionally. Ben has now graduated from weekly treatments and only has to go to the clinic every two weeks. She just had another visit today. Dr. Fulton thinks she looks good. Ben has gained still more weight. Her white blood cell count was somewhat low, though, so she is back on antibiotics as a precaution. Ben is active and playful, bright and alert. She goes through the dryer hose maze, carries toys to their proper place, and even does the ferret dance. She begs eagerly for raisins and Ferretbites. All this would be good for any ferret of 7 1/2, let alone a cancer patient. We're very grateful to Dr. DiMaria for finding the mass in Ben's abdomen, to Dr. Weiss for removing it, and to Dr. Fulton for treating Ben's cancer so effectively. If not for these caring and skillful doctors, our beloved Ben would not be with us. Clare Sebok P.S. Today at the clinic, people asked me how many ferrets I have, and I almost said "Five" but immediately realized "No, only four." Ben's sister crossed the Rainbow Bridge on February 15; we still miss her. [Posted in FML issue 1927]