From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-06-24 00:22:00 UTC
Subject: Re: re-post of ? about Idgets tumor
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., "Diana Ashton" <pooh1999@g...> wrote:
> I posted about 4 days ago and did not get a response to my
question. Here goes again. Thanks
>
> About 3 weeks ago, Idget went in to the vet because she had stopped
eating. They felt a mass in her abdomen and did and exploratory. They
removed an 8 oz tumor and the biopsy results came back today. It was
a poorly differenciated carsinoma, with the strong possibility for
regrowth. I started her on Essiac today but both my vet and I are
open to other suggestions.
Dear Diana:
The diagnosis of poorly differentiated carcinoma is not a good one.
It tells us that this epithelial tumor is anaplastic, or too immature
to be able to recapitulate its parent tissue. This immaturity does
correlate well, however, with a potential for widespread metastasis
and aggressive growth.
Carcinomas tend to metastasize widely in the abdomen, and are
generally very difficult to excise completely. Chemotherapeutic
options exist, but little have shown a lot of effect (but we
certainly need more information and test cases.)
Wish I had better news - but at this point, let's make the most of
the time together, and hope for the best,
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM