From:
signwriter002000@yahoo.com
Date: 2001-07-05 12:40:00 UTC
Subject: Huge tumor need advise
My ferret [Persimmon] has developed a tumor where her scent gland was
located. At first my vet and I thought it was an impacted anal/scent
gland. Antibiotics were of no help, and it has grown to an inch and a
half in diameter. My vet, a very skilled surgeon, removed some of the
tumor, and drained the area of infection. She's been on another
antibiotic since then [ten days ago] and it seems to have the
infection under control. She's also on Prednisone. But here is what
scares me, my vet doesn't think she'll make it through surgery to
remove the entire tumor. There is a lot of blood involved with this
tumor, and it is invading the anal/rectal region. Time is of the
essence here. He said it may be possible to remove smaller amounts at
a time. But this thing is growing like crazy! I've heard that
angiogenesis inhibitors work well in humans with tumors, and was
wondering if such was available for veterinary use. Could such a drug
help in this situation? Or should I search for a specialist? My vet
thinks that a blood transfusion in this case [during surgery] would
be useless. He says [if I understood him correctly], that there would
be more blood coming out of the ferret than we could replace. What
should we do? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Sandi