From:
katharine
Date: 2001-07-29 14:11:00 UTC
Subject: Re: mast cell tumor/enlarged spleen
<I took Julio, my 6 and a half year old ferret to
the vet last week to
have a tumor on his back analyzed. The vet scraped
a sample of
the tumor and sent it to the lab. The results he
received
yesterday did not sound good. He said that the
biopsy revealed
a "round cell tumor with granules of mast cell." <
I'm curious why your vet only took a scraping
instead of removing the tumor.
Dr. Williams has addressed mast cell tumors in the
past and is an advocate for removal (Please
correct me if I'm wrong, Dr. Williams; this was a
long, long time ago). Many people don't worry
about mast cell tumors unless they get really
bad. My vet believes that what is visible could
be multiplied many times under the skin and
spread. He advocates removal also.
This is not a major surgery, as compared to
adrenal or insulinoma, etc. Lany (6 1/2) has had
several mast cell tumors and "nothing" tumors and
cysts removed over the years. I normally put her
right back in with her group when we get home.
She has 3 bald spots right now from recent
removals. None of these were mast cell tumors.
Many times, you don't know whether they're mast
cell tumors until a pathologist looks at them.
They take on many shapes and forms. Lany's first
one just looked like a tiny sore with a scab. The
only reason I pointed it out to her vet was
because it was in an odd place, on her belly. He
also thought it was just a boo-boo. He removed it
because a scraping showed something irregular so
he kept her and removed it that same day. We were
both surprised when it came back from pathology as
a mast cell tumor.
I wouldn't recommend anything that "might grow
back". Go ahead and get the thing totally
removed. I've never heard of a round tumor so
can't help you there.
What's #4 <g>.
Katharine