From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-10-15 03:17:00 UTC
Subject: Re: skin tumours - alternative treatments
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., sind@s... wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> My ferret Oakley is approx 7 or so years of age. He has Adrenal
but
> has been on Lupron for over 2 years now...responding nicely. He
> seems healty and happy....acts like a 2 year old most of the time.
>
> In the past 4 months he has developed skin tumours 3 times. Oakley
> had skin tumours when I originally adopted him from the shelter 4
> years ago so when the first one appeared recently, I did not think
> much about it. The first one was on his back near his spine. The
> second one appeared a few weeks later and it was under his front
> leg. Now I have a third one under his chin. I did not have the
> previous 2 biopsied but will be having this one biopsied to set my
> mind at ease.
>
> Due to his age and the fact that we are now on the 3rd skin tumour
in
> such a short period of time, I am beginning to get nervous about
> putting Oakley through yet another surgery. In anticipation of the
> fact that these probably are just skin tumours and not life
> threatening and also that they are probably going to happen some
> more, I have a question.
>
> Does anyone know of any alternative treatments for skin tumours?
Dear Cindy:
Aside from removing them, there really is no cost-effective
medication, vaccination, etc. for preventing skin tumors, or treating
them. Most skin tumors are refractory to chemotherapy, and
chemotherapeutic agents cause side effects that would not be
acceptable just to treat a skin tumor. Radiation therapy would
likely work, but this would be extremely expensive and likely would
require even more anesthesia, as ferrets tend not to hold still, and
radiation has to be precisely administered.
With benign skin tumors, it is either remove them surgically, or live
with them. If they are malignant, then you have to bite the bullet,
take the risk, and cut.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM