From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2002-04-02 11:33:00 UTC
Subject: Re: losing hair
Hi, Kathy, and everyone else,
> Hi. Mandy, my 7 year old little girl is losing hair
> down the middle of her back. Her tail is very thin and
> she seems to be going bald.
[snip]
> My
> vet is out if town this week and her receptionist said
> that Mandy probably has adrenal cancer
Adrenal disease is probably correct. Fortunately, the receptionist is
not a vet. The majority of adrenal tumors are *not* carcenomas. In
other words, adrenal disease does *not* equate to cancer.
> and because of
> her age just let her live her life as comfortable as
> we can. At her age is it diffecult for surgery or
> medication.
Ummm... my vet would disagree. Podo, who is at least 7½ (any may be
older), has most of the common symptoms of adrenal disease and he will
see my vet tomorrow. I'll post then, but I expect that surgery will be
recommended since Podo is otherwise healthy and strong. Seven years old
is not too old for an otherwise healthy ferret.
The other option is a medical treatment, such as lupron depot. This is
the normal course taken for ferrets who aren't good surgical
candidiates.
> She's such a sweetie that I don't want to
> make her suffer.
Lupron or other medical treatments won't make her suffer. Quite the
contrary: they will relieve her symptoms and improve her quality of
life.
> She's very petite, 1 pound if she's
> wet so I wonder if her weight is a problem.
If that is her normal weight it shouldn't be. Romana had a successful
adrenal surgery, and her normal summer weight is under a pound.
My advice would be to ignore the receptionist and schedule an
appointment with your vet. If he doesn't consider any treatment I would
then get a second opinion. My guess is that if he or she is a good
ferret vet some form of treatment will be recommended. Your vet knows
Mandy's history and may recommend against surgery, and at her age that
may be the right answer. OTOH, my vet has done successful adrenal
surgeries on ferrets as old as nine.
Good luck to you and to Mandy.
All the best,
Caity and the notorious nine
Franklin Co., NC