Message Number: SG2754 | New FHL Archives SearchFrom: "Larry McFarlane"
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2003 19:20:24 -0500
To: "Ferret Health List" <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Subject: Kit, Gandalf and Alix' tumors
Message-ID: <009e01c2b2bd$e9131460$6cf52e04@dslverizon.net>
I wanted to write and let the FHL know of two of my group that have suffere=
d from tumors that killed them, both unexpectedly, and one severe lymphoma =
on another one. Hopefully if anyone else's ferret exhibits these signs, th=
is information might be of some service. =
In October Kit suddenly lost her balance, could not coordinate herself, but=
could pull herself across the room laying down. Our first thought was ins=
ulinoma, and our vet put her on pedia pred over a weekend when he was close=
d. The following Monday she was totally uncoordinated, and we took her out=
. When she'd walk she'd look like a Halloween cat, all 'hunched' up in the=
middle. He took X-rays and found a possible spinal injury. During this t=
ime West Nile was rampant, and we were afraid a mosquito had gotten into th=
e house and bit her. The vet took blood and sent it to Cornell. They didn=
't want to test her blood for WN, but he insisted. We also had her checked=
for ADV. The ADV came back negative, and she continued to not be able to =
walk. I found her one day paralyzed in the right hind, the next day totall=
y paralyzed (10/18). That day she was comatose, lungs were filling. I too=
k her to the vet and we eased her out of her pain. I took her, at my vet's=
behest, to a university vet clinic that specializes in pathology for conta=
gious diseases. After a long time, and quite a scare from a mis-diagnosis =
the final report listed her as having lymphoma of the spleen, kidney, adren=
als, and liver. They were not sure she didn't have an old spinal injury, b=
ut it was the lymphoma that took her.
Dec. 18 I lost my 8 month old baby, Gandalf. He had shown no sign of illne=
ss except some lethargy after my great nephew would play with him. We just=
thought the nephew was playing a bit too hard, as Gandalf weighed a little=
over 4 pounds, and he and Travis would play extremely hard. The first tim=
e it happened our vet thought Gandalf had the flu. We medicated him with a=
ntibiotics and great care, he snapped out of it. A week later the two play=
ed again and Gandalf went down. That Tuesday night I held Gandalf, and I kn=
ew something was wrong. He put his big head on my shoulder and rested. I =
checked his gums and they were a little pale. He wanted down, his breathin=
g was terribly labored, so took him upstairs and listened to his chest-no l=
ung congestion. I put his group up and checked on him. Sometime during th=
e night/early morning he left us. Larry took him to our vet who did a post=
. Gandalf had a tumor that literally ate up his left lung and was hard. I=
t had taken up most of the chest cavity, pushed his heart over and made the=
right lung not grow correctly. My vet said lymphoma, and in speaking with=
Dr. Williams I now know it was juvenile lymphoma. Dr. Williams explained =
the differences in terminology for me. There was only one time I ever hear=
d Gandalf whimper, and it was one time. Now I realize why he whimpered, an=
d why I heard no lung sounds.
During all this I was battling Alix' health. I posted here that she was di=
agnosed with insulinoma and possible pancreatitis, and I received a reply f=
rom an FHL member suggesting an enzyme her vet was giving her ferret. I co=
ntacted my vet and he said it was worth a shot-Alix was literally eating he=
rself up from the inside out. She'd eat until you'd think she'd burst, but=
no weight at all. We started her on Panakare-Plus and she started to gain=
then crashed. On Christmas day she was going down hill, refusing food. O=
n 12/26 I took her to an emergency clinic to be eased out of her pain. The=
next day, at Dr. Williams' behest, I took her to our vet for a necropsy. =
Our vet has sent Dr. Williams Alix' tissue to study, but the finding was a =
mass, rock hard, that had adhered to her stomach and was pressing the stoma=
ch and the pancreas. She also had white spots on her lungs. He confirmed =
what I'd thought-she was eating herself from the inside out, no food could =
nourish her. I have a feeling this, too, was lymphoma, but I'm waiting to =
see what Dr. Williams has to say.
Dr. Williams has been there for me through all my kid's illnesses, and espe=
cially during the last three. Every time I received a report on Kit, or som=
ething else happened I was in contact with him. After I lost her we tried =
to obtain Kit's tissue for him, but so far have had no luck. However, I to=
ld my vet the other place wouldn't be doing any more necropsies for us, as =
my vet has a pathology background, and so I know Dr. Williams will get tiss=
ue from my kids when he requests it. I want to publicly thank you for al=
ways being there when I write or call.
Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste g=
ood with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people have"
Send comments to Pam at pjdutche@email.unc.edu. Please note that this address is only useful for questions about the FHL archive. Questions about ferret health, or those intended for the FHL, should be sent to the Ferret Health List.