From:
Joanne D'Amico
Date: 2003-01-03 02:31:46 UTC
Subject: RE: Adrenal Tumor - Rapid Growth
To: FHL Ferret Health Digest <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <3E14F612.453C0817@bellsouth.net>
As a concerned ferret owner who has lost more than one fuzzy to
inoperable cancer, I offer you my sincere condolences. I doubt anything
much would have helped in this case. However, I would like to suggest to
all ferret owners that they locate a good ferret vet before they need
them. Most especially one that is very adept at adrenal surgery,
including the more difficult aspects involving the right gland, which
sometimes invades the lower lobe of the liver, and the bilateral
technique requiring ligation of the vena cava. Then check them out at
your convenience, instead of in a panic mode, or finding out the hard
way that they are not as knowledgable as you had hoped ... I am lucky,
living in a large metropolitan area, and having one within 30 minutes
drive, (who is also my regular vet, and sees all my fuzzies at least
twice a year), and 2 others within 1-2 hours drive, but when my first
adrenal ferret needed surgery, I had to drive over 5 hours to get her to
a good adrenal savvy vet. And if my vet and the others were unavailable,
I'd drive those 5+ hours again, and the sooner the better (just in case
it is cancer, but we got lucky and caught it early enough) ... Saves a
lot of wear and tear on the heart and nerves .... and by the way, that
first little girl had a very aggressive, metastatic type of tumor, and
the biopsy reported that it appeared to still be "in situ", lymph nodes
were "clear" so we were "cautiously optimistic" but it eventually
re-occurred after 18 months ... but as I see it, she had another 18
months or so, and enjoyed herself right up to the end ... A happy,
healthy new year to all ...