From:
williamsdvm@comcast.net
Date: 2003-02-05 03:20:51 UTC
Subject: RE: Swollen Neck
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6207603.1044415251009.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Author wrote:
> Hi everyone, well I got my Bria into the vet and it is not good news. He
> aspirated the swelling to see if anything would come out and the needle just
> filled with blood. I guess this is some type of cancer he said and said that
> there is not much we can do for her other than to not let her suffer.
Dear Tina:
This isn't adding up - a needle full of blood from a rapid swelling is not a bad thing - it could be a hematoma, a mucocele from a ruptured salivary gland, or something else. Cancer is usually a solid mass, and there is very little blood. I'd ask the vet what they saw under the microscope that led to a diagnosis of "cancer".
What about excising the mass and getting a pathologist to look at it...
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM