From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2003-08-05 04:09:25 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] IT IS ADRENAL DISEASE ...
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Cc: linsto@hotmail.com
Message-Id: <20030805000925.0005b6cf.whiteweasel@earthlink.net>
Hi, Linda, and everyone else,
"Linda St-Onge" <linsto@hotmail.com> wrote:
> When your ferret get sick at 2 years old.... it's hard..
Yes it is. Pertwee's adrenal symptoms started when he was just a year
old. Ker Avon's at a year and a half. The only thing I can say to
encourage you is that both of those ferrets are still here, happy,
healthy, and incredibly playful. Both are now five years old.
> I must make the right decision for him....
Absolutely. Roger gave you very good advice. Pick the vet with the
most experience and success with adrenal surgeries, including right
adrenal surgeries. Speed is NOT what is important here. Making the
right choice is. You want to give Cookie the best chance of surviving
surgery and recovering fully.
I have been where you are eight times. I've had ferrets between one and
eight years old have surgeries. None of mine have died on the table.
All came through surgery fine. That is because I have the right vet.
> But for the hairloss ?
Not an emergency,
> Is there a sign when the disease will affect other organs ?
No. The good news is that metastasis is very rare in adrenal
carcinomas, and most adrenal tumors aren't cancer to begin with. We had
that one rare exception in our Ryo-Ohki. There was no warning, no way
to tell, and everything looked fine after each surgery.
Look, there is a **VERY TINY** chance, *IF* it is a carcinoma, and *IF*
you wait, that it will spread. The odds that three weeks will make the
difference are very, very, very small.
> For example,
> can he be all bald and the disease is still in the left gland only ?
Yes, if he's left untreated for long enough. Cookie isn't completely
bald, is he? That almost certainly won't happen in just three weeks.
> They say that Adrenal Disease grow slowly... but in some cases the
> tumors can spread fast...
Yes, it's true. I still would wait if that's what it takes to get the
best surgeon available. It's a matter of weighing risks and benefits.
You know Cookie needs surgery. Get him the best surgeon and you
increase his chances much more than you risk by waiting three weeks in
my opinion.
> His marking behavior has started at the end of April, his hairloss in
> June...
Pertwee started losing weight in September of 1999. We didn't know it
was adrenal until April of 2000. Pertwee is still here.
> Over here in Province of Quebec, Canada, ferrets just become popular
> as pets... and there is few vets, they do ferrets surgeries not as
> often as in the US...
OK, if you are not confident about your vet choices then what part of
Quebec do you live in? Maybe someone here can reassure you with a
recommendation. With cities the size of Montreal and Ville de Quebec I
find it hard to believe that there isn't at least one great ferret vet
in all of the province.
> but worried that very often Adrenal come
> back a few months after surgery...
It does NOT happen all that often. Of the six ferrets we have had with
adrenal disease four have never had a recurrence after surgery. Ker
Avon had his surgery in February, 2000. That's three and a half years
ago. Romana and Nyssa are both over two years with no recurrence.
If the disease does come back that isn't the end of the world either.
Pertwee had adrenal surgeries in April and June of 2000. He's still
our most active, wildest, craziest, most exuberant ferret.
> I hope some days someone will find a cure to that terrible disease...
There is a cure. It's called surgery. I also don't think it's a
terrible disease. Most ferrets survive it if they receive proper vet
care and go on to live normal, full lives. There are a lot of things
worse than adrenal disease.
All the best,
Caity and the non-stop nine