From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-10-23 23:58:35 UTC
Subject: RE: Bear With Insolinoma
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <4974906.1098575915279.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Be sure to read the pdf on insulinoma in
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
You will find a great deeal of information also in
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
which is our complete archives
and in
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
In insulinoma the cells begin to put out too much insulin (source of the name) no matter what the blood levels of glucose are.
4 years is an unusual length of survival, but at times surgery done early enough and well enough can prevent a recurance in about 60% of the cases (per veterinary pathologist, Dr. Bruce William's past figures for followed-up cases). Years ago we had a vet surgeon with tiny hands who not only use sight, and a surgical microscope but also his sense of touch to find especially tiny ones to pop out. We currently have a marvelous surgeon but no one has been as good at that one with his very small hands and very sensitive sense of touch.
So, survival time lengths vary with things like the type of surgery, methods used to find location of tumors, if a partial pancreatomy is done (which is often useful), if the problem turns out to be more serious than insulinoma (for instance if lymphoma or carcinoma is behind it), which medications are used and how tight follow-up is to adjust meds rapidly when needed, where in the pancreas the tumors are located since some areas are not amenable to surgery, personal variations among ferrets, etc.