From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2004-07-22 17:32:36 UTC
Subject: Goodbye Adric. Incidence and causes of lymphosarcoma?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <8344960.1090519791048.JavaMail.nobody@strontium.smartgroups.com>
Hi, everyone,
Adric, the second ferret in our household (after
Tenchi) and the very first ferret that was mine, is
gone. Adric had a large lump on the right side of his
neck which grew from nothing to the size of a ping
pong ball in just three weeks. A biopsy showed that
there was no tumor at all. It was simply the largest,
most swollen lymph node our vet had ever seen.
The same was starting to happen on the other size and
Adric was really suffering. We decided it was time to
let him go.
Adric was the fifth ferret we lost in the last nine
months and the fourth that was due to lymphosarcoma.
Our vet tells me that he is seeing more lymphosarcoma
than anything else in ferrets. How high is the
prevalence of this disease? Has there been much study
as to causes and risk factors? Three of the four were
we lost were Marshall's ferrets, and they all died
somewhere around age six. The fourth was nine and a
half. Is there a genetic disposition?
Just wondering. I always wonder if there is something
I can do to reduce the risks of deadly diseases like
this among my ferrets.
All the best,
Caity and the sorrowful five