From:
"grapeferret"
Date: 2008-08-10 03:54:36 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Lymphoma situation <sigh>
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hello everyone,
I have a male ferret, 1009 grams, roughly 6 years 11 months old. The
short story is:
Hind leg weakness, lethargy, and low blood glucose results appeared.
Prior to followup blood work, and around the time that it was becoming
clear that he was getting worse, he took a nose dive and had a
"lifeless ferret laying in his urine" episode on July 30th. An hour
after Nutrical he was up and walking around fairly well. I promptly
replaced all of his food (was and still is a Marshall senior + TF
older mix) and ferretone, added some chicken baby food, and increased
the checks and encouragements to eat. Outwardly, he has been improved
and improving ever since that nose dive on 07/30. However:
08/01: Non-fasting blood and urine tests raise questions
08/05: Fasting blood glucose test in low 60's IIRC
08/06: Abdominal ultrasound reveals generalized lymphadenopathy
(vet mentioned four lymph nodes), splenomegaly, cyst in
pancreas and right kidney, sludge in gall bladder... aspirate
of node harvested for cytology
08/07: Put on antibiotic to cover bases
08/08: Cytology points to malignant lymphoma
Some reports: http://www.geocities.com/grapeferret/FerretReports/
Regarding his present quality of life, I am pleased by: he is
responsive and alert, his expression is almost always bright, he
appears quite comfortable and content when sleeping, his food/water
intake are good, he gets around fairly well with few spills and there
is some briskness to his movement, he has the spare energy and desire
to take very brief walks around the apartment one to three times a
day.
Regarding his present quality of life, I am concerned by: he is
noticeably frail and weak and at times wobbly, while he sometimes has
the energy to walk around he hasn't had the energy to play in weeks,
some teeth gnashing during and immediately after some meals,
occasional but more than historically frequent hiccups, have noticed
that he shivers a bit more than he used to, some looks of boredom
and frustration.
I've been reading everything I can find on the subject, including FHL
and FML archive messaages, hoping it will help me to make the most of
the next vet visit and help me to make a rapid yet appropriate
decision regarding treatment.
I'm under the impression that the type and location of the lymphoma
can make it more or less responsive to [certain] chemotherapy. I
*think* my vet said this is an aggressive variant, but I failed to ask
what type or grade. Can anyone tell from the reports especially
http://www.geocities.com/grapeferret/FerretReports/Cytology.jpg ?
I've somehow developed the impression that my guy's abdominal node
involvement may make it more difficult to treat via orally and/or
subcutaneously administered agents. Can anyone shed light on that?
AFAICT, leaders in the chemotherapy field include Dr. Katrina Ramsell
and Dr. Jorg Mayer, and both of them are described as willing to share
protocol information. If someone here has acquired promising protocol
details and is authorized to pass it on, I would greatly appreciate a
copy. At the very least, I'd like to get my vet's opinion on the Tufts
protocol, and I'm not yet sure he/they are intimately familiar with
it.
Thanks in advance for reading and anything you care to share.
Regards,
Grape [soda scented tail] Ferret
[Moderator's Notes:
AFAICT means "as dar as I can tell".
The Tuft's Protocol has been forwarded to this poster
I'll get contact info for both of those individuals who are working]
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