From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2011-02-20 19:46:57 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Tumor in chest
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
We have three times personally encountered thoracic tumors.
The first had JL, Juvenile Lymphoma, and lasted only a short while. With JL the thymus, spleen, and liver tend to be badly inflamed. In such as case it is the thymus that is the chest mass, but if you look below the descriptions of our own experiences you will see a link to a past post on thymoma, and I suggest using the separate FHL Archives to seek more info on tumors of the thorax. The archives are easily searched and can be linked to from the home page of the FHL or from my sig lines.
The second had a heart tumor. (The tumor was of her heart, not next to it.) She had multiple other serious problems simultaneously and lived about a half year after the first of those was found. (She was a breeding experiment. The breeder wanted ferrets with short faces and lush fur. So, she had a range of problems. Her dental arcade was not large enough for her teeth. As she grew it became obvious that she had achondroplastic dwarfism with a normal trunk, extremely short legs, and bad arthritis even at an early age, as well as the most lush fur imaginable. Besides the dwarfism she also turned out to have been bred with severe intellectual handicaps, to the point of even having trouble understanding ferret body language and sounds, and pretty bad asthma. Like too many humans with severe intellectual handicaps when her body was ready to quit she simultaneously developed multiple terminal conditions. Outwardly, her dwarfism was her most obvious aspect but in terms of
her health her other problems were far more serious.)
The third had regular lymphoma which set up in his thorax but did not begin there. It had been obvious for something like 9 months that there was something wrong going on, but the cause could not be found till his final day despite many tests including multiple ultrasounds and x-rays. The chances are that it was hidden in his marrow, at least that was the conclusion that the treating and consulted vets had and it makes sense. On his final day he had pain and trouble breathing. We suspected pneumonia since he had been more susceptible to infections since his problems began. That time on x-ray a tumor was present. As the vets monitored him and arranged for an ultrasound person to come in later, they consulted with specialists. Jumpstart changed during that time and they were asked to x-ray him again. In just 4 hours or so the tumor had increased a good deal in size. At that point it was obvious that he had no chance.
Hopefully, there is someone here who has had an experience with thoracic tumors which is better than ours have been.
I don't know how this one worked out:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/YG13926
It pays to check those archives for more info on the general category.
Are they sure that it is tumor and not an enlarged node from infection? I am only asking because decades ago a place thought that I had a thoracic tumor but luckily the surgeon had more comprehensive imaging done and it was a badly enflamed lymph node behind a lung.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
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