From:
Andrea
Date: 2011-02-23 18:32:24 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Intestinal lymphoma - treatment/opinion
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi Amy,=C2=A0 I am sorry to hear of Rory's diagnosis.=C2=A0 I've had a coup=
le of ferrets now that have been thru that.=C2=A0 I'll also chime in and gi=
ve you my experiences.=C2=A0 I've had 2 ferrets been on chemo, both clinica=
lly acted like they had no side reactions to it.=C2=A0 Played, ate, etc. no=
rmally.=C2=A0 Gus especially, no one would ever guess that he had lymphoma =
and was on chemo.=C2=A0 He looked and acted *that* good.=C2=A0 With Gus, I =
was able to spend over 2 years with him on chemo, and only at the very end =
did he appear ill.=C2=A0 My other ferret had JL that had spread to her spin=
e, so she wasnt as active as Gus, but she also seemed to tolerate the chemo=
well also.=C2=A0 Gus was amazing though.=C2=A0
Pred is an option, but in my experience, chemo is going to give the ferret =
a better chance and a better quality of life.=C2=A0 I think side effects ar=
e worse with Pred.=C2=A0 Rayna had the 2nd Tufts protocol.=C2=A0 Gus had a =
totally new protocol, you cant even call it that, his Dr. called it the Gus=
Protocol.=C2=A0 Now this was all meds or pills that could be given at home=
and not too expensive.=C2=A0 All the drugs had been used on ferrets previo=
usly.=C2=A0 My Dr. got very specific about the type of lymphoma Gus had and=
chose the particular drugs from there.=C2=A0 There was regular blood tests=
and exams, but was not a huge 'inconvenience' like the original Tufts prot=
ocol that usually required weekly/bi-weekly vet visits.=C2=A0 The only othe=
r thing I remember is that maybe once or twice Gus' white count got a littl=
e low, so the Dr. also put him on antibiotics as a safety protective.
This 'Gus Protocol' was done by the Vet that I consider to be not only the =
best vet ever, but **THE** chemo vet.=C2=A0 He is always willing to do cons=
ults with other vets (providing of course they work with him for his resear=
ch).=C2=A0 I can give you his contact info for your vet to contact him if y=
ou like.=C2=A0 Lymphoma will more than, more than likely not be cured, but =
there is the possibility of remission.=C2=A0 It will come back, but Gus had=
a few months of remission.
Your questions are good ones, but I don't believe anyone can give you a cle=
ar answers.=C2=A0 With lymphoma and chemo, its just very unpredictable.
I didnt mean this to be this long, but I can't advocate chemo enough.=C2=A0=
Providing your vet knows what he/she is doing, or willing to consult.=C2=
=A0 It takes a little more time, effort and $... but if you've it, its defi=
nitely worth the extra time you get to spend with your little one.
Andrea
--- On Mon, 2/21/11, Amy Seyler <amy.seyler@charter.net> wrote:
The histopath report was not entirely clear on the type of tumor, but the l=
ab said it was most likely lymphoma. I realize this is not a good prognosis=
.
The vet wants to start him on chemo. My concern is several-fold: 1) Since h=
e had a tumor that was fairly advanced, how successful is chemo likely to b=
e? 2) If the spot on his lung turns out to be a mestasis of the lymphoma, i=
s there any point to chemo? 3) I always thought lymphoma was treated with p=
red; has that protocol changed? (would it make sense to treat him with pred=
if the spot on the lung is a mestasis, knowing he won=E2=80=99t last long =
anyway) 4) How do ferrets react to chemo meds? Like people? Will he be mise=
rable?
=20=20=20=20=20
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/