From:
"LisaV"
Date: 2012-03-30 18:47:03 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Intro & Question About Mass
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi gang. My name is Lisa and I live in the Florida panhandle with my hubby, two kids (18 & 15), two mini doxies, three fuzzies, a hamster and a bearded dragon. And believe it or not, I don't live on a farm. :)
We obtained our first fuzzy in March 2011, Bandit. Our second was Gizmo in October 2011. Our third is a little girl I rescued last November, Varee.
One morning last month, Bandit (who turned 1 on 1/2/12) started vomiting. We immediately took him to the vet and she felt an obstruction. After x-rays which showed a mass, she couldn't detect what it was (she said he was probably too young for a hairball). We tried some mineral oil to move it, then did a barium. They only did a partial barium as it wasn't definitive and the mass wasn't moving. She recommended surgery to remove it, and we agreed.
She called me during surgery and said it was actually a very aggressive adenocarcinoma. It was attached to several vessels, therefore wasn't removable 100%. She asked if I wanted to biopsy it, and I asked if it would make any difference in treatment or outcome. She said no, so I said no biopsy, close him up and we'll take him home. She gave him about two weeks to live.
Fast forward to today, about six weeks out from surgery. He has not vomited once since his initial episode at home when we took him in. He's gained weight, eats, poops, and plays like he should. I called the vet back and she contacted a ferret specialist (I question why this wasn't done in the begining). The specialist said it could either be something to do with his genitals (the x-ray ruled everything normal except for the mass). She said it could also be that he swallowed a foreign object, attaching itself to the stomach lining and formed a granuloma. This actually happened to one of our doxies about 15 years ago.
Has anyone seen or experienced anything like this? Bandit is currently on no medications, except Furovite, and he's doing very well. I'm cautiously optimistic that this is NOT cancer. He displays no symptoms now and never has, except for the initial episode of vomiting.
I look forward to anyone's thoughts!
Lisa
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