From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2002-07-27 19:56:39 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] malignant adenocarcinoma
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <20020727155639.7da19899.whiteweasel@earthlink.net>
Hi,
>
> My 3 year old male MF ferret (Kodi) has just had exploratory surgery
> because of his display of typical adrenal symptoms. His left adrenal
> was enlarged and removed. The pathology report came back as malignant
> adenocarcinoma. This is my first experience with a cancerous adrenal
> tumor. From what I can gather, if a malignant adenocarcinoma is
> caught early, the prognosis is pretty good, considering the fact that
> it "spreads" slowly.
Actually, from all I've learned, metastasis is rare. I've had four
ferrets with adenocarcinomas:
-Pertwee's recurred in the second (right) gland very quickly. He had a
second adrenal surgery. There have been no recorrence of symptoms since
then, now over three years ago.
-Nyssa had a left adenocarcinoma. It's been a year and no recurrence so
far.
-Ryo-Ohki had a left adenocarcinoma which recurred in the right gland
several months later. The second surgery was done, but the tumors
metastasized throughout her organs. During a third, exploratory,
surgery we decided with our vet not to let her wake up.
-Romana had a left adenocarcinoma about nine months ago. She's fine so
far.
That's our experience.
> How early is early?
I don't know. We thought we caught Ryo-Ohki early. Nyssa had on-again,
off-again symptoms for a year before surgery, and we definitely got her
later rather than sooner, and she's fine.
> Is
> there anything I can do to help his chances of remaining cancer free?
> Are there any medical protocols to follow, or is it just a wait and
> see kind of thing?
AFAIK, it's a wait and see thing. The good news is that the odds are
definitely in Kodi's favor.
I am not a vet.
All the best,
Caity and the naughty nine