ADRENAL/CANCER/END OF LIFE ISSUES

Question
hello my ferret desse had surgery today the vet removed a mass she had,i thought it was adrenal diease but wasnt,dont no the results of the mass yet if it is cancer or what.could it have been cancer cause she is bald and weight lost,what are the signs of cancer?is losing the hair one,and will it grow back now that it was removed?

Answer
Hope you got the reply I just sent you about post surgical care for Desse and hope it helps you.
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**READERS CAUTION** Very frank discussion about end of life issues below. I believe that knowledge helps us make better decisions both BEFORE and when this time comes that our pets must leave us. I hope this information won't upset or offend anyone.Please don't read if you feel it will upset you too much.My goal is only to educate.
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First off I want to say that your fears are totally normal at this time. My goal is to give you knowledge, which in turn will empower you to be in control and make decisions according to what you know to be true...IF and WHEN they are necessary.  I DO NOT mean to imply that Desse is going to do anything except have a full recovery, so please don't misunderstand the information I have given you below.It is NOT to scare or upset you; only to give you strength in knowledge. If you don't use this information now, hopefully you will remember it in case you need it in the future.

You are having some serious and "normal" fears considering what Desse has just gone thru.  I will try to be as thorough as possible - both the good and the sad - because I believe that KNOWLEDGE allows us to think things thru BEFORE we are confronted with them; which allows us to make better decisions. There is NOTHING worse than being in the vets office and having her tell you all this and trying to make a decision on the spot as to what you should do. I've been there and it is very very upsetting. To me, knowledge is power and peace of mind....so here goes....

To answer your current questions.......

YES, ferrets are very susceptible to adrenal "disease" and it is ALWAYS "cancer". It may have been benign (once it's removed, it's gone forever) OR it may have been malignant (spread to other organs or thru the lymph system - usually when people wait too long to get the surgery is when this happens). A REALLY BALD ferret is a bad sign, but not always, so don't jump to conclusions :-)   Hopefully your vet sent the mass out for examination and you should have the answer on that when you take Desse back for her post surgery check up in about a week to 10 days.  I will be hoping and praying for a benign mass - and honestly, that's *usually* what it is, especially if the surgery wasn't put off too long. A benign tumor can turn malignant if it has time to grow malignant cells on it and they then  invade other organs in the body...but that takes time to happen.  

Right now all you can do is wait for the results of the test.  Rest assured, however, that she would have hair loss either way - BENIGN or MALIGNANT, so the hair loss means NOTHING except that she HAS adrenal disease (cancer); so there is NO way you could know whether the mass is benign or malignant without having the surgery and pathology of the mass -and I ALWAYS recommend surgery as soon as we see the fur on the base of the tail thinning....it indicates that more hair loss is coming and there is a tumor inside growing that needs to be removed as soon as possible. Sometimes the fur loss starts on the back of the neck too.  Fur loss is ALWAYS a symptom and often the ONLY symptom an owner will notice. (a good ferret vet can feel a mass on the adrenal glands - another reason that regular 'healthy ferret' check-ups are sooo important.  Catch it early and CURE it is my motto.

IF it is a malignant tumor, it would mean that Desse probably has months to live and her hair MAY or may not grow back in that time. IF this is the case, the best you can do is make the best of the time you have and enjoy her, love her, and don't give up on her until SHE tells you it is time.  When the time comes that she is uncomfortable or in pain,stops eating or grinding her teeth (signs of pain) or other unusual behaviors,  I hope strongly that you will get her to the vet for a 'mercy shot' - a shot that will cause her body to shut down PAINLESSLY and allow her to die peacefully. You can choose to hold her while this shot is given for her comfort, even tho it's upsetting to us to do....or you can choose to have the vet do it in a room while you wait outside.  The vet will then wrap her in a blanket and give her to you to bury, or you may choose to have her cremated and the ashes returned to you. Your vet will discuss these choices with you at the time.

Bonnie, the best advice I can give in this situation, is to watch her closely if it IS MALIGNANT and when she starts to decline, don't wait for her to get really bad - you don't need to remember her that way and it's so much kinder to help her to the Rainbow Bridge sooner than too late.  If you haven't read about the Rainbow Bridge, I encourage you to check the site out even before that time comes. You will find much comfort there and there is even a weekly MONDAY NIGHT candle lighting meeting (check the website for times in your area) to honor pets who have passed to the Bridge that week and to support the person in their loss.  The owner can add their pets name, picture and some words about their beloved pet to the list being honored that week (and kept ongoing, so you can always go back and see the tribute you have posted later. The support is awesome. I have used it when my pets pass away and I highly recommend it. The URL is:

HTTP://WWW.PETLOSS.COM

Now that the very WORST CASE SCENARIOS have been discussed, let's go to the BETTER, HAPPIER and MOST COMMON outcome of Desse's surgery! *USUALLY* the tumors that are removed in adrenal disease come back as benign.  That means Desse has a nice long life  ahead of her - the cancer is all out. Removal of the mass IS a CURE for adrenal disease.  There are folks out there using Lupron and Melatonin to treat adrenal disease and I personally disagree with this except in the case of an old ferret that cannot withstand surgery. Lupron and Melatonin only MASK THE SYMPTOMS of adrenal disease, THEY DO NOT CURE IT.   You chose surgery, Bonnie, and you make the right choice in MY opinion - you did exactly what I would have done. Now we can only wait...hopefully Desse's cancer is benign and GONE forever.  

Rarely, if only one adrenal gland was affected, another mass MAY show up about 6 months to 2 years, presenting the same symptoms as the first one, and again, removal is the only CURE.  Sometimes, especially because the adrenal gland that is often wrapped around the aorta (largest blood vessel in the body), surgery can be nearly impossible and after opening a ferret and seeing this, a vet will often just "debulk" the mass (take out the insides of the tumor to make it smaller and take the pressure off the aorta) to cut the ferret more time. Unless you have a HIGHLY EXPERIENCED FERRET VET, if they would cut into it, the ferret could bleed out on the table, so they don't usually risk that. THAT would be an excellent time to debulk the tumor, then consider LUPRON depot and MELATONIN implants to help the ferret feel as good as possible until the inevitable end comes, usually within six months - but possibly more with LUPRON and MELATONIN implants - THIS is where they are useful!.

Back to Desse - be sure to ask your vet if the tumor she removed was MALIGNANT or BENIGN.  That will tell you a lot about Desse's future life expectancy and whether you may want to consider having LUPRON DEPOT and MELATONIN implants (painless) to help lengthen her life a bit.

The best news???  You are going to be SHOCKED at how fast that little girl regrows a full body of fur and bounces and plays as if nothing ever happened.  Within six weeks, you should have your little girl back - because you chose the CURE for adrenal disease......a wise decision. Congratulations on that! :-)

I hope the "bad" news didn't upset you. I can tell by your questions that you are concerned about the long term effects, so I have spelled them out pretty bluntly and I hope that doesn[t upset you - that is certainly NOT my intention.   I believe EVERY pet owner should KNOW the FACTS BEFORE the time comes. Know what to expect and it's not quite as scary.

I hope the information helped you, Bonnie.  You and Desse are truly in my thoughts and prayers and I hope to hear from GOOD NEWS from you in about a week. Please update me after your vet follow-up visit?  Or write before then if I can help in any way at any time.

sincerely,
jacquie rodgers