Rat with Cancer

Question
Dear Sandra, I had to take my rat in to the VET today and they just informed me that he has cancer. He has a black melanoma on his bottom side and a swollen ankle. The vet said that it has spread into the leg, based on an xray, and because of his age 2,5 years they think it is best not to operate on him, since the operation might kill him. She suggested that we either put him to sleep or just let him be and keep him on steriod treatment. My rat is still very active, he grooms, he eats he comes out when i call him, so me and my husband decided that we dont want to have him put to sleep at this point in time. I live in Namibia Africa and would like to know if there is anything additional i can do to slow down the cancer? I really couldnt believe it sine it literally appeared overnight, on the skin and the hind leg. Thanks for reading. Kind Regards

Answer
How sad that he has cancer.  However, I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER put my rat to sleep as long as he was still happy and active.  Steroids should help with some swelling, has been known to stifle the spread of some cancers depending on what kind of cancer this is, but he needs antibiotics while he is on it too because it can hinder the immune system.  Once a day baytril should be fine for him. Also, I am just kind of Leary about diagnosing it as cancer without a biopsy. An xray says alot but without a tissue sample sent out for diagnosis I would not ever suggest its for certain cancer.  Not to get your hopes up, it sounds disturbing enough or rather, suspicious enough to suggest it is cancer, but it also has me wonder if there isnt possibly another reason for this swelling and necrosis of the leg (skin turning dark) such as lack of circulation for some reason too... I guess I would need to read the Vets report in more detail before suggesting other wise though.   I would also suggest having a narcotic pain killer on hand in case the rat should start showing signs of pain.  He can still live if he has some discomfort.  When he shows a decline in his quality of life such as not wanting to eat anything or even caring about anything, thats when I would suggest thinking about HUMANE euthanasia, but not any sooner than that....not ever.   Again, I am a bit curious about this because you said it came out literally over night...which makes me a bit leary about it being cancer.