Old rat, tumor

Question
I tried to find if you had already answered a similar question, but all the rats mentioned seem to be at least 2 years younger than mine, so please forgive me if you've already answered this question in some way. My rat Rita is four years old. I went away to visit my parents for a month and left her in the care of my boyfriend, upon my return I noticed a large lump in front of her hind leg with a teat at it's center. It's roughly half the size of a golf ball at the moment, but it seems to be growing. It doesn't seem to bother her when I touch it and it kind of feels soft. My question is, at 4 years old and healthy, how much longer is she likely to live after a removal? It seems that 4 is old for a rat, and I don't really want to put her through a surgery at her age. On the other hand, I read that tumors can equal a rats size in a mere month... and hers appears to be growing. She is active albeit a bit more hungry than usual and seems normal. I guess I'm really asking if it's worth it for her to go through surgery at her age. She's my buddy, and traveled with me from Arkansas to here in Burbank at 3 years of age. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

Answer

Congrats on having a grand rat.  I have had several, and they are special rats for sure.  My oldest lived to be 4 yrs. and 3 months of age

Now about that mammary tumor.At her age, chances that her vital organs are not up to par to handle the anesthesia.  Chances are she would not make it through the surgery and recovery. She can live longer with the tumor. These tumors do not usually start to take their toll on the rats body for months.  I never usually suggest leaving them, but in her case, I would not consider it only because of the risks involved at her age.  I have never heard of a tumor being as large as the rat in a month. She is hungry due to the fact the tumor is probably vascualr, which makes the surgery even more risky. The tumor is using her body to draw nutrients to sustain itself, so she will eat more than usual.  She may start to drop weight too.

Do you have a good vet?  There is something you can try on her for starters, which is using steroids to slow down the growth of the tumor.  Its worth a shot.

There are other drugs used for these things.  Tamoxifen is used on cancerous tumors so a biopsy would be needed first.  For benign tumors, which they usually are, lupron has had a history of shrinking these tumors. I have used both with success, but again, a biopsy is needed.


Its amazing she just now is developing these tumors. Chances are, after removal, more will grow.

Anyhow, my opinion?  I would let it alone UNLESS you had a vet like the one I am about to suggest.


Dr. Tia Greenberg
Westminster Veterinary Group    
6621 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster CA 92683
Phone:    714-899-1100
Website: www.westminsterveterinarygroup.com

I did a GOOGLE and your about 45 mins away without heavy traffic.  If you could bring your sweet rat in to this place and see what they say, I would support their opinon in many aspects.
If you do go, be sure you tell them Sandy from Allexperts in NC sent you.  All the vets here are awesome with exotics.