Follow up on male pet rat lump

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra

I just thought I would let you know how my male rat (his name is Gadget btw) is doing and what the lump on his ribcage was.

He had it removed on fri and is doing great although he does have one side of his body shaven! but the lump has been sent off for testing as the vet said that they had never seen a lump like it before coming out of a pet rat. Apprently it is really hard and was attached to his inner muscle but not in a cancerous way, it doesn't look like a tumour, but it wasn't a pusy abscess.

Do you have any thoughts on what it might have been? I will be getting the results in the next 5days so I will also let you know what it comes back as.

Many thanks

Anderley

ANSWER: Without seeing it, I would not be able to properly suggest what it could be.  Sounds like a mammary tumor though, that is the usual area in males.   Check out my website and the page on tumors, you may see a photo of what he had or close to it. Please let me know what the lab results are.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/allabouttumors.htm

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QUESTION: Hiya Sandra,

We got the results through today, the vet said that it was a sarcoma mass, I know this indicates that it was mammary, but does it also mean that it is certainly cancerous? He has been fine since the op, running around etc and there are not any other lumps appearing? if it is cancerous what can I do to help prevent more lumps appearing, because apparently they almost certainly will?

Many thanks

Anderley

Answer
Yes it is cancerous, but you need to find out if it was encapsulated.  Sometimes they do not spread at all.  It is probably a soft tissue sarcoma and the good news is, they are usually cured with surgery if the vet removes all traces of the tissue so spreading is not likely.
Sarcomas are not directly linked to mammary tumors and mammary tumors are most often benign.  I would love to read the pathology report. If there is a way to get it (you have that right, you paid for it) if you can copy it down and send it to me that would be great, I can further analyze it, but the vet I am sure would be happy to tell you more about it as well.  If you could find out if this was a sarcoma of mammary tissue that would be very helpful. Also if you can find out if they used the word " Fibrosarcoma"  that would also be helpful too!

As for prevention, I am not really concerned that more will appear. Prevntion at this point would be to examine him daily for any new lump or bump starting from the face and going all the way to his tail!
This will help to catch abnormal growths in the early stages.
You want to keep his immune system in tip top shape and to do this, you must also be on top of any signs of illness (sniffles, sneezes etc..) and get him treated ASAP to avoid having his immune system become compromised.  A good healthy diet free of tons of seeds and hard dried corn should not be used (ever) If you need help on what to feed your rat, check out my website (URL on my profile) to Critter city and go to the diet page.