Mammory Tumors & Pain

Question
HI, My female rat is about 3 years old now. Unfortunately I can't afford to take her to the vet, but I have researched on the web a lot. It appears that she has mammory tumors. A tumor under each armpit. Every few days they get larger. From what I can understand, eventually they will start to deplete her of nutrients. I have noticed her mid section looking skinny and the lumps are large. She still jumps up on her house to see me, and walks around and eats. Sometimes she squeaks a little when the other 2 step on the lumps. I'm so sad I could not afford the surgery, I called around and the local vets said it would be $300. I was afraid with her age to put her under as well as financial issues. Any way my concern is, how do I really know when she is suffering so much that I may have to put her down???Rather than watch her die slowly and in pain. Is there anything I can do for her? Food wise?? Pain wise?
Thank you so much,
Jen

Answer
Hi Jen

I am really sorry for what your going through. This economy sure isnt helping matters much is it?  I also wish I could find a vet that would take payment arrangements and to be honest, many will if you ask the Vet and not the people that run the front desk. Most vets dont want to see a rat lack medical treatment due to tight finances, that is, if he is in business for the sake of the animal and not for the almighty dollar.

If she is healthy, I wouldnt let her age be a factor, either. I have had surgery on my 3 year rats with great success and have also seen patients that old reoccur without incident.  If she is healthy otherwise, the risk is no higher than it would be for a 2 year old rat. Age is a number, not a disease.
However, I cant promise that they wont grow back or more wont appear. This is where the age factor comes in.  Although there is no such thing as dying from old age, there is such a thing as a body being built to endure so many years before it begins to break down. Usually the skeletal system is the first to go, like in humans, suffering degenerative changes such as arthritis etc...

There is something you can do, if your vet is a ertified exotics vet, he may already bue aware of this treatment, which is using a hormone injeciton once per month that lowers estrogen levels. Mammary tumors are fueled by the high estrogen levels female rats suffer from once they hit menopause around 18 months and older. This is why usualy mammary tumors aren ot seen until the rat is around this                    age.  The hormone injections are called lupron depot and is used once per month.  What this drug is supposed to do for our girls with mammary tumors is to shrink the existing ones and prevent new ones from growing. This is used mostly for benign mammary tumors and the good news is, they are usually benign  and rarely malignant.

The costs of these treatments are around $45 per month give or take a few bucks either way.  I have used it on my own rat wit success and also with clinic rats too.

If you would like me to, I can try to find an exotic vet that would work with you financially, even if you opt for the hormone injections and not surgery.  Just let me know where your located and I will search for you and its of course no obligation to see these vets, but just something to think about.

Also, you asked about what can happen when these tumors remain so please check my  website on mammary tumors if you havent gone to it already.  There is no need to put her down until she really stops feeling well and you will be able to tell, trust me....its sometihing only a rat owner can see.  Its not in the text books nor do the vets really  know, but its when the owner can tell that the spark in  the rats  eyes are no longer brite and you can tell she is tired and has had enough.  My four year old rat, Holly (well she wasnt quite 4 but darn close to it) let me know when she was ready.  After several surgeries and I just didnt have the heart to have yet another one done  on her after the tumors kept returning, we just let it go and let her live her life to the fullest.  She kept losing weight despite eating like ccrazy since like you said earlier, the tumor becomes vascular and it begins to  rob the rats body of nutrients needed to sustain health y organs, so this in turn means kidneys, liver, heart.....they begin to fail and this is when the rat becomes unwell.  She will lose interst in food, become lethargic and will just want held so she can sleep.  She may have fast labored breathing  and sometimes if the tumor becomes abscessed internally this can cause sepsis and seizures may be seen in severe cases.  
Please read more info on mammary tumors here and also see photos etc..:

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