How fast can mammary tumours pop up? Caramel has one now :(

[Godmother]

I felt so stupid having missed Maddy's little mammary tumour, which the vet found on Tuesday. Caramel was there the same day and got checked out because of likely PT, and neither the vet nor I noticed anything else amiss with her. Tonight when I went to give Caddy & Caramel new cloths and their overnight food I saw that Caramel has a little mammary tumour hanging from near to her right front armpit.

Poor little sweetie. This is my first experience with mammary tumours, believe it or not. Edith (RIP) had a couple of lumps removed, but I am not sure what they were. Maddy's and Caramel's look just like the ones I have seen so many photos of. Maddy will have hers removed for sure, but I don't know whether Caramel's health is up to surgery.

Caramel was spayed soon after I adopted her, but she was at least nine months by that point and maybe older. Maybe I should ask to try Bromocriptine on her to see if it would keep that tumour at bay.

 

[victoria]

Mammary tumours can literally pop up over night. The spay will hopefully slow down the growth, if it's small you likely have months before it gets in her way.

Is Caramel the rat also displaying signs of a PT? If she has a PT, then that would be the bigger concern, but it would also be another reason to try Bromo. If it's just a mammary tumour I don't think I would go the chemo route TBH, they usually take months before they affect the rat and I question whether those months of taking a med that causes discomfort are worth any extra time you get from them. (Even if you only suspect PT, surgery should be out of the question because the anesthesia will aggravate the PT and it's symptoms.)

It sucks that all your babies are developing issues at the same time :hugs:

 

[eagle]

I agree with victoria. My first mammory tumor removal was on Josie (she was about 2) she never recovered from the surgery and showed the real obvious signs of PT within a week. She was also my first PT rat.
Good luck with your sweeties.

 

[jorats]

My Chu has a mammary tumour as well, it's very slow growing and I believe it's due to her spay. I also believe that this tumour might be due to perhaps a potential pituitary tumour which I have not seen any symptoms yet. But from past experience, my spayed girls who did have a mammary tumour later in life also had a PT. Which confirms my vet's theory that a mammary tumour after a spay is probably due to the surge of prolactin from a pituitary tumour.
Chu's lungs are also in a terrible state and to top it all off, my vet is gone for 3 weeks in Spain. Although, I'm not sure I'd get her done or if the vet would even do it because of her health.
Mammary tumours can go from non existent to the size of a grape in a matter of hours, so don't feel foolish about not finding it.

 

I found 3 mammary tumors on Hannah when she was 22 months old, so I got them removed nand her spayed all at the same time, 3 months later, I found 2 mammary tumors in her groin + PT symptoms. I put her on Cabergoline ..I only got 3 weeks from her until she had a seziure ..but the tumors actually got smaller.

 

[Godmother]

Thanks for the info. She has PT, so surgery would make things worse. I started getting her and Cadillac to share the Bromocriptine, since Cadillac was usually refusing it anyway (I suspect GI distress). It will be hard not to do anything, but I don't want to make her worse. The tumour came up so fast; it is pendulous and the size of a small grape.

 

[SQ]

 

[Godmother]

Caramel is quiet, but she still loves spaghetti and porridge. She started a full dose of Bromocriptine last night, so i am crossing my fingers that she tolerates it. She does not like Pred much. She hides in her little nest much of the time:

 

She is precious :heart:

 

[RatsForever]

Mammary tumours can literally pop up over night.

Ohhhh, that's been my experience a couple of times! :sad3: Hopefully, Caramel's :sad3: tumour will be slow growing because of her spay. Hugs.