The Dustman has a Lump - ZGT... RIP

[Godmother]

Glad to see him hanging on. :heart:

 

[mamarat]

:joy:

 

[lilspaz68]

Can these tumors not be removed because of their close proximity to the brain and cranial nerves? I wonder if applying some colloidal silver drops might help? I've heard wonders about them and have used them myself and have found them to be helpful with any kind of wound.

These situations are awful. I'm glad that it is very slow-growing and that he's still very happy. He is a well-loved rattie who has having a wonderful life with you, no matter his circumstances, and I'm sure he knows you are doing everything you can for him. These situations can be harder on us than on them sometimes, I think, because animals so often just 'go with the flow' and, unless they are in pain, don't fret over their issues like we do.

Hugs to you both. :hugs:

Here's the writeup on ZGT from ratguide.com http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/zy ... _tumor.php

Neoplastic growths can range from being clinically inapparent to papillomatous growths within the ear canal (Seely, 1991; Mohr et al., 1994). They can present as subcutaneous nodules, or as ulcerated tumors on the side of the face near the ear. The majority of these tumors are found to be unilateral (occurring on one side only). Since in many cases these tumors can be found underlying an abscess or formed within a cyst, veterinarians need to pay special attention when attempting to excise and drain. Zymbal’s tumors that are aggressive often have a gritty texture to them. Local invasion by these tumors is common, and as many of these tumors are malignant, metastasis to the lungs is not unheard of.

Tumors of the Zymbal’s gland are believed to arise from glandular acini, or from dutal epithelium, (Seely, 1991; Mohr et al., 1994) and may be classified as adenomas or adenocarcinomas based on histology.

Most often tumors arising from the Zymbal’s gland, in rats, are found to be malignant. While these malignant tumors are often only locally invasive; for rats diagnosed with a Zymbal’s gland carcinoma the prognosis is poor. The treatment goal is primarily palliative, promoting quality of life as long as the rat is comfortable.

I have seen people whose vet convinced them it was just an abscess, try to remove them, and these huge open wounds on their face never healed, and only got worse when interfered with. I am trying the hands-off approach to see if we get longer than if we actually messed with it. Right now he's only getting antibiotics to prevent infection, nothing else. He doesn't need metacam yet...he seems comfortable and happy and his teeth are still aligned properly :thumbup:

 

[Joanne]

How great he is doing so well! I was going to ask about his bite.
It will be difficult to know if the tumour is slow-growing because is it slow-growing, or because it hasn't been interfered with. Either way, it's working for him!

 

[lilspaz68]

How great he is doing so well! I was going to ask about his bite.
It will be difficult to know if the tumour is slow-growing because is it slow-growing, or because it hasn't been interfered with. Either way, it's working for him!

He is my first case so you're right. But I have seen rats with a lot of interference to their lesions and they regressed fast so I decided to keep quiet on this one, no pulling and picking at it. LOL VERY difficult for me to do :lol:

 

[Carol Weekes]

You know, it's very interesting that the fact that it hasn't been tampered with has allowed it to remain slow-growing because I've often heard that, when people are diagnosed with cancers and go in for surgery, often as soon as they are opened up, they have more problems with the cancer. It's as if when the air gets to it, things accelerate. Then, of course, there's the issue with general anesthetic causing it's own problems.

Sometimes, when things remain slow, a rat will reach a ripe old age, regardless of condition. Eventually, something steps up and takes us all. We often say that a person or animal will expire from 'old age', when in fact it is often just general organs and systems slowing down and growing tired and simply not operating at an optimum-enough level to function properly anymore. Things wear out. It seems he's going strong, regardless; this is success in itself, despite the condition. Good for him and good for you. They are such strong little beings. I can never cease to admire them. Glad your little man is doing well and hanging in there!

 

[lilspaz68]

Progressing. He's not actively scratching or worrying about it, but this morning it was bleeding. If its dry tonight it was just an oops, if its still bleeding or has freshly dried blood from the day I will start metacam for him. Poor Dusty.

 

[Unepuce]

This is sad, but still nice to see that in his bad luck, this thing is progressing so slowly. Sending healing vibes to Dusty! :heart:

 

[dspch911]

:cuddle: Poor baby, vibes for no pain to Dusty from us :heart:

I do have to agree with your don't mess with it approach. My papa had two forms of cancer that the doctors gave him 6 months on, but since he had advanced alzheimers we didn't even tell him or have him treated and he lived about 5 years. The doctors were stumped and could not explain it. I also believe it was because it wasn't messed with.

 

[SQ]

Hope that it was just an ooops.
Glad it is growing slowly and hasn't been causing him problems

 

[mamarat]

Poor Dustman.

 

[Godmother]

Kisses to him. Hoping he can stay free of pain.

 

[YorkieLove]

I so hope this was just an oops and the Dustman can stay pain free for quite a while longer!

 

[Joanne]

If you start Metacam, will that increase the risk of bleeding? (Like aspirin or Ibuprofen.)

 

[lilspaz68]

If you start Metacam, will that increase the risk of bleeding? (Like aspirin or Ibuprofen.)

I doubt it but it doesn`t look like I`ll be starting it yet, its dry and scabby again tonight.

 

[Joanne]

If you start Metacam, will that increase the risk of bleeding? (Like aspirin or Ibuprofen.)

I doubt it but it doesn`t look like I`ll be starting it yet, its dry and scabby again tonight.

Excellent!

 

[lilspaz68]

It's finally starting to grow...still relatively slowly but we'll see while we watch and wait.,

 

[Joanne]

Well that sucks that it's starting to get larger, but at the same time, it has been relatively stable for two months, so hopefully it will continue to change very slowly. Is he still feeling good?

 

[lilspaz68]

Well that sucks that it's starting to get larger, but at the same time, it has been relatively stable for two months, so hopefully it will continue to change very slowly. Is he still feeling good?

Still good, not quite ready for metacam yet :thumbup:

 

[temblabamomo]

What a trooper. I hope he still has a lot of time left with you. Sending him lots of kissies.