[darian]

Hi everyone! My rat Daisy has 2 tumors AGAIN... One of them which is so huge now and has 2 scabs on it as of this week


I had a really good experience last time I posted when Daisy had a tumor on her neck and someone recommended Dr. Gaydos in NJ. I'm in NYC and the only rat vets I've used in the city (Dr. Pilny & Dr. Wilson at Avian & Exotic Vets) were great but expensive as ****... For the same tumors Dr. Gaydos removed for $150 total, I was quoted $800 per tumor at Avian & Exotic Vets.


So now Daisy's tumor down by her groin got massive suddenly and I had to wait until Christmas when I had access to a car to get to NJ again. Due to the holidays surgery got put off another week and then the scabs popped up... I sent Dr. Gaydos pics of Daisy's tumor now and begged to do the surgery earlier and he said he wouldn't operate on her and recommended just euthanizing her. I was devastated!!!! But I don't want to give up on Daisy... She still loves snuggling and had feisty energy even while dragging that thing around for the past 2 months...


At the same time Dr. Gaydos didn't recommend surgery for Daisy, my other rat Pepper started having URI symptoms so I tried another vet in NYC, Dr. Regina Rendon at St. Marks Veterinary Hospital. The appointment was really for Pepper so Dr. Rendon didn't do a full exam on Daisy but I showed her the tumor and the scabs and she sounded surprisingly confident that she could remove it, and said she'd removed large tumors from rats before, but not from that area. I'm concerned that I'm going to dish out $500-$800 and there may be complications since it's so huge and near her genitals. At the same time, I can't wait any longer because now Daisy's having trouble walking and more lethargic than ever.


Are my worries justified? Do other people have experiences with a large tumor in this area before? I think Dr. Rendon is a good vet and a very smart woman (she has a masters in neuroscience and a PhD), and said she has the most experience with rats at this vet clinic but I'm concerned that she isn't necessarily a rat specialist and that maybe this is a complicated surgery. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning. What do you guys think!?!?!

 

[lilspaz68]

How is her health and body condition? The problem with inguinal tumors is sometimes they aren't benign or are very attached and invasive. And sometimes a good vet can remove them. Like an old rescue I took in and my vet was able to remove the tumors.

 

[lilspaz68]

Video of old Dusa trying to walk

 

[lilspaz68]

Post-op

 

[darian]

wow lilspaz!! that's amazing. Daisy was pretty normal until about a week ago when it seemed to get even bigger to the point she can't really drag it very far anymore. she's always been really feisty, mischievous, curious. but she's pretty sluggish ever since the tumor got so big she's having trouble walking. she's gotten skinny from the tumor sapping her nutrients but the past 2 days ive been fattening her up with soy infant formula, her appetite is healthy as ever and she loves to snuggle and still tries to move around on the floor while dragging that thing. her legs have definitely gotten weaker because she can't use them the same way she used to. mentally she is definitely the same, she tries to climb in the cage and wants to investigate, and then she's discouraged when she can't move too far. seeing the surgery on your dusa is really reassuring though!!! would you say your vet was a total expert in rats or just a good vet?

 

[darian]

Daisy's tumor still feels like it's almost attached at one point inside, like her other tumor which moved around a lot, it's just gotten so big that it bothers her whenever i touch it. it feels like it's attached more from the back and behind her leg, rather than under her legs like where dusa's tumors were. the first scab is where her nipple used to be and the tumor just grew so fast and she picked at it and it tore and the scab got bigger as the tumor grew (so gross)

 

[darian]

Hi everybody. Not the greatest news... The vet got a closer look at Daisy's tumor and said she couldn't operate on it... The vet in Manhattan pointed out the problems are a large blood vessel on the back of the tumor and it seems to be deeply connected near her rectum & vulva. She did say maybe it could be removed if the surgery was performed by a rat expert, and she recommended Dr. Quesenberry at Animal Medical Center in NYC but that would actually cost thousands which is just insane. But she said she didn't recommend putting Daisy to sleep at this time either... she gave me pain meds and antibiotics and antibacterial stuff for her ulcers to make her more comfortable... Here's what she gave me: Nolvasan solution 4oz to clean the ulcers, Baytril 0.2cc twice daily for 10 days, and Loxicom .24cc once daily as needed to control pain. I can try to look for someone qualified out-of-state to try to save Daisy... Any recommendations would be very helpful, I know it's a longshot to find an expert who won't cost thousands at this point but this is my last chance. I've already reached out to Dr. Pello in Cherry Hill, Long Island & Dr. Bernhard at Ringtown Valley Vets in Pennsylvania per friends' recommendations. Waiting for them to check out the pictures and hear back.


Here's pics of the blood vessel and sensitive area the vet pointed out today. In the first pic you can see the big blue shadow that is the blood vessel.

Thanks again everyone for your support! :'(

 

[lilspaz68]

So sorry to hear this, but was worried it might end up inoperable.

The scabs are not actual ruptures but just where the tumour rubs, put her on as soft an environment as possible and spoil her rotten. The metacam will help with any aches and hopefully make her happier.

 

[Kelsbels]

Poor little honey. *hugs* I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

[darian]

Thanks so much you guys! I love this community :,(

Dr. Bernhard in Ringtown PA sounds really great and he said it's basically an incurable tumor but that he could debulk it, basically remove a chunk and buy her some time, but obviously it will grow back. He'd also remove the one on her armpit too. I'm just trying to decide now how much time it could possibly buy her, right now she seems a lot happier on the pain meds and is happy snuggling and eating. If it could buy her months then maybe it would be worth it but I'm just not sure at this point, especially since she's responding to the pain meds so well