Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

My 2nd little rat is quite ill. My first one died of a respiratory disease earlier this year, and now my favorite of the two (though I did love the other guy) has cancer. He had the tumor removed from his face on Monday. It grew so quickly! We didn't notice anything on Friday, when we were playing with him, then on Saturday he had a huge lump on his cheek, all the way to his ear. By Monday, when the vet was open, it was even bigger.

He's got a cone on (he is so small that we had to cut one made for kittens, then hold it together with tape), and hates me right now. Every day his mean mommy takes him to the bad place where they jab him with needles for his antibiotics and pain meds. <<sighs>>

He's not even 2, so we figured it was worth a try. Even if he gets 3 or 4 happy months out of it (minus the 2 or 3 miserable weeks he'll have recovering) it's worth it. The lovely ajumma who has a small kitchen in my building for delivery to tenants saw him in his carrier last night, and pureed some fresh vegetables for his dinner. It was a heartwarming surprise. Here's hoping he gets better!

[cert43]

Sounds like a medical misdiagnosis. No, what?

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

No, it was cancer. It wasn't a cyst or abscess, which were the other two possibilities. I did a lot of research on Sunday, and all things pointed to cancer. It's very common in rats, and the placement, rapid growth, and the fact that it was a solid mass and not pus meant that it was cancer. The vet tested it, anyway, and said that it was cancer, even though I'd begged him to tell me that it was just a cyst.
The little guy is drinking water and eating a bit of strawberry yogurt (his favorite) and Nutrical (very high calorie food for animals in need of nutrition,) so things look good, though he hates the cone.