Critical Decision

[Kawaii Neko]

Greetings all,

I write here because I'm in the midst of making a VERY difficult choice. Today I took my hedgehog, a three year old male by the name of Nike, to the vet because the growth on his chin had not gone away and appeared infected. I'd taken him there two months prior and they preformed surgery on the growth and gave me some antibiotics to treat any infections. Well, as mentioned, the growth came back and today my fear was confirmed; he has squamous cell carcinoma. Now I have the choice, leave the tumor there and treat any infections with antibiotics or surgically remove the tumor along with part of his jawbone. Either option sounds horrible to me. On one side I leave it be and wait until the tumor spreads and prevents him from eating then euthanize him, on the other I try and get rid of the tumor but mutilate him for life. At the moment I'm leaning toward the surgery with the hope that it'll cure him. He may look weird but maybe he can live a semi-normal life for several more years. Even so, I want to know if others have made this choice and what the outcome was. I have so many questions and I fear the vet my not be able to answer all of them. Anyway, the surgery is scheduled this Wednesday. Hope to hear from you all soon, any input would greatly be appreciated.

[Nancy]

I am so sorry you are going through this.

We have had 4 hedgehogs with oral tumours. Three grew so fast and were past the point of surgery.

Our last girl who was a rehome and came to me with the tumour, we tried surgery. The tumour was back bigger than ever and inoperable 3 weeks later. She was the first one that the tumour initially was worth even trying but I won't do it again. To gain a few weeks is not worth it.

I know ones who have had half their jaws removed and it is very painful and difficut for the hedgehog to eat afterward. The longest survival I have heard after massive jaw and tumour removal was 6 months.

I know how difficult it is to decide to do nothing. There are always the what if's and the biggest what if is, what if my hedgehog is the one that beats the odds.

If he were mine, I'd spoil him rotten during the time he has left and help him cross when the time comes.

It's not an easy decision and you know that whatever you decide, you will continue to second guess yourself.

Sending lots of hugs your way.

[sunshinequill]

I know this must be so heart wrenching. Love him lots and lots, give him extra mealies while he can still enjoy him. We're thinking of you.

Helen

[Tsukiko]

Aww, I lost my hedgehog recently to an oral tumor too. I didn't do anything because surgery was dangerous and the prognosis was bad even with treatment. She went downhill fast. Don't feel bad whatever decision you make - just make him comfortable and realize everything will die sooner or later. Enjoy the time you have left.

[illinidairychic]

We had a 3 year old male here with a jaw tumor. He passed right before xmas. I opted not to get the surgery because he was eating and drinking on his own and never slowed down til the day he died. In fact when I found him in the morning he was on his wheel...so I know that he was happy even in the end.

It's never an easy choice to make, and I'm sorry you are going through it. Unfortunately these things come with owning a pet sometimes. Good luck with whatever you decided and I'll be keeping your little one in my thoughts.

[poohbear]

I am sooo sorry!

[HedgePigLove]

Like the others here, I am sorry that you and your Nike are facing this challenge.

I've not had a hedgehog with jaw cancer until now - but one of my little WHS girls has a jaw growth and we're thinking it's cancer - she's too weak to undergo surgery at this point, though, so I'm just keeping her comfortable and will wait until she tells me she's ready to be done with her body.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a nasty cancer and it seems to be one that hits these hedgehogs far too often.

The Hedgehog Welfare Society is currently collecting information about jaw tumors in our companion hedgies - Vicki McLean, the woman collecting the data, has dealt with the problem with some of her hedgehogs and can probably offer you more advice and insight than I can. You can reach her at: poogs_house@msn.com .

You might also want to join the Hedgehog Welfare discussion list at Yahoo! - I know that there are some active members who've had jaw cancers in their hedgehogs and they, too, can offer more insight.

I do know that some people have tried prednisolone to slow tumor growth rates, but have no idea if it's been tried with squamous cell or what kind of results have been seen, if it was tried.

Also, if Nike is having trouble eating his hard foods, there's a couple of lists here on C-n-Q with suggestions for soft foods that hedgehogs tend to enjoy and find easy to eat - they'll also help Nike keep-up his energy while he fights the cancer.

Good luck and please let us know how you and Nike are doing - and don't ever hesitate to ask / share concerns!

Laura

[Sasha]

So sorry to hear about your little guy.
I will keep you both in my thoughts.
Best wishes to you and Nike.

[razzle]

I'm so sorry you and Nike are going through this. What an awful decision to have to make. I would keep flip-flopping back and forth between both and worrying so much about the right decision. But, there is no "right" decision. Either way has risks, and no matter what, each decision was made with Nike's best interest in mind. If I had to make this decision, I would talk to my vet about it and ask what he/she would do. What are the success rates with this kind of surgery? What would be their best educated guess as to Nike's quality of life? What if you didn't do the surgery? Your vet..hopefully..has seen a lot and has a much better perspective. But they are not going to tell you what to do. You know Nike's personality better than anyone. You know what would be best for him once you have all the information you need with the pros and cons of each decision.

That still doesn't make it easy. :(

I'll be keeping you and Nike in my thoughts & prayers.