# Lymphoma



## Janet (Jun 10, 2009)

My hedgehog Mordecai has been diagnosed with lymphoma.

Two weekends ago, I gave him a bath and he looked fine. Last Tuesay, I saw a huge lump on his neck. He was eating, active, and showed no signs of pain (he let me touch the lump and didn't flich, and I saw him sleeping on that side). I took him to the vet and she did a fine-needle aspiration and said that it was lymphoma, and that she could remove the lump but that it wouldn't change anything because lymphoma spreads through the whole system. Since he doesn't seem to be bothered by the lump, I don't see any point in putting him through the stress of surgery.

The vet gave me some prednisone for him. She said she'd never prescribed it to a hedgehog with lymphoma before but it might reduce the size of the lump and she's seen some sucess in other animals. It's not a cure, but it might prolong his life a few months. He's taking the prednisone without any trouble, but so far it doesn't seem to have had any effect other than to increase his appetite.

Does anyone have any experience with hedgehogs with lymphoma? Is it normal to come on so quickly? I haven't found much information about this disease in hedgehogs, and would like to know what to expect.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sadly cancers of all types come on quickly with our little ones. I've never had one with lymphoma so can give any personal experience. 

I did have a little gal who had an oral tumour and it caused the lymph node in her neck to swell. It went from nothing to the size of a large marble within a couple of days. It was the first indication that something was wrong but when she was gassed for a complete examination we found the oral tumour.  

Good luck with your little one.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I had one, Maui, who had lymphoma. We changed her diet to a high protein/low carb diet and added several supplements for palliative support. She was also put on chemo doses of prednisone. And remained on the prednisone for the rest of her life. Near the end I was also syringe feeding her. She could still eat on her own, but I would mix the supplements in with Hills and boost. She would eat this mix twice a day as well as her kibble.

She wasn't initially given much time because the tumor was growing fast and was in her throat causing her some difficulty. But her tumor shrank to the point we couldn't find it for 2 months. She lived for 10 or 11 more months after being diagnosed. 

Maui was a happy girl all the way up until she died. In fact her passing was quite sudden to us. She had been losing weight from the cancer, but had eaten and was very perky in the AM. I came home from work, went to medicate and feed her when she vomited and began her journey.

I highly recommend discussing with your vet dietary changes and supplements you can add to help support her. I really feel that these combined with the prednisone is what gave Maui such a great life.


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