Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / June 2005

Hi Kelly,
A spay wouldn't really help her all that much at this age. She's a lucky
girl to have her first tumor at an older age. Many females are not as
fortunate.
If you plan on having it removed, then yes, the sooner is better. The vets
can definitely charge more if they think there's more work involved. Getting
it removed now would require less anesthetic which will be good for her.
Are you in TO? Shop around, there are many great vets there. But remember,
cheaper may not always be best.

As much as I like rats, most surgery is out of the question, if you ask
me. For a pet that costs only a few dollars and lives less than three
years, I think the options are more or less restricted to a) put the
beast to sleep or b) let it live its happy innocent life until the
problem kills it.

- NRen2k5

Ok, when you do go to your vet, take this with you, it should help.

How to treat a tumour

How many times have you read on a group that someone's rat has been put
to sleep because of a tumour? Upsetting isn't it. Not only is it
disgusting that a vet would put an otherwise healthy animal to sleep,
but it's infuriating to read when you know something can be done.

I thought I should write something about my personal experience with
tumour removal, and what I know of non-surgical treatment in the hope
that it could help someone else's rat. I'm NOT a vet, and it's always
best to seek the advice of your vet before acting on anyone's advice.

First of all, you should know that a tumour is NOT an instant death
sentence for a rat. Most lumps that rats develop are benign (not
cancerous) and can easily be removed.

The first piece of advice that I would like to offer is that you should
ALWAYS make a point of having them removed when the lump is still small
if at all possible. The larger they get, the longer the rat may have to
stay under the anaesthetic meaning more danger to the rat, and the
larger the incision would be, meaning more stitches and more discomfort
for the rat. It's just best to have them out sooner rather than later.
Also, never attempt the surgery yourself, this can lead to infection
which can become very deep and kill.

When you find a lump on your rat, can you be sure it's a tumour? Could
it be an abscess? You need to work that out for starters. Abscesses can
occur anywhere. They're usually but not always caused by an opening
of the skin, through a scratch or bite, that bacteria has got into,
then the wound has closed over it, so the bacteria festers and creates
pus, which causes a swelling under the skin. These should ideally be
treated by a vet, opened, kept open and cleaned with saline solution
(NOT Hydrogen peroxide), and antibiotics should be given. But I
digress.....

Once you're sure your rat does have a tumour, where do you go from
there? Well, as long as your vet is experienced in rat surgery, then
it's quite a straightforward procedure to remove a tumour. As I said
before, most are benign and without much of a blood supply, so it can
be as easy as making a small incision (as long as the tumour is still
small) and popping the lump straight out, then closing with a couple of
stitches. Voila, your rat is delumped!

Complications are rare and the vet will usually know if they are likely
before surgery, although there is always a risk when putting any animal
under anaesthetic. Thankfully most tumour removals take only a matter
of a few minutes.
Complications that can arise are things like the tumour having grown
around an organ, being attached to an organ, or being caused by bone
cancer. Even in those extreme cases, if your vet is good enough,
something can be done.

If your rat is elderly, or has respiratory problems, the vet will
probably not want to operate which leaves you with the idea that
nothing can be done and your beloved pet will eventually have to be put
to sleep. This is NOT the case.

My vet introduced me to a wonderful natural treatment called Mycoplex
Coriolus, which is made from the Coriolus (also known as Turkey Tail)
mushroom. I've used this many times and have had excellent results with
it. It can either slow growth of the tumour, buying time for recovery
from, say, a respiratory infection, so that surgery is possible, it can
stop growth completely, or it has been known to force the tumour into
remission. Nobody is quite sure why it works, but the way it works is
by starving the tumour of it's blood supply, thereby killing it.
Needless to say, the less of a rich blood supply the tumour has, the
less effective Mycoplex will be. In some cases when there is no blood
supply, Mycoplex will not work at all, but these cases are less
frequent. Mycoplex has usually done something for my rats, however
small the effect, and can work against both benign and malignant
tumours. It can work on both benign and malignant tumours and although
it won't actually shrink existing fatty lumps, it can slow their
growth.

Although I've never used it myself, Mycoplex Coriolus can be used in
conjunction with Maxigen 2, (sometimes called Maxigen II) which is
shark cartilage, it works by boosting the effects of the Mycoplex.

Both of these are natural treatments, and cannot be overdosed on, so
are completely safe for your rat. In fact Mycoplex is also used to
boost the body's natural immunity, so is beneficial in other ways as
well.

Mycoplex is also very good to use after the tumour has been surgically
removed, to prevent regrowth. Ideally the Mycoplex should be started
while the tumour is still small for the best effects to be possible,
although I have had some positive results on reasonably large tumours.
It can also take from a week and a half to three weeks for the effects
to become noticeable, so you need to give it time to work, and also not
delay in starting treatment.

Mycoplex Coriolus can be bought online from here:
http://www.animalsnaturally.com/mofcart/mycoplex.htm
http://www.vitabest.ca/MRL/index.html
http://www.aneid.pt/mrl/products01.html

Further information about Mycoplex can be found here:

http://www.vetsonline.com/html/veterinary_news_article.asp?ID=786&DType=Veterinary

And here:

http://www.jhsnp.com/store/about_coriolus.html

Maxigen 2 (or II), also known as Shark Cartilage, can be bought here:

http://www.thomasveterinarydrug.com/mailorder/catalog/advanced_search_result.php
?keywords=shark+cartilage
http://www.auravita.com/products/aura/PHAR16645.asp?RefId=800
http://www.solgar.co.uk/modules/shop/view.asp?catid=18&Prodcode=E2600

In the UK, it is sold at the health food shop, Holland and Barrett.

Doseages are as follows:

Mycoplex:
Initially, for the first two weeks of treatment to give a boost, one
quarter of a tablet should be given twice a day, reducing to one
quarter or one fifth of a tablet once a day for the life of the tumour
or rat.

Maxigen:

Should be given alongside the Mycoplex, at a dose of one seventh of a
740mg capsule once a day.

Once the tumour has died, the Maxigen can be stopped completely, and
the dosage of Mycoplex can be reduced to a maintenance dose of one
tenth of a tablet once a day. If the tumour has been surgically
removed, this is also the dose of Mycoplex to help prevent regrowth. If
regrowth or new growth in a different area occurs, then the dose of
Mycoplex is returned to one fifth once a day, and the Maxigen is
restarted at one seventh of a capsule once a day.

The Mycoplex should be crushed into powder, and divided into doses,
each dose then mixed along with the Maxigen (if you're going to give
that as well), into something tasty for the rat. I've used the
following which have all been readily yummed up by my rats:

Strawberry milkshake
Strawberry syrup
Chocolate syrup
Melted ice cream
Chocolate spread

You get the idea. If it's something that they'd consider a huge
treat, then you only need a small amount on the tip of a spoon, just
enough to disguise the powder in, and they'll fall upon it with great
relish.

The only downside to the use of Mycoplex, is that if a tumour dies,
sometimes an abscess will form in it's place, but these are easily
cared for at home, as I indicated at the beginning of this document, or
can easily and cheaply be treated by your vet. Plus the fact that
they're a lot easier to deal with at home than tumours!

Please save this document to your hard drive if you like, redistribute
it as much as you like, I'm all for spreading the word, as these
inexpensive products can save your rat's life, or certainly extend
it.

Many thanks for reading this, and remember, these animals rely on us to
give them the best care possible, don't give up on them!

(All web addresses correct at time of writing, 13th November 2004)



Bev x

Hi Kelly,

Are you sure it is a Tumor?  either way if you can afford it I would get
it removed.  If she is healthy then age is no reason not to get it
done...:)  Just my opinion.

Regards Kate

My comment was not aimed specifically at you Kelly.  It just seemed
that bevluvsrats went to a lot of trouble to post that up and nothing
else was mentioned about it in the thread and yet other comments and
suggestions got a response.  So to anybody looking, her post was
ignored whereas other people were getting acknowledgements for what
they'd written. I do know bevluvsrats and she had actually told me that
she felt her efforts had been ignored.  No, you don't have to answer to
me, I never asked you to, but if I came across as being a bit snotty
then sorry because it wasn't my intention.

It's unlikely you will find mycoplex on sale in Canada (but fantastic
if you can), it's registered for use in small animals ONLY in the UK
and to get it you need to order it from a UK-based company (the link is
on my post as they recently changed website addy).  The shark
cartilage, as long as it's 750mg you can get from anywhere although the
best one to use is maxigen which is specially formulated for veterinary
use and is of a better grade than shark cartilage.

It isn't 100% effective, if it were it would be more widely advertised,
it does need a specific kind of tumour to work, one with a rich blood
supply.  Many tumours and fatty lumps are fed through hundreds of
microscopicly sized blood vessels, it won't work with those, but if you
get a tumour with one or two thick blood vessels, it will shrink them
down and kill them off very fast.  But the tumour has to be extremely
small when you start the treatment or it won't work.

I don't work for the company, I have nothing to gain by advertising the
product, but if it saves you several hundred dollars and helps your rat
then that's all that needs to be acheived don't you think?