How to treat a tumour

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.

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.naturalpetcare.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_21&products_id=49&osCsid=7e876bee7803ae1dee23984348587e0f   http://www.vitabest.ca/MRL/index.html   http://www.aneid.pt/mrl/products01.html

Further information about Mycoplex can be found here:

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

Maxigen 2 (or II), also known as Shark Cartilage, can be bought here:
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 (based on 500mg tablet): 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 (based on 750mg capsule):
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!
I'd also like to say that there are other preparations that contain Mycoplex in other forms such a Trametes Versicolor, having not used these myself, nor known anyone who has, I can't comment on their effectiveness. Preparations that don't say the amount of Coriolus is in each tablet or capsule could be too low an amount, based on the above doseages. To make sure it's as effective as possible, please ensure that what you're using has 500mg of Coriolus in it.
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)
 (Updated 24th August 2005)

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