'Pudge's Story'
Hamsters are of a quizzical
nature, their innocent curiosity of their
environment holds an appealing quality as their world is always
new and yet to be explored. If
an area has already been visited, hamsters detect small nuances of change
deserving a thorough re-investigation.
Changes imperceptive to humans are magnified at a Hamster’s scale and their unique
sensitivities offer us a different perspective on a dynamic world, a
world of continual change, but at times we may be too busy to notice.
It is not out of the ordinary for hamsters to temporarily stuff their cheeks en route to a ‘hidden’ food stockpile in preparation for the unexpected. The origin of the name hamster is in fact derived from the German word Hamstern which means to hoard. This behavior is a routine trademark of a hamster’s life. Pudge, my black teddy bear hamster, is no exception to this behavior.
Pudge’s story begins on the
June 1, 2004 where an excess amount of food had seemed to reside in his right
cheek pouch.
Concern began to arise on day
2 where Pudge had not only retained the foodstuffs in his right cheek
pouch, but it had seemed to have increase in size.
This was puzzling as this had never occurred before, and the
amount of food that was being stored was beginning to inhibit his freedom
of movement.
A quick Internet
diagnosis
(an essential tool in the following days) gave us a hopeful outlook.
An “impacted cheek pouch”:
these occur when hamsters become over zealous in their
transportation of food or bedding. Overstuffing of dry materials can sometimes get packed in
tightly and stick to the interior of the hamsters cheek, this cannot be
dislodged without medical assistance.
Based on Pudge’s bright eyes, healthy demeanor, and activity,
this seemed to have been a safe bet and gave us a moment of relief.
Day 3 marks a
morning visit to a veterinarian office who specializes in
‘pocket pets’. Pudge's
initial, visual exam resulted in 3 possibilities for
diagnosis. The first
possibility was an impacted cheek pouch.
The second possibility was an ‘abscess’:
an infected lump filled with fluids that would be treated by first
draining the lump, and then administering antibiotics to prevent further
infection. The third possibility,
and most likely, was a tumor.
In order to complete the diagnosis Pudge would need to undergo
anesthesia to allow an uninterrupted look into his cheek pouch.
Pudge’s condition
would not be revealed to us for several hours as the earliest opening for
his oral exam was later in the afternoon. This
distraction created my second-most unproductive workday at the office.
Unable to think of anything else I investigated further into the Internet
for explanations on of each of the possible ailments Pudge was diagnosed with. Using both
what was discussed at the doctor’s office and the new information
gathered from the Internet it became apparent that an impacted cheek pouch
was something of a fading glimmer of hope for us.
The Vet would later call to confirm this.
My web investigation
branched out from the from simple Hamster pet sites to serious medical
research which aside from its seriousness provided very pertinent information
for Pudge’s case. It seems
that Hamsters are often used in medical research as their cheek pouches
present very opportunistic areas for tumor growth.
The cheek pouch of a hamster apparently does not reject errant
cancer cell growth as do other animal species.
The realization of this confirmed my worst thoughts, but prepared me
for what the veterinarian would inform us of.
The feeling of complete
helplessness was overwhelming. Groggy from his recent
anesthesia, Pudge portrayed an
image of peacefulness and calm, unaware of his newly assigned condition.
Observing the extremely fast growing nature of the tumor I would
expect him to live for just another few days.
It was mentioned at the doctor’s office that one of the options
we had was simply make the rest of his life a little more comfortable; a
phrase which would replay in my mind continuously as I brought Pudge home
and spent the night with him.
Tumor growths in hamsters,
aside from laboratory testing, are apparently a rare occurrence in
hamsters. A puzzling fact as
Pudge is our second hamster, the first of which also had tumors.
Our first hamster Peanut had tumors throughout his body at the
later end of his 2 years of life. The tumors that peanut had were of a slower growing nature than the
tumors Pudge is now facing. In
contrast Pudge is a little over 1 year old, and behaves as a completely
healthy hamster except with a large lump on his right cheek.
Through deep consideration of
weighing monetary costs against the overused and ever-present solution of
euthanasia, I became determined to resolve Pudge's aliment as he is my responsibility
and I am indentured to allow Pudge to live the rest of his life 'comfortably'
being that I can afford to do it. It
was decided to proceed with a hopefully quick surgery to
remove the tumor.
Day 4, Pudge was able to squeeze into an afternoon surgery appointment.
…This day became my first most non-productive workday…
The result of the surgery was
an overall success, proven by a quick recovery through the next couple
days. Once into the surgery
the vet noted unexpected complications which arose where the tumor grew to encompass the area around his ear canal. There
were a few concerning moments the night after surgery when we heard whimpers
and noises coming from Pudge. But
indeed Pudge pulled through.
One caveat to Pudge’s
surgery and ultimately the culprit for the rest of
Pudge’s story continued in the weblog
section, was that there seemed to be another bulge under the diagnosed
tumor. The secondary growth
could either be an enlarged lymph node, or another tumor.
Because of the time consumed of removing the diagnosed tumor, the
second lump had to remain uninvestigated, with fingers crossed.
Day 6 gave us great hopes that Pudge would recover from the surgery, but the second lump ominously remained and again draws our attention for concern, time would tell, but my angst and the sprit of what Pudge had just gone through would not allow me to just sit aside of him and wait. I logged back on to the Internet, this time for an alternative solution, as Pudge would be unable to endure another surgery.
I was led this time to an online message board forum, seeking support form others who could have possibly gone through this situation. I found exactly that in one unique case: a post started by a boy who seemed to be in his early teens. The title of the post was “to help a young ill hamster”. Evidently the boy in the postings was not only dealing with cancer in his hamster, but is also within his mother. In his experiences, he stated. that he has been orally administering an herbal tea remedy (Essiac Tea) to his hamster which had shown some beneficial results in his mother. The forum responded unsupportively towards his efforts. Wanting him to quit this treatment, suggesting to put the hamster to sleep rather than continue this effort. The boy vehemently defended himself amongst the opposition where he said he has consulted his vet, observed improvement in his hamster, and if the hamster were adversely affected, he would immediately stop. In the long run the boy gained a few voices of acceptance. It is with this post which started a new sense of hope and inspiration for Pudge. In futility I had commended this boy who had the courage to post this message and took action to find a remedy. He exhibited bravery in a situation where I had almost collapsed, a situation that was just a fraction of what he had dealt with. The posts by this unlikely hero was the key for my continued effort for finding another solution for Pudge's problem. I only wish I was able to find the post earlier and support his cause.
Alternative medicine:
Professionals in the medical field usually do not cross the
boundaries of pharmaceutical and herbal treatments, This is substantiated
by the USDA as these treatments are typically not reviewed.
Because of its unregulated nature, the dosages
in herbal remedies vary between manufacturers and even from pill to pill
with in the same bottle. To this end most professionals will not mention non- pharmaceutical
alternatives unless there is strong evidence of substantiated results.
My veterinarian informed me that all pharmaceutical drugs have herbal
lineages: those that prove successful, (profitable), are concentrated by pharmaceutical
companies and regulated into the prescription drugs we have
come to know.
The new search string of ‘Essiac teas and Hamster’, (not surprisingly), bared no results, however inadvertently exposed me to something far more promising, something (supposedly) scientifically proven in case studies to cure malignant tumors in laboratory tests of hamsters. The overall goal of the studies are to apply these results for the human market, However unproven, for human effectiveness, it seemed to be very effective in the test subjects, my main objective, a cure for a hamster. Phycotene was recorded in two seemingly separate studies that confirmed definitive results in tumor carrying hamsters. Phycotene is a concentration of 17 cancer fighting carotenoids from spirulina algae. Spirulina algae is well known in the herbal community as a means for detoxification. With the research I had gathered and through discussions with my vet and 3 different herbalists, I had gained enough excitement and hope to begin this website,
In the following blog I will track Pudge’s hopeful progress. Through Pudge’s story we hope to gain a new perspective from a hamster’s scale. A unique perspective: drawn from a small creature's sensitivity to his environment who could offer new possible solutions to a greater illness plaguing all of us which may have been otherwise overlooked.
Contact Us: pudge@phuzzypets.com