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Ria P · 11-24-2021, 03:06 PM

I have been in the same situation as you not that long ago.
My hamster Clarissa developed a fast growing mass on her upper chest that got in her way and cramped her style.
The vet analyzed fluid from the mass which pointed towards cancer. Clarissa was a lively and spirited girl, only 10 months old.
I opted for the surgery to give her the chance to be herself again. She survived the surgery but died six days later. The mass had been attached to her thyroid gland so the vet had to remove both. He found another smaller mass near the parathyroid gland which was too risky to remove. The cancer had already spread.

I did ask myself if i made the right decision because it felt like i cut Clarissa's life short and she may have lived a little longer without the surgery. Reality is that the mass would have kept growing, probably affected her swallowing and
breathing and the cancer would have kept spreading through her body.

I don't regret my decision to opt for the surgery because it could have gone the other way and the cancer could have been enclosed and removed with the mass. It's a chance i would take again in the hope of giving a hamster their life back or at least saving them from a painful death from cancer.

11-24-2021, 03:06 PM
Ria P House of Hamsters Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 7,103	Re: Hamster with cancer I have been in the same situation as you not that long ago. My hamster Clarissa developed a fast growing mass on her upper chest that got in her way and cramped her style. The vet analyzed fluid from the mass which pointed towards cancer. Clarissa was a lively and spirited girl, only 10 months old. I opted for the surgery to give her the chance to be herself again. She survived the surgery but died six days later. The mass had been attached to her thyroid gland so the vet had to remove both. He found another smaller mass near the parathyroid gland which was too risky to remove. The cancer had already spread. I did ask myself if i made the right decision because it felt like i cut Clarissa's life short and she may have lived a little longer without the surgery. Reality is that the mass would have kept growing, probably affected her swallowing and breathing and the cancer would have kept spreading through her body. I don't regret my decision to opt for the surgery because it could have gone the other way and the cancer could have been enclosed and removed with the mass. It's a chance i would take again in the hope of giving a hamster their life back or at least saving them from a painful death from cancer.