It would depend on if and when the uterine cancer develops. I think the normal lifespan after it develops or is found is 1-2 years because it can spread, but I haven’t had experience with it.
It is more likely in older rabbits, chances are about 80% after 5-6 years of age.
But at 3-4 years old she can get uterine cancer, in one study the average age of discovery of tumors was about 4 years.
In another study the chances of developing uterine tumors for rabbits 2-3 years old was 4%. After 4 years of age the chances jump to 50-80%.

So if your rabbit were to develop a uterine tumor at her current age she would probably only live to be 5-6 if you did nothing to treat it. Surgery to remove a tumor will most likely cost more than a spay so in the long term, a spay saves you money. My friend got her rabbit’s tumor removed (her rabbit was around 5 years old) for $500 but this was after a large discount. For comparison spaying in my area can cost from $160-$300 depending on who you go to. So if your spays already cost over $500, you can imagine what a tumor removal surgery will cost. Spaying also saves your rabbit from having to suffer from a tumor.
I would suggest looking into low cost spay/neuter clinics that are willing to do rabbits. I got my rabbit spayed at an SPCA for half of what the veterinary office estimated me. This is probably because there’s more monitoring and pain meds involved if you go to a vet. The SPCA did not give me any pain meds to take home (my rabbit didn’t seem to mind anyway).

This was the experience of a vet that posted a few years back.

lzrddr 17 posts  User Settings

11/19/2012 9:55 PM I have yet to spay a rabbit over the age of 5 (that was not making babies constantly) that did NOT turn out to have some stage of uterine cancer, so I am pretty sure that is what your bunny has. However, uterine cancer is very slow to spread, and often a spay will cure them. The longer you wait, though, the more likely the cancer will spread (usually to the lungs, but sometimes also/or the liver or mammary glands). This is one of the few cancers that has a really good prognosis if you do something about it soon. Rabbits with uterine cancer are not generally any harder to spay than those without it… in fact, they are often easier to spay as the uterus is much larger and easier to manipulate.

Original thread: https://binkybunny.com/tabid/54/aft/122598/Default.aspx

I can understand the shelters not spaying if the fee is that high!   Could you travel with her to a region where cost is more reasonable?

Lucky bun – well done you Floppy !

It’s such a “no-brainer” (easy decision) to make : “in an ideal world, of course one gets a female bun spayed when you know the uterine cancer risks”.

HOWEVER….

I’ve known spayed/neuteured buns that die (suddenly) of unknown illnesses, not necessarily old…. nothing do to do with having been spayed or not.

and so the whole weighing up cost / beliefs / risks comes into play… and each individual (human) is different.

Who out there smokes knowing the proven cancer risks yet still wears a seatbelt when driving…?
Or inversely, most people know someone who has been dealt $*&!e cards, having had lung cancer and never touched a cigarette…!

I know it sounds cold and harsh and terribly scientific – and I always play the devil’s advocate – but everybun and everyone is different..

If you can find cheaper spays, then go there, YES!… take a roadtrip over a weekend if necessary (as one of my BB fellows suggested yesterday to someone else)

If you cannot afford an immediate spay, but you go ahead now and put at “risk’ any money that you may need for ‘surprise’ vets’ bills, then I suggest start saving little by little and have a “spay fund”.
And then still have it done when you are able… it’s a win win situation seeing as your boy has been neuteured already

There are all sorts of options

Some large breeds live to 5 , some smaller ones could live to 12+…. depending on diet, lifestyle and basic health. So you may have many many MANY more years together !

Hi. Read your latest post. Others here better qualified to answer your specific questions. I can only say my female was fine after a week or so, but I cant generalise. A few days to recover might be expecting too much. Anyway, wanted you to know it’s great you are making this effort for your bunny and hope it all goes well for you both. 🙂

Yes its obvious you care a lot about her. All the best on this – to all of you – and please keep us posted. 🙂

Floppy – my female is 7 days post spay and is eating fine (first rose petals the next morning and other stuff 48–72 hrs post op) and has so far recovered great – I still have her caged when I’m not around so she can’t jump up on to her shelves in her multi-level bunny condo. Her cage is a big one though and she first periscoped about 3 days post op…
The vet says to keep her caged for another week until the outer stitches are removed and inner stitches will be healed.
She will then be able to play superbun, jumping and binking around everywhere like before!

Why won’t she be allowed to eat?

Posted By FloppyBunny on 6/01/2016 10:57 AM

My family member feels a bit uneasy about having to give her medication, so the easiest way would be to wait until I’m there, but do you think she’ll be ok to have an 8-10 hours road trip back after only 2 or 3 days?

I think it would be ok, but youd have to stop super often. With a rabbit who isnt recovering from surgery, youd have to stop every hour or two to water, feed, and pet/destress the rabbit. Since she will be recovering form her spay, youll want to stop every hour on the dot or sooner to feed/pet/water/ect for several minutes with her. If shes not eating, youll need critical care and/or pellet mash in syringes ready to hand feed her a bit during each stop. Once she gets home after the long trip, youll want to let her rest for a few hours (estimate 4), then wake her up and feed her again. If at any time she cannot eat (it just drips out of her mouth/nose), youll have to get her to a vet as soon as possible as it means something is very wrong. Personally, i would not recommend traveling right after the spay as spaying on its own is already hard enough on a bun

Also, about the bun not being allowed to eat for several hours, thats very dangerous and risky. If a rabbit does not eat enough within eight hours, they can very quickly and easily fall into GI Stasis. Rabbits need something in their stomach 24/7 to keep everything working correctly. Is the vet you picked certified to work on rabbits? Not all vets are qualified to work on exotics since they are so different from cats and dogs

EDIT

They also need food in their stomach for the medications to work without too many side effects, so having her not eat during that time seems risky. All of my rabbits have been able to eat up until a few minutes before their neuters. My vet said food in the stomach does not effect either spays nor neuters. She has been working on rabbits for several years and has never had one die on the table 

So glad you have found a solution! Sounds like you’re leaving yourself plenty of time to make sure she is safe to travel back home so that is good! She is so lucky to have you looking out for her!

((((((vibes)))))) for her spay. Let us know how it goes.