Mammary Cancer

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by LittlePuffyTail.

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- 02/27/2017 at 5:40 PM
  Tilda
  Participant
  2 posts
  Hello everyone. My name is Sara. My rabbit, Matilda is about 5 years old and is unspayed. I adopted her from a shelter in 2013 when they could no longer keep her. I planned to foster her until I could find a her a good home but each rehoming attempt didn’t work out. She had been living with another person for the last few months, and just came back to me again. This time, I’m keeping her. Unfortunately, the day she came back I noticed a very large lump. I immediately took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with mammary cancer. She had radiographs and blood work done. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of spreading at this point. Her behavior is still normal- still hopping around the house annoying the cats.
  
  The vet has suggested doing surgery to remove the mass, spaying her, and doing a few rounds of radiation treatment. Because there is no sign of metastasis, they think the surgery could possibly be curative. I’ve been doing a bit of research online, and it seems like there is a pretty high rate of reoccurrence. She isn’t very old so she should handle the surgery well. I just hate the idea of putting her through all of it if it is just going to come back.
  
  I guess my question, which I’m sure has been asked plenty of times before (sorry), is does anyone have experience with this? I’ve always been on the fence about cancer treatment in animals. I’ve done it once with a dog, after the vet insisted it was best for him, and it only gave him a few months before it came back even more aggressively. Should I just leave it alone and let Matilda live her life until she starts showing signs of distress? I know no one can make this decision for me but opinions from someone who has experienced something similar would be appreciated.
  
  Thank you
- 02/28/2017 at 1:28 AM
  Gina.Jenny
  Participant
  2244 posts
  I’ve not had a bunny with mammary cancer but I have had three guinea pigs with it. The first one, Speedy, I followed the vets advice to give ABs and Metacam, but the tumour spread internally, out of sight, and fast. Speedy was taken back to the vet every week for monitoring. Only three weeks after diagnosis, I came down in the morning to find him hiding under some newspaper that was lining his run and his poor eyes just said, “end this for me mum, please”. He went straight to the vets and was pts. By that point, there was a tumour at the second nipple, and the vet said it had spread through and was actually all one tumour. I saw how much he suffered those last few hours, and told myself, never again. So two years ago, when Grace was diagnosed, I asked the vet to put her straight to sleep. In some ways, it was an easier decision for Grace, as her sister had been pts only 10 days before, and she was grieving badly and had dropped a quarter of her body weight, though hard to lose her so soon after her sister. Then in January, our sweet little Choco was off his food. As soon as I picked him up, I saw the tell tale sign, and again, he was pts that day. I have also cared for a number of people through terminal cancer, including my own mum, which has played its part in why Grace and Choco were pts so promptly. A person can ask for pain relief, a bunny or piggy can’t, and as prey animals, they hide it so well til too late. I feel I did the right thing for Grace and Choco, they suffered very little, which to me is what matters the most.
- 02/28/2017 at 7:06 AM
  12345ABCDE
  Participant
  5584 posts
  What an awful situation If it were my bunny, I would at least give her a chance, yes It could come back, but there’s every chance that it won’t.
- 02/28/2017 at 11:43 AM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17260 posts
  No experience with this personally. However, if it hasn’t spread then there is a good chance she will be cured. The vet may want to take the next mammary gland in the “chain” just to be safe since that would be the most logical place for it to spread to first. Spaying before the age of 2 significantly reduces the chance of mammary cancer. This does not mean that removing the tumor and spaying her at the age of 5 is completely pointless. There’s still a pretty good chance that spaying will reduce the likelihood of recurrence. There are, of course, no guarantees. But if she wants to fight, then help her fight.
- 02/28/2017 at 6:28 PM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Sorry to hear this.
  
  I agree with Sarah and LBJ. It may cure her and if not, you’ll know you gave her a chance and did what you could.
- 02/28/2017 at 8:01 PM
  Tilda
  Participant
  2 posts
  Thank you all for your replies. I’ve decided to go ahead with the surgery. Unfortunately, they don’t have an opening in their schedule until the end of March. I’m thinking I might call around to other vets near me.
  Thanks again.
- 03/02/2017 at 10:33 AM
  LittlePuffyTail
  Moderator
  18092 posts
  Good luck. Please keep us updated.
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