Fia 'has a lump' :o( Don't know what to do!

Well took all the bunnies to the vets today:

Fia - Myxi Jab
Alice Myxi jab
Zion - VHD jab
Winter - nail clipping

Fia was up first and vet (who is bunny savvy as she has 4 of her own) felt her abdomen for quite a while, asked some questions. I knew from the length of the examination something was wrong

Ever since Fia was spayed in Nov 06 she has been a skinny bun. No abnormalities in the womb and last Feb I had x-rays taken of her abdomen and had her tested for EC as she only weighs in at around 2kg. I think she should be closer to 2.5-3kg.

She is fed pellets twice a day. Oats in the morning also and more veg than Zion every night. They are always separated when eating as she can be quite slow.

So vet says there is a lump in Fia's abdomen Vet made some screwed up faces when discussing what it could be. Of course it could be cancerous or she said it could be a granular growth (I think that is what she said as I was in kind of shock as not even a week after Snowy passing away )

So I can leave Fia how she is and see how she goes or have some more investigations in the form of digital x-ray and ultrasound and then maybe to opening her up.

She is fine in herself in every other way except this lump and the fact that she has always been slim.

I don't know what to do. If they do the x-ray/ultrasound under anestheic/sedation and believe it to be malignant then they may have to let her go there and then. If it isn't malignant they may be able to leave it or remove it incase its related to her 'slight' body mass.

What would you do? I feel so sad for myself after losing Snowy so recently and also for Zion. They love eachother so much and get on with eachother so well.

I'm so confused. And my OH STILL isn't home to help me with these decisions

Please help

Hi Shiv

Personally I would do nothing. I say this as Fia is 'well within herself'. Her weight has always been low ie she has not suddenly started to loose weight.

Yes, you could have diagnostics done but would you want to put her through surgery which would be 'high risk' if it involved her GI Tract? Personally I wouldn't. If the 'lump' were malignant then it may have already spread.
I believe quality of life by far outweighs quantity as far as Buns are concerned. And whilst in theory various surgical options may be possible I dont think it is always right to do them.

I am probably not expressing myself very well but what I am trying to say is that if Fia were mine I would just leave things as they are. Obviously if she started to exhibit symptoms then I'd discuss things with the Vet again. She may have had the 'lump' for months. You could pop her back to the same Vet in a month to get her re-examined. One of my Rex boys, Fred, was found to have an enlarged Lymph node in his abdomen. He was also losing weight. My Vet feared Fred had Lymphoma. I opted not to have him opened up as I knew he would be unlikely to survive surgery and even if he did there is no treatment he could have had. But now it appears Fred does not have Lymphoma as his Lymph nodes have returned to normal.

Hope this rambling post makes a bit of sense. Sorry, my old brain is on go-slow today

Janex

Hi,

First thing don't panic, if she is fine now it can wait a bit.

Take your time and think things over - how old is she?

Look at all the options and then decide after you have spoken to the OH


Life is full of all these battles and as long as you do your best for the bunny
that is all anyone can expect.

Best Wishes

Maureen

Personally I think you should go for the non-invasive tests. ie xrays and ultrasound. If it looks like something harmless then you can stop worrying. If it is something that can't be dealt with then at least you can give her a good and peaceful ending to her life when the time is right. If she is still happy at the moment then I don't see why they would want to put her to sleep straight away :shock:

Thank you both for your replies and putting a bit of perspective on it.

Jane - I must say my gut feeling was to leave her as she is for now. Don't worry your post just confirmed what I thought was probably best but I kept doubting myself in case having a lump removed would prolong her life for years to come. I think you made a good point about it involving her GI tract and how this could could complications, especially in recovery. Not something I had really thought about it.

MoBunny - when I adopted her the thought was that she was about 2 but of course that could be wrong as she was rescued from a breeder. If she was 2 she would be about 4-5 now.

timb - I see what you're saying about the non-invasive tests. At the same time though I wonder if they will actually be able to confirm if it is cancerous or not and if not then they're only going to want to open her up anyway.
Sorry if my post was confusing but the vet said nothing about putting her to sleep straight away without knowing - just if she was examined and opened up and found to have a spread then it would be kinder to let her go under anesthetic.

Its all very heart wrenching right now. I can't believe this is happening so close after Snowy I collected Snowy's ashes today too

Bunnies are going on holiday (boarding) this weekend whilst I go to London so I will have a good think about it then. Any other thoughts and opinions welcome.

Shiv

You're right and they might not be able to tell from the x-rays and ultrasounds, but some things have higher densities than others and so if it was something like a collection of fluid, then this would show up clearly, so I think it's worth a try.

I think I will be booking Fia in for non-surgical investigations when I get home. She is still fine in herself but I am worrying about her terribly and just in case it can be treated with something other than surgery I would rather get it looked into. I really trust the vet. I think if it comes back as unfavourable then it will just be a case of me and Zion administering palliative care unless the vet strongly suggests surgery can prolong her life by 4-5 years.

Bless her. She is such a gentle sweet little thing. Love her so much

They're off on holiday today so that should keep them on their bunny toes

Thanks guys