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is it a myth that spaying rabbits prevents uterine cancer?

this is certainly an interesting one - i don't think, anymore, i could ever dare again to make a blanket statement one way or the other - this post is more of a practical philosophical angle.

to get to the heart of the matter an individual would have to dig deep and do alot of research - in a time starved world not many of us can afford to do.

i object, (actually i think object is too strong a word ha ha ) however of

1) mixing issues and agendas up

2) using statements that may not be true in order to shame, co-erce or force people into something which actually may not be necessary for that individual rabbit -

a neutering debate is one thing -

*there are so many unwanted rabbits -

*sanctuaries are overwhelmed

*if only everyone would neuter every rabbit everywhere - that would bring relief etc etc

*this would prevent accidental litters

all very valid issues - and all this would perhaps also be solved if deliberate breeding and the exchange of money or goods for any animal was stopped too?

if for the sake of untangling these issues we could pretend that breeding wasnt an issue at all for the moment-

so the only reason to think about neutering a female rabbit is for health reasons i.e. for the highest good of that rabbit.

i deeply question that 'fact' - the study which found that a high percentage of female rabbits by the age of 6 was a peculiar one - and there is a fair amount of it under myths and misconceptions.

- i do have a penchant for truth :-/

and i am inclined to think that the statement if you dont neuter your rabbit she will most likely get uterine cancer a nonsense.

i think the decision to neuter should be given some serious thought and not be taken lightly and of course assessed by each individual on a case by case scenario - i was startled to hear a vet say neutering is a mutilation under a different name. 10 yrs on and i understand this now.

individual neutering can b appropriate for medical reasons.

but cancer has many causes - they dont seem to be being discussed.

x
 
I personally would still not take the chance. The pain of a spay under a decent GA with appropriate pain meds after are far less than the potential pain of cancer.

My bunnies will always be getting spayed / neutered.
 
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It couldn't be said that all will get it by the age of 6 but there must be some statistics somewhere.

As a method of prevention though, we can't debate how effective it is as it removes where the cancer would otherwise be located. Until we know a LOT more about cancer, personally, I wouldn't even contemplate not spaying
 
Surely no uterus = no uterine cancer?

Dont know about the age thing though. Knowing how expensive treatment can be i'd rather pay for the spay than pay for cancer treatment....

:wave:
 
I'm sorry but you can't get cancer in a body part you no longer have so spaying does absolutely remove the risk of uterine cancer. It doesn't remove the risk of other kinds of cancer.


RWA say "Up to 80% of unspayed female rabbits develop uterine cancer by 5 years of age." I assume they have based this on reliable research however maybe they would be the best people to ask where that statistic comes from.

This is the leaflet I have quoted is this one http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/neutering28.8.07.pdf and further info here http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/uterine.htm
 
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I don't believe that the cancer issue is a myth. I have had many examples of unspayed does coming into my rescue that have had cancers when they go in for spay.

I have a friend who recently took in 5 rabbits from someone who had bred them. There were 2 boys and 3 girls. Of the three girls, two of them had uterine
tumours. Our very rabbit savvy vet had given the prognosis for one to have been about 2 months had it not been found and maybe a year for the other.

I am trying to find my photo of one of the cancers taken during spay.
 
It couldn't be said that all will get it by the age of 6 but there must be some statistics somewhere.

As a method of prevention though, we can't debate how effective it is as it removes where the cancer would otherwise be located. Until we know a LOT more about cancer, personally, I wouldn't even contemplate not spaying

i do want to just additionally clarify - i am not contemplating the spaying issue but

spaying specifically for health reasons.

for example: because of spaying rabbits are becoming overweight and dying and this is more prominent than cancer? i dont know- even writing that raises a million little threads from all different angles. it doesnt seem quite right either.

it is actually a really complicated issue.

thanks kermit & nutsandstuff 4 the input :)

what makes uterine cancer a special issue for rabbits? i have read actually it is not - it is a myth.

x
 
Surely no uterus = no uterine cancer?

Yeah, that's what I thought

I'd rather have them spayed even if there's only a small chance. but I do believe it's more than a small chance of cancer. It prevents a lot of behavioral problems as well and allows the rabbit to be bonded to other rabbits. Unspayed females can sometimes get along but not always. so there's a lot more pros than cons with spaying.

There's a smaller chance of males getting cancer and tumors but my boy Izzy got a tumor in his testicle.

Also, other animals are prone to uterine cancer if they aren't spayed, like pigs (I don't mean guinea pigs).
 
i do want to just additionally clarify - i am not contemplating the spaying issue but

spaying specifically for health reasons.

for example: because of spaying rabbits are becoming overweight and dying and this is more prominent than cancer? i dont know- even writing that raises a million little threads from all different angles. it doesnt seem quite right either.

it is actually a really complicated issue.

thanks kermit & nutsandstuff 4 the input :)

what makes uterine cancer a special issue for rabbits? i have read actually it is not - it is a myth.

x

Where did you read this because theres lots of case studies and experiences which says otherwise
 
I don't believe that the cancer issue is a myth. I have had many examples of unspayed does coming into my rescue that have had cancers when they go in for spay.

I have a friend who recently took in 5 rabbits from someone who had bred them. There were 2 boys and 3 girls. Of the three girls, two of them had uterine
tumours. Our very rabbit savvy vet had given the prognosis for one to have been about 2 months had it not been found and maybe a year for the other.

I am trying to find my photo of one of the cancers taken during spay.

by all means lets get the scary cancer photos out - i dont think anyone is saying cancer is a myth and its not really what this post is about -
x
 
I'm sorry but you can't get cancer in a body part you no longer have so spaying does absolutely remove the risk of uterine cancer. It doesn't remove the risk of other kinds of cancer.

this ^^

I almost lost one of my girls at 7 yr old due to uterine cancer ... I have another girl here who had a tumour removed shortly after arriving here last year ..she was under 5 yrs old
We neuter around 30 to 40 female rabbits a year that come in as rescues .. most of these are under 3 yr old .. but some are older ..

last year 5 had either uterine tumours or signs of abnormal uterine changes ...all were over 3 yr old

dont know about the figures of the study ... but it is certainly a health threat for older does ..and the worst thing is that by the time symptoms appear it has almost always already spread to other parts of the body .

I will always have my female rabbits spayed now ..but not just because of the cancer risk .. but this is certainly part of the reason .
 
I got angel spayed because her moods were all over the place, when they did the spay she had cysts on her ovaries which explains why she was moody, as she was probably in a bit of pain.
If I hasn't spayed her I wouldn't have known.
The cysts seem to be quite a common thing as well as the cancer.
 
i do want to just additionally clarify - i am not contemplating the spaying issue but

spaying specifically for health reasons.

for example: because of spaying rabbits are becoming overweight and dying and this is more prominent than cancer? i dont know- even writing that raises a million little threads from all different angles. it doesnt seem quite right either.

it is actually a really complicated issue.

thanks kermit & nutsandstuff 4 the input :)

what makes uterine cancer a special issue for rabbits? i have read actually it is not - it is a myth.

x

Because if they are not breeding regularly they over produce hormones and have phantom pregnancies. They are genetically programmed to breed extensively. Also fancy (pet variety) rabbits reach sexual maturity much faster than wild rabbits because their diets are so rich- the same as how humans are reaching puberty earlier. I have not found any of my female rabbits have gained weight after spay? Where did that one come from? That sounds like a myth to me.
 
by all means lets get the scary cancer photos out - i dont think anyone is saying cancer is a myth and its not really what this post is about -
x

I'm not getting the scary photos out - I just thought it would be revelant for those interested to see what we are dealing with.

Please can you simplify exactly what you are saying then? I am obviously not understanding the meaning of your post, as I got the impression that you felt the thing about stats was scaremongering, when in my experience, it's clearly very real.
 
i do want to just additionally clarify - i am not contemplating the spaying issue but

spaying specifically for health reasons.

for example: because of spaying rabbits are becoming overweight and dying and this is more prominent than cancer? i dont know- even writing that raises a million little threads from all different angles. it doesnt seem quite right either.

it is actually a really complicated issue.

thanks kermit & nutsandstuff 4 the input :)

what makes uterine cancer a special issue for rabbits? i have read actually it is not - it is a myth.

x

surely a rabbit becomes overweight by inappropriate feeding and lack of excersise ....

We have had loads of buns arrive intact and terribly overweight ...so much so that they have had to diet berfore being spayed ..

I have NEVER had a rabbit become overweight due to being spayed :?
 
Where did you read this because theres lots of case studies and experiences which says otherwise

i totally agree with you - there are -

hey little-laura

just search the internet there are loads of alternative views - try typing in myths - misconceptions- lies etc and different articles and studies come up.

also researching the criteria used for a 'case study' can be quite shocking in itself.

a few years ago i had a list of vets and their articles stating these views also - so at least an acknowledgement that vets have differences of opinion even if not mainstream yet is all i was thinking about.

x
 
Because if they are not breeding regularly they over produce hormones and have phantom pregnancies. They are genetically programmed to breed extensively. Also fancy (pet variety) rabbits reach sexual maturity much faster than wild rabbits because their diets are so rich- the same as how humans are reaching puberty earlier. I have not found any of my female rabbits have gained weight after spay? Where did that one come from? That sounds like a myth to me.

I agree with everything you have said but the weight thing is a possible side affect some female rabbits have been seen to have put on weight more easilly after a spay something to do with body changes, it can happen in humans too.
 
To help prevent any kind of cancer in rabbits has to be a priority - if by spaying we can prevent that kind then that has to be a good thing, in particular as we know that a secondary site for this type of cancer can be the lungs.

I have lost two bunnies to other cancers - bladder and throat - both in Frienchies.
 
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