Cancer

Hello,

Yesterday my beautiful rescue bunny was diagnosed with cancer, it's on/in her nose...this is very rare.
We have three options:
1. Operate, she will lose her nose and it may already have spread further into her face.
2. Radiotherapy, a week away at a specialist and then we work from there onwards.
3. Play the waiting game.

Has anyone gone through this? What would you do or have you done?
I'm beyond devastated, and I'm not sure how her husbun will cope once she leaves us, whilst she's been at the vets for the biopsies he's been a nightmare.

Any advice or guidance would be gratefully received.

I don't have any experience of this I'm afraid but I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear your news, that must be really upsetting and a difficult decision to have to make. Sending good vibes for both bunnies and for you.

PetalJo said:

Hello,

Yesterday my beautiful rescue bunny was diagnosed with cancer, it's on/in her nose...this is very rare.
We have three options:
1. Operate, she will lose her nose and it may already have spread further into her face.
2. Radiotherapy, a week away at a specialist and then we work from there onwards.
3. Play the waiting game.

Has anyone gone through this? What would you do or have you done?
I'm beyond devastated, and I'm not sure how her husbun will cope once she leaves us, whilst she's been at the vets for the biopsies he's been a nightmare.

Any advice or guidance would be gratefully received.

Click to expand...

Hello

I am sorry to hear of your Rabbit's recent diagnosis. Did the Vet say what type of cancer it is ? A malignant melanoma maybe ? Or a Fibrosarcoma ?

How old is your Rabbit ?

Personally I cant answer your question of 'what would you do' as I believe that what may be the right course of action for one Rabbit may not be appropriate for another. I try to take a Holistic view of the situation, regardless of what the specific condition is. Each Rabbit is an individual and their pyschological state needs to be considered aswell as any physical impact treatments may have.

I always find that having a Vet we trust is so helpful when faced with a 'what to do' situation. As whilst technically there may be various surgical procedures/treatments that could be carried out it may not be in a specific Rabbit's best interests to do them. Knowing that our Vet will give advice based solely on what is best for the specific Rabbit means we can be sure that any decisions made are being made for the right reasons.

I do hope you have a good trusting relationship with your Vet and that he/she can offer you the best advice as to what to do for your Rabbit.

PetalJo said:

Hello,

Yesterday my beautiful rescue bunny was diagnosed with cancer, it's on/in her nose...this is very rare.
We have three options:
1. Operate, she will lose her nose and it may already have spread further into her face.
2. Radiotherapy, a week away at a specialist and then we work from there onwards.
3. Play the waiting game.

Has anyone gone through this? What would you do or have you done?
I'm beyond devastated, and I'm not sure how her husbun will cope once she leaves us, whilst she's been at the vets for the biopsies he's been a nightmare.

Any advice or guidance would be gratefully received.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the Forum, and I am so sorry to hear about your rabbit

I certainly do have experience of cancer in rabbits, and have had to make difficult decisions regarding this also.

What I would do if I were in your shoes, is to seek advice from another vet, possibly a specialist if possible and get more than one opinion on what you should do.

I take it the three options you refer to above are what your vet has given you? Can you see the specialist recommended and ask about treatments and outcomes?

Please don't worry for the moment. Your rabbit doesn't feel any different because you know the diagnosis, and your stress or positivity will also impact on her quality of life from here on. Difficult as it is, the best thing is for you to be brave.

Cancer in rabbits *is* rare. I am so sorry you have to endure this, and also that her partner is being difficult. Try and remain as calm as possible for him, so that he can have reassurance that he will be looked after. Bunnies pick up on so much that we give out

We have had a rabbit treated successfully for melanoma cancer on the eye surround. Using the canine melanoma vaccine. The melanoma was removed first but it grew back so we used combination of removal again and the canine melanoma vaccine.

Not sure if thats relevant here as you do not specify cancer type..