Information from Bunnyhugga readers on tumours in their own rabbits, the symptoms, causes and treatment...
Bio:
Midnight Lace "Lacy," 6.5 y.o., black/white dutch bunny, about 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg), up until the tumor Lacy had really good health.
Medical condition:
Tumor. I'd originally felt her tumor; it was a lump in the lower belly/ thigh area.
Treatment:
Tried simple surgery first. Vet said it looked like they got it all and biopsy... showed it wasn't cancer. But vet said we would have to wait and see as the biopsies aren't always conclusive. It grew back and fast. Vet sent us to a specialist, who did major surgery. This time morphine was used. Lacy lived about 7 months more. As it was a very fast growing cancer, those 7 months where a bonus.
Personal experience:
Having a really caring vet who understood how I felt along with how Lacy felt. My vet interviewed (interrogated) the specialist to make sure she had enough experience with bunnies to trust with the second surgery. Also, my vet has a hot-line (or rather a phone link to the hot-line) to call for after-hours help. I worried that maybe morphine wasn't good for bunnies. Called the hot-line. They reassured me the Lacy was feeling no pain with the morphine only her mama was... Lacy was such a good girl.
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Bio:
Whisky, a 6.5 lb (3 kg) English Spot male.
Medical condition:
Whisky died at the age of 7 due to a tumour.
Treatment:
We noticed a lump on Whisky's right shoulder. The vet at first believed it was a cyst but when he tried to put a needle in it to take a sample, discovered that it was solid and operated instead. The lump was discovered to be a peripheral nerve sheaf tumour which is common in cats but rare in rabbits, it grows back and no treatment was available to cure the problem. Whisky's lump grew back over the course of several months and we eventually made the decision to put him down. He was not in pain from the lump but it was starting to affect his motility and general quality of life.
Personal experience:
It helped to have a sympathetic vet as we found this a very traumatic illness. The difficulty was in knowing when enough was enough and this was a decision only we could make, not the vet. Whisky was put to sleep at home so he was comfortable and happy in his own surroundings.
