weeping cyst on nipple

Question
I have a 5 year old female chinchilla Mini Rex. She has not been spayed to my knowledge, but I have been  keeping a very close eye on her as my last female had mammary cancer before we had her spayed. Within the last year my mini rex has developed a sort of soft cyst in/behind her left nipple (when flipped over, just by her front left leg). We took her to the vet who said it should not be harmful or problematic unless it hardened into a sort of tumor. Very recently this cyst has started weeping from her nipple it seems. I wash it regularly with warm water but I don't know how to get it to heal. Do you have any ideas on what may have cause this? And what recommendations do you have to prevent infection?

Answer
Dear Sarah,

I would not be so sure this is not early mammary cancer.  The fact that it does not heal is not reassuring.  If you want to keep it disinfected, then dilute povidone iodine (Betadine) will help, but this will not help if the lesion is under the skin.  If it's an abscess, it should be removed, or at least sampled for culture and sensitivity:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

Please find another vet who is very experienced with rabbits here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and get a second opinion.  The weeping from the nipple is a concern.  If she has to have the lesion removed for biopsy, you might consider having her spayed at that time.  Many mammary cancers are estrogen-sensitive, and removing the ovaries could help prevent cancer from recurring, if this is, indeed, cancer.

I hope all goes well.

Dana