rabbit with fibrosarcoma cancer

Question
Hi, my precious 9 yr old house bunny Magic had a tumor removed from his shoulder blade 4 months ago. The results came back as fibrosarcoma. His tumor is back and growing. I cannot put him through more surgery so I understand I eventually have to have him put to sleep :( Please, I need to know when is the time to do this? Its about the size of a small egg and is growing. I dont know if hes in pain. He eats, drinks and poops ok. I want to keep him as long as I can hoping he will someday just pass away in his sleep. What will happen to him? The thought of taking him to be put down just rips out my soul. I love him so much.

Answer
Dear Joelle,

This type of cancer is a nasty thing, but--oddly enough--it tends not to be metastatic. This means that it is *locally* invasive to surrounding tissues, but does not usually spread to other areas of the body.

I know of people who have had these tumors removed on a regular basis to keep the bunny comfortable, and just keep doing that for as long as possible.  Surgery and recovery for several months of comfortable living might be worth it, but that will be for you and Magic to decide.

You might also discuss the option with the vet of amputation all the way at the shoulder blade to remove the source cells, if this is a viable option.  Tripod bunnies can live quite happily, and this might be a permanent solution if the tumor has not spread to areas where they cannot be completely removed.

I hope this helps.

Dana