Urgent - bunny cancer

Question
My bunny had a small lump on the bottom of her right hock 3 months ago. It fell off and the vet stitched her up. The biopsy came back saying it was a low grade Soft Tissue Sarcoma. My vet explained the chances of it growing were close to zero. Three months later the lump grew back. She had surgery this morning to have it removed. He was able to remove most of it, but a few little pockets are still there as it is entwined around nerves, ligaments and vessels. We have sent the biopsy off and will have it back in 10 days. UGH. The Xray from this morning does not indicate it has spread into the lungs (but the vet said one can't say for sure). I am concerned that in the 10 day period waiting for her biopsy results the cancer is going to spread to her organs.

My questions are

1. Is this likely to spread in the next 10 days?
2. Is this a death sentence or could radiation/chemo or worst case scenario an amputation solve the problem?

She is 7 years old. Never had any illnesses and is eating and drinking as usual (except for this afternoon after surgery). We live on a small island that does not have any rabbit specialists. I am hysterical. Please advise!

Thank you!

Amanda

Answer
Dear Amanda,

Good news and bad news.  First the good:  Soft tissue sarcomas like this tend not to metastasize readily.  Rather, they are locally invasive, and can be painful once they get into innervated areas.

The bad news:  This is likely to recur, especially since the vet was not able to get it all out.  In some cases, if the lesion becomes really painful and large, it is best to simply amputate the affected limb.  This is a difficult decision, but if bun is not able to use the leg and it's just causing constant pain, then it is usually best removed.

We are currently wrestling with this problem with our own Vash, and are not really sure what to do.  So I'm not going to pretend this is an easy decision. But do know that even if it comes to amputation, that many bunnies do great as tripods.

I hope your girl will be fine.  And note that these tend to grow quite slowly, so 10 days it not going to make or break this situation.

Take care,

Dana