Skin Cancer: Tumors infected, possible auto-immune problem

Question
Hello,

We have a female (Jackie) that was rescued and came with
numerous problems (when we first got her, she had to
undergo surgery for a very extensive and severe burn on
her back that has healed fine).  We have seen several
vets and rabbit experts about her problems, but I was
hoping maybe someone out there has had some experience
with rabbit skin cancer or auto-immune disorders.  
She had a massive tumor that was infected removed from
the inside of her leg, and seems to have at least two
tumors on her mouth area; one appears to be stable
growth-wise but the other has grown.  Previously a tumor
was removed from her face that was squamous skin cancer,
so we assume these lumps are skin cancer also (the massive tumor on her leg also tested for squamous skin cancer). (You would not believe how many biopsies we've done on this
poor rabbit!)  The vet also said there was appeared to be
an infected tumor in her vulva area and in some of her
mammary glands.  
The vet we took her to chose to not remove the tumors
around her because it would in effect remove much of her
mouth.  She's been on antibiotics essentially since we've
gotten her; has tested positive for MRSA and has on and
off snuffling of white gunk, which has tested for MRSA
but not always.  Right now she's on two antibiotics; TMS
and baytril, as well as a holistic treatment intended to
help with infection (Olive leaf oil extract).  
Despite these miserable conditions, she continues to be
interested in eating, and until we had her on two
antibiotics she seemed to have very healthy poops.  She
enjoys being petted and doesn't appear depressed,
although she does have "fits" of frantically trying to
clean her face, which is very sensitive due to the
infected tumors.  If anything she generally seems simply frustrated.  She has buildup of gunk on her face,
which we try to clean off but it keeps coming back, and
since it's torture for her to have it cleaned, we're not
certain how much good we're doing her.

I know you may not be able to help--it seems rabbit skin
cancer is rare--but I'm trying to find any answers I can.
We're not sure what is best for her; whether to keep her
alive and as comfortable as we can, or to end her
suffering.  It's depressing to see her act pretty
vigorous and energetic, but to have so many problems.  

We are familiar with rabbit.org; it's an excellent
resource that helped with the other rabbits we've owned.
This one's just has much weirder problems than the
others.

Thank you,

Ellen


Answer
Dear Ellen,

Skin cancers are really not very common in rabbits.  And the fact that she has so many recurring tumors all over her body suggests that she may have a mutation that is predisposing her to this cancer.  There may be not much you can do about these things popping up except what you're doing:  palliative care, and medications to keep infection at bay.

One excellent product we've used as a topical disinfectant that can work *wonders* on resistant bacteria is a surgical scrub/detergent called Technicare.  It kills 99% of microorganisms after 3 minutes of contact, and then can be washed off.  We've used it to resolve really nasty abscesses that didn't respond to anything else.  It is *amazing*.  You can get it here:

http://www.imed.com/shop/detail.cfm?sku=K9971&rfr=FRG&zmam=1000941&zmas=21&zmac=...

We clean and debride the infected area as well as possible with chlorhexidene flush, and then apply the Technicare full strength and let it sit for 3 minutes.  Then we wash/flush it well to remove all residue, and pat dry.  It might certainly be worth a try on the mouth lesions making your bunny suffer.  If the infection could be controlled, it could make her a lot more comfortable.

I wouldn't give up on her if she's eating and acting frisky.  This is just something that she's dealing with, and I doubt she'd want to die because she's having some irritation.  Ask the vet about interferon injections.  This can sometimes be used to beat back skin cancers (it has been used with some success against epitheliotropic lymphoma in cats), so it might be worth a shot, if the vet can get an appropriate does for a rabbit.

I hope some of this helps.

Dana