My rabbit may have cancer

Question
My pet rabbit Butterscotch is a  1/2 year old tortoise shell Holland lop. She has never been seriously sick or injured. Recently we found a lump on her tummy, practicaly under one of her nipples. We took her to the vet, and they tested it declaring it was a group of irregular cells. They said it may be cancer, and we might want to think about getting it surgically removed.
I don't know what to do. Butterscotch seems fine to me - she is as defiant and strong-headed as usuall (as I type this she is breaking into her hiding places and trying to bite cords even though we have blocked all of the places as best we could. i have to go get her quick...). There is only one lump, and it isn't really attached to any tissues or the skin. It is about the size of a computer key and oval shaped.
I really would like to avoid surgery because I have heard that rabbits don't react well sometimes to the anesthesia, and I am considering it becuase it has been about 4 weeks and it has hardly grown and there are no other lumps.
I would really appreciate some help.


Answer
Dear Raenda,

If this does turn out to be cancer (and I hope the vet sent the sample off for histopathology to be sure), then it is certainly best to remove it *now* while it is still small and not likely to have spread.  Mammary tumors are not common in such a young bunny, but they do occur.  And because they are usually estrogen-sensitive, it is also best that she be spayed ASAP.  Ask the vet if the small lump can be removed during a routine spay operation.

No surgery is 100% risk free. But an experienced rabbit vet should have no major problems with surgery like this, as anesthesia is what scares away most vets who are not experienced with rabbits.  Isoflurane or Sevoflurane are the gas anesthetics of choice for most rabbit savvy vets these days, so please ask your vet about what type of anesthesia is used and all about pre- and post-operative care and procedures.  If you are not sure the vet you're seeing is a rabbit expert, then use the list linked here to find one who is:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please also read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

Our rabbit-experienced vets spay literally thousands of rabbits every year, with very few mishaps.  If this lump is cancer, then the risk of her having problems under anesthesia pale in comparison to the risk of her suffering a long and painful death from cancer that was allowed to spread.

I hope this helps you make the decision.

take care,

Dana