Liver Cancer

Question
Our family rabbit named Flump was recently diagnosed with Liver Cancer.
The vet said a Biopsy COULD be performed, but could be useless. They also
said it could be an Abscess, as he also had a Kidney Stone. They said his Liver
could give out at anytime, as the walls of his liver were weak. What can we
do?

Thanks,
Nick

Answer
Dear Nicholas,

It's impossible to positively diagnose liver cancer without a biopsy, but that would, indeed, be dangerous if Flump is already so compromised.  I would recommend that you find a rabbit-experienced vet for a second opinion on this dire prognosis:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Some people swear by milk thistle extract as a liver tonic, and it would not hurt to give him some.  You can get this at most health food stores.  Vitamin B may also be helpful for liver support; ask the new vet about this.

The kidney stone is a minor problem that may not be treatable at this time.  I'd worry about the liver first.  It would be wise to have bloodwork done to check all the relevant values to be sure the first vet was right about all this.  You don't say how the "cancer" was diagnosed, but I'd want a second opinion, just to be safe.

I hope this helps.

Dana