Heart Failure, Thymoma, and Veterinary Costs

Hey guys... I took Sweet Pea to the vet yesterday, thinking she had the start of cherry eye. Nope. An x-ray shows a mass in her abdomen, and either fluid in or metastasis to her lungs. So it turns out that her life-long "eye problems" were actually pressure in her chest, and that pet store should go straight to hell with the rest of them. Best case scenario: it is heart failure with fluid in her lungs and a cyst in her chest. I find this very doubtful, and the vet admitted that the chance of a cyst was very low, and it was most likely a cancer. Worst case scenario: enlarged heart with thymoma or another chest cancer that has metastasized to her lungs (he said fluid and tumors appear as the same density in an x-ray).

The medication he gave her, furosemide, is supposed to help if it is liquid in her lungs. I like to think it's working already, but I really can't tell. I think there's some improvement, but I assume the mass is causing a shift that would put pressure on her lungs either way. In any case, if it does work, then that means it is fluid in her lungs and not a spread of cancer, meaning it could still be safe to remove.

The medication will make her urinate more, meaning I will have to clean everything more often. However, I will need to avoid touching her chest, so I can't pick her up to clean anything. I figure I can push her into the holding cage by the rear and hope she doesn't get spooked by it like she sometimes does.

Anyways, he suggested an ultrasound at a cardiac specialist, and if it turns out to be more solid than a cyst, that it should be aspirated to determine what type it is. That's as far down the road as he's given me. The treatment depends on what the tests say it is. He also made sure to say that if it is a thymoma, that there would be few doctors willing to operate on it, since it would be a high-risk treatment.

As it is, I couldn't afford today's vet bill, nearing $500. I could only pay for half and my mother gave up the other half, even though she was going to use that money to get dental work done that she had been waiting for for awhile. I'll pay her back for it next month; she's my responsibility. I get $250 each month (rabbit supplies like food litter and toys, prescription and OTC medication costs, specific foods for managing digestive and intestinal diseases and issue), and the rest goes towards rent. Needless to say, I have no savings.

I honestly considered having her put down. I can't afford even the diagnostic testing to prove that if I can't afford treatment for her, she will die. And the treatment is horrific: very delicate (and hard to find a location that will do it) surgery if it is one cancer and in a good enough shape for surgery, then chemo and hoping for the best (surgery, if she's lucky) if it's another. Then, if it IS heart failure and not metastasis, which is the BEST possible thing, she will be on medication until her heart eventually gives out. The medication itself would come to about $100 each month.

I've been searching for hours looking for financial aid for things like diagnostic testing and long-term medications, but with the recession, it seems nobody is really taking applications, or they have raised their requirements to certain death or they can't help. In 4 months, I could get enough money for the ultrasound, ignoring the price of the medication. Then God only knows how long until I could afford an aspiration. But the longer she waits for treatment, the less likely it is she can be treated successfully for it, and the harder it will become for her.

I just got out of an abusive relationship less than a month ago, and she stuck by me every step of the way, just as loving and understanding as always, no matter how stressful it was on her. I don't want her to hurt just because I have limitations. It's already starting to affect her, too: she ignored her greens last night and just laid in the corner, breathing heavily. The night before that, she ate some, then had to wait until she felt better to have more.

I was just hoping that someone knew what to do. Are there rescues willing to take her and pay for her treatments and NOT have her put down for it? Are there financial aid organizations that will pay for diagnostic testing that I can't find? I understand that even with treatment, the chances of her surviving are still rather low. I'd even be willing to give her up if it meant she could get treated.

But really, I don't know of anywhere or anyone to go about this, and I don't know what the best option is, or even if there's more I don't know of. All of you seem to be so knowledgeable in rabbits, and I really don't know what to do.

In 2 months it will be her first birthday.

I'm so sorry to hear about Sweet Pea. It's so very hard to watch an animal you love dearly suffering so. Unfortunately, I doubt a rescue would take her. I know this is going to sound harsh and uncaring, but...from reading everything, it sounds like the diagnostics and treatment and lifelong medications might just prolong her suffering.

I have a very dear friend that told this to me once: You'll know the time has come to say goodbye when your furry friend no longer has the quality of life that they once had.

Those words come back to me every single time I have to make the decision to try treat one of my fur kids, or end their suffering.

Only you can make this decision. Sometimes, the hardest part of loving something is knowing when to let go...for them. ray:

She will understand that you don't want her to suffer more, if you make that decision. It's hard to know what you'd do in a situation when you haven't faced it, but I think I'd not put her through it even if cost weren't an issue.

The mass in her chest is all she's ever known because she's had the eye problems (which is caused by it) her who life, from what I've seen. And she's always had breathing problems, apparently.

The medicine has made her into a new rabbit, completely. I've never seen her like this, up and running about, not lethargic in the least. She's even learning new ways to destroy her surroundings, finding things she was too tired or incapable of reaching.

If anything, her quality of life has increased compared to before... But I don't know what to do about the mass in her chest. I really do NOT want to give up until it is proven that it is not a cyst, even if the chances are low. Cysts are nothing; they can be drained and everything is fine.

I'm not making the decision yet, I just made my intentions known to him if it gets too bad. But she's better, and that means it's unnecessary until far, far in the future, if it isn't a cyst. I looked it up again last night, and a thymoma would kill a rabbit in 4 months, and since she had it her whole life, I highly doubt it's that.

I just need to keep looking. =(

Ignore the financial stuff and think about what kind of stress snd pain shed be put through. She is so young snd im so glad you had the love of her dupport during your past relationship, but maybe she was just here to help you. Fate works like that. In your shoes i would put her down. Its a very hard decsion and yout not wrong or betraying her if you choose this.

Last year, my rabbit was diagnosed with lymphoma and had a mass in his chest (interestingly, I brought him into the vet because of weepy eyes; I thought he had allergies and turned out to be a mass in his chest).

After searching several vets to help (I had the ultrasound, I even paid for a needle aspirate biopsy), I met one who told me honestly that there was no surgery to help him, even if I had the money to do it. We put him on Prednisone and took him home to live out his life. The pred made him feel much better for a little while and when it got to be too much, I knew it was time. He was under 4 years old when I lost him.

My point of telling this story is that even with money to do all the tests in the world, sometimes therearen't anysolutions, only answers. If the meds your rabbit is on is helping him feel better, I would focus on affording that for as long as you can. Tests will only confirm what the vets think, but it probably won't change the course of action.

I feel for you; it's a difficult position to be in. Hugs to you and to Sweet Pea..

*Hugs*

Perhaps you can discuss keeping her comfy to give you both a little more time to prepare and then face the day together, once that time comes. Perhaps from here to then, you might have a change in finances which can change the situation if you decide to try it. And even then, if not, she will have been loved and cared for until the very end, and to a bunny that's all that matters.

Why don't you set up a paypal account, that your friends and rabbit lovers can donate to. Might help save Sweet Pea

Sorry I don't have alot of insight for you except just to say I'll keep you and Sweet Pea in my prayers. ray:

I'd probably agree with Nela-see if there's a medication you can give her for a while in the mean time to keep her comfy, so that even if eventually the choice in inevitable, you can enjoy some more time with her.