Trying to gauge if the date of my rabbit's oncology consult is reasonable or if I'm just being a helicopter mom?

[_guavas]

Hi all,
My bun Max (9 years old, neutered Mini Rex) was officially diagnosed with thymoma. He was dealing with a particularly bad bout of stasis paired with some concerning panting and they decided to do ultrasounds, aspirate, CT, etc and confirmed it on Monday. They promised test results in 24 hours but I heard nothing and sent an email on Wednesday. No response, so I called Thursday, was promised a call back, heard nothing. Called Friday and was told EOD I'd hear from someone. Ended up calling around 4:45 and was told they'd have to get back to me. Finally talked to someone around 8:30.

I was then told I needed to schedule a teleconsult with an oncologist to discuss treatment which is fine. However, I was told the earliest available date is August 23rd. I was kind of taken aback but took it. Guess what I'm asking is if this is typical? Do they usually take this long? I'm trying my best to be conscientious of current situation/how crazy things must be especially since it's an animal hospital and they must be stressed, but I can't help feeling very anxious about this.Thank you.

 

[JBun]

I would imagine that covid is making everything more complicated and backing things up. There aren't a lot of members that have experienced having a rabbit with a thymoma, which is why you haven't had a response yet. I did have a rabbit with this, but radiation wasn't an option, so he was treated with medications. He lived for several months with this condition and still had a good quality of life. I wouldn't think a couple of weeks wait being a problem for your rabbit, but I guess it would depend on how advanced it is and what symptoms your rabbit is currently having. I would say ask your vet about this, but it sounds like you are having problems getting a response from them. You can try taking a look at these articles on thymoma. They might give you a better idea of what to expect.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thymoma_Guzman_et_al.pdf (radiation therapy for thymoma in rabbits)
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thym/thym_irradiation.pdf

 

[_guavas]

I would imagine that covid is making everything more complicated and backing things up. There aren't a lot of members that have experienced having a rabbit with a thymoma, which is why you haven't had a response yet. I did have a rabbit with this, but radiation wasn't an option, so he was treated with medications. He lived for several months with this condition and still had a good quality of life. I wouldn't think a couple of weeks wait being a problem for your rabbit, but I guess it would depend on how advanced it is and what symptoms your rabbit is currently having. I would say ask your vet about this, but it sounds like you are having problems getting a response from them. You can try taking a look at these articles on thymoma. They might give you a better idea of what to expect.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thymoma_Guzman_et_al.pdf (radiation therapy for thymoma in rabbits)
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cancer/Thym/thym_irradiation.pdf

Thanks so much for the response! He’s very lively and eating well, it’s just hard watching him pant after hopping a little too fast and have to lay down for awhile to recover from it.
they said it was larger than expected which I think is feeding into my fear. I did reach out, and they said if anything earlier opens up they’d schedule the consult sooner.
thanks for resources as well! I was looking for reassurance, and I feel a little lighter with you telling me your bun was still happy right up to the end in just medications.

 

[JBun]

Yeah, he did pretty good despite having that. Mostly he had mild to moderate increased respiratory effort, he developed mild sebaceous adenitis, and he gradually started losing some weight. But he was still very happy to eat all his usual foods, and hop around and snuggle with his bun friend.

 

[hasek39]

I don't know anything about thymoma, however 5 days for a response with multiple tries from you? I'd be looking for a new vet. Covid or not, that's a complete lack of professionalism and customer service.

 

[Nuage]

Have you gotten a response back?

 

[Pumpkins]

My Lucy Lou had a fast growing cancer called Sarcoma. The vet took 4 days to get me the lab results from the biopsy. I then took her for a full CT scan to see how far it had advanced and paid £100 to get the resulted expedited. I rang the vet (specialist) to get the results and was told the vet wouldn't have time to speak to me- I asked for the results to be emailed to me- the vet finally rang 3 days later. Miss Lucy passed a week later. From the time I first alerted the vet of a spot on her ear, it took 3 months before I could get any action from 3 different vets. I feel that if they had acted sooner Miss Lucy would probably still be here. I think some vets are in the business to extract money and have no empathy for the animal or the owner sadly.