16-year-old with abdominal mass

The age of an animal doesn't particularly influence my recommendations or my opinion of a prognosis as long as the pet is systemically healthy otherwise. I would much rather treat a healthy older pet with cancer than manage a young pet with diabetes or Cushing’s disease or heart failure. Ultimately, I feel as though I can actually better predict how an older, relatively healthy animal will do with treatment than a younger animal with concurrent health issues.

As in people, cancer occurs more frequently in older animals. In fact, it is estimated that close to 50 percent of dogs living to 10 years of age or older will die from cancer. Although the average age at the time of diagnosis will vary with a particular tumor type, most cancers occur in older animals. Therefore, the majority of statistics reporting efficacy and/or side effect rates pertain most accurately to older pets. When I explain this to owners, I often see their relief in knowing they are not alone in considering treatment for their elderly companions.

There is certainly an emotional angle when considering treating geriatric pets with cancer. But what I think is most fascinating is how truly double-edged the angle really is. I’ve treated pets as "youthful" as 18 months and as "ancient" as 18 years. I’ve heard owners of young pets say, "We have to give him a chance! He’s so full of life" just as easily as they say "I can’t see him going through so many months of treatment just to have his already too short life cut even shorter."

Owners of beloved senior animals are just as likely to treat their pet because "he was such a great companion for 15 years, I need to take care of him now” as they are to not treat because “he’s too old and frail to undergo treatment, and I wouldn’t want that for myself if I were his age."

The right choice isn’t always the easiest one for owners, and so rarely would such decisions be defined in black and white. The best I can hope for is to help guide owners through the difficult times and help provide as much factual information and support as possible.

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