| The medical treatment of dogs with cancer is largely palliative. Decisions made for the choice and duration of treatment often require that the clinician and the owner assess the quality of life (QOL) of the patient. Thus, it is important to have an efficient tool to assess QOL of the companion animal. We have utilized the extensive literature from pediatric and oncology proxy questionnaires, and the limited veterinary literature in order to develop a comprehensive but easy to use survey instrument focused on companion animals treated with chemotherapy for metastatic cancer. Their QOL was assessed before and during chemotherapy. This allowed a more objective assessment of QOL that will be of value to the animals, their owners and the veterinary professionals. Our results indicate that the dogs had decreased QOL due to their disease, but there was a significant QOL improvement during the first 6 weeks of their treatment. Statistically significant predictors of the owner-perceived QOL were the dog's level of illness, and their level of playfulness. |
