Cancer affects a substantial proportion of dogs, and treatment decisions involve complex welfare trade-offs between treatment burden and quality of life. Welfare-centered oncology improves outcomes for affected dogs.
Cancer welfare in dogs requires navigating genuine uncertainty about how treatment burden compares to untreated disease progression in terms of overall welfare. Good quality chemotherapy for lymphoma may extend comfortable life substantially with manageable side effects - that is a clear welfare positive. Aggressive treatment for an inoperable, rapidly progressing solid tumor may extend life but not comfortable life - that is a welfare negative. The welfare-centered oncology approach puts QoL assessment at the center of every decision: monitoring the dog's actual welfare indicators throughout treatment, adjusting or stopping treatment when welfare falls below an acceptable threshold, and being willing to transition to palliative care when curative intent is no longer welfare-positive. This requires difficult conversations between oncologists, owners, and the animals themselves through behavioral observation.