Years ago, perhaps when she was just sixteen years of age, she developed a small growth over her left eye.  The veterinarian who looks after her didn't think much of it at the time.  Nor did we.  But the thing had a habit, over the succeeding years, of growing, then bursting.  At first we thought it would disappear.  It hasn't, it has remained there, sometimes irritating her, in turn growing, then bursting.

It is dreadfully unsightly, and obviously it becomes uncomfortable for her from time to time.  It hadn't occurred to us originally to ask whether it could be cauterized surgically, and our veterinarian hadn't suggested it.  Now that she's so much older, and though robust enough, in her 20th year, we consider her too physically frail to undergo any kind of intervention.

From time to time, when the damn thing bursts there is a generous flow of blood that she staunches by rubbing her face against whatever happens to be handy, necessitating some clean-up afterward if we're not sufficiently aware.  She herself precipitates breakage of the head when she tends to rub it too vigorously.  It doesn't present that much of an irritant to her, mostly when it has grown to a hefty size.

We're fortunate that she remains interested in everything around her, and despite her blindness manages to negotiate herself around obstacles, only bumping into objects occasionally, and we wince each time that happens.  We must guard her from stairs and anywhere she could fall, otherwise she does very well indeed.  Using a harness and keeping her on a fairly short leash assists her to negotiate the woodland trails we take her to daily.

As for her food, she relishes it far more now that she is elderly than she ever did when she was young.  Small irritants apart, like that growth over her eye, she is doing very well indeed.