Does cancer have a smell? I wouldn't think so but apparently the most sensitive noses in the world -- those belonging to dogs -- can detect the presence of cancer with alarming accuracy, according to this. Dogs were 99% accurate at detecting lung cancer and 88% accurate at detecting breast cancer, regardless of attempts to mask the smell through food or cigarettes. Apparently, tumors give out small amounts of alkanes and benzene, which have a slight odor, and once a dog is trained to pick up that smell, it has a good chance of detecting it in the future.
Is that amazing or what?
1. Funny enough...I had heard of dogs sensing illness in humans. I'd often looked to my dogs (Jack Russells) to give me an idea if something was wrong. Sometimes you'd look to see if they are cuddling more than usual etc. When I was diagnosed with Leukaemia, I didn't notice any change, I wish I had. Infact, they were their normal excitable selves when I say goodbye as I left the house. During my week off between my Chemo's, they were more excited. Maybe they did sense something or it was the fact they hadn't seen me for 4 weeks.
I still think, dogs can tell more about us than we think. We just might not understand their ways of expressing it.
Posted at 10:49PM on Jun 6th 2007 by Jeremy