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Dog Detecting Cancer in Humans |
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Wet Nose - Early Warning Device for Cancer?
 Dogs have up to 40 times more receptors in their noses than humans and some researchers believe that a dog's sense of smell may actually be 10,000 to 100,000 times better than our own. For this reason dogs are trained to assist border guards, bomb squads and police everywhere by detecting drugs. Dogs are also critical to search and rescue missions because of their keen sense of smell. Dogs are super stars in so many ways.
Being able to establish that a dog can be trained to identify cancer in humans is the goal of a number of ongoing studies. Findings in blind tests have shown that it appears that dogs that have been trained can in fact identify prostate and bladder cancer in urine samples and breast and lung cancer in breath samples... and in some instances with much more accuracy than technical testing can now provide!
Studies are being conducted worldwide into the possibiliy of using Fido's nose as an early warning beacon for cancer in humans according to recent documentaries on the PBS and BBS television stations. The first published document about dogs being able to detect cancer in a human was recorded in 1989 in Lancet, the British medical journal.
Remarkably, in one instance, a dog was able to identify breast cancer from a breath sample that was five years old and whose donor has since actually died from breast cancer. Experiences, by cancer survivors, of pet dogs being able to detect a cancerous growth on their owner's skin were also been given as anecdotal evidence to support these studies. It is believed that dogs can smell the biochemical markers that are produced by canerous cells.
These findings are of course very exciting to consider since almost every person knows someone who has been affected by cancer. Having an early warning device that is efficient, friendly, non-invasive and less costly could be important to everyone everywhere and especially in countries where medical tests are not available or too costly. Yet another star for Fido and all the people dedicated to helping him help us!
Read other people's thoughtful and interesting comments about the documentary here and add your own thoughts about this topic.
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Source Info:
Author: Becca Ross - Freelance Contributer
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