Can dogs detect cancer by smell? (Cancer Sniffing Dogs) Let's talk about this amazing ability!

Do you have a beloved dog at home? Then you probably know how close and affectionate these animals are with us. But have you ever thought that your beloved friend can sense that you are about to develop a serious illness? Today we are going to talk about such a surprising and important topic. Claire Guest is a woman from Britain. She also had a very cute Labrador dog, named Daisy. One day, when Claire went to a park with her other dogs, Daisy started behaving very strangely. Without getting out of the car, Daisy kept pressing her nose on the same spot on Claire's breast and licking it. Claire found this very strange. That night, when she got home, she felt the spot where Daisy had been licking. Then she realized that there was a small lump there. She immediately made an appointment to see a doctor.

So, what did Daisy find?

After medical tests , the doctors said that the lump that Claire felt was nothing to worry about, that it was a harmless fluid-filled cyst. However, during the tests that were done at the same time, they found that there was a very early stage of breast cancer in another place nearby. Imagine, if Daisy had not behaved in that way, Claire would have found out about this much later, perhaps after the disease had progressed much further. Claire has received the necessary surgery and treatment and is now fully recovered. The amazing thing is, Daisy is not just any dog. She is a dog specially trained to detect bladder cancer from human urine samples.

How do dogs' noses sense these things?

Is this really possible? How can a dog smell cancer? The science behind this is pretty simple. Simply put, our body cells release various chemicals. These are found in things like our breath, saliva, sweat, and urine. When some types of cancer develop, cancer cells produce special chemicals (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are different from normal cells . Although humans cannot smell these smells, dogs can detect these subtle differences because their sense of smell is thousands of times stronger than ours. Based on experiences like Claire's story and lab tests, researchers believe that dogs can detect and identify cancers like breast, bladder, and prostate cancer by detecting these chemical differences. However, research on this is still in its early stages. So it's not a 100% guaranteed method yet.

Not just cancer, but other diseases that dogs can feel

This amazing ability is not limited to cancer. Research has shown that dogs can detect the early symptoms of several other diseases. But keep in mind, all of this needs further research. And it's not yet clear whether this ability works for all dogs, or if it requires special training.

This amazing power of a dog's nose

A dog sees and perceives the world through its nose. When we sniff it, they usually detect the smell of the soap you use, the smell of the food you just finished eating, or the smell of a small piece of food stuck to your clothes. But in the lab, dogs of breeds such as Labradors, spaniels, and German shepherds have been trained to react to samples containing cancer cells. This is not an easy task. It requires months of training and large samples taken from patients with and without cancer. Dogs' sense of smell is so strong that they can distinguish between two large swimming pools of water, even a teaspoon of sugar. That's as subtle as one part per trillion. And a dog's two nostrils can detect different smells. It's like smelling in 3D. In a study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, dogs were able to detect ovarian cancer from a drop of blood plasma.

This has also inspired technology.

This amazing ability has also inspired future medical technology. Researchers are currently trying to figure out exactly what the "smell" of different types of cancer is, that is, what those special chemical compounds are. Once they've figured that out, the next goal is to create a "digital nose." That is, a device with sensors that can detect these chemical compounds, just like a dog. Imagine, how great it would be if in the future you could go to the doctor, blow into a tube, or give a saliva sample, and even a very difficult cancer could be detected at a very early stage, painlessly, and inexpensively? If that day comes, we should not forget that our beloved, four-legged friends showed us the way.