Skin cancer detection

[Skylace]

I thought this was pretty cool. I am big on keeping my skin protected. I moisturize at least twice a day. Wash it at least twice a day and always have at least SPF 15 (usually higher) in one form or another on my face. I am also sure to protect my skin on the outside areas. It's the largest organ we have and we tend to forget out it.

[faceless]

I saw something on the tv the other day about dogs being able to detect quite a few forms of cancer by smell alone. Skin cancer is easiest for them as it's on the skin, but they can even detect lung cancer from smelling a person's breath - brilliant.

[Skylace]

That is amazing Face. I haven't seen that. I'll have to look that up. We must be so glad we domesticated them! I know I am!

[faceless]

Dogs Smell Cancer in Patients' Breath, Study Shows
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
January 12, 2006

Dogs can detect if someone has cancer just by sniffing the person's breath, a new study shows. Ordinary household dogs with only a few weeks of basic "puppy training" learned to accurately distinguish between breath samples of lung- and breast-cancer patients and healthy subjects.

"Our study provides compelling evidence that cancers hidden beneath the skin can be detected simply by [dogs] examining the odors of a person's breath," said Michael McCulloch, who led the research.

Early detection of cancers greatly improves a patient's survival chances, and researchers hope that man's best friend, the dog, can become an important tool in early screening. The new study, slated to appear in the March issue of the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies, was conducted by the Pine Street Foundation, a cancer research organization in San Anselmo, California.

Dogs can identify chemical traces in the range of parts per trillion. Previous studies have confirmed the ability of trained dogs to detect skin-cancer melanomas by sniffing skin lesions. Also, some researchers hope to prove dogs can detect prostate cancer by smelling patients' urine.

"Canine scent detection of cancer was something that was anecdotally discussed for decades, but we felt it was appropriate to design a rigorous study that seriously investigated this topic to better evaluate its effectiveness," said Nicholas Broffman, executive director of the Pine Street Foundation.

Lung- and breast-cancer patients are known to exhale patterns of biochemical markers in their breath. "Cancer cells emit different metabolic waste products than normal cells," Broffman said. "The differences between these metabolic products are so great that they can be detected by a dog's keen sense of smell, even in the early stages of disease."

The researchers used a food reward-based method to train five ordinary household dogs.

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[Skylace]

That is so amazing. Thanks for posting it Face. I've not heard this on the news!

[eefanincan]

It is so true about the dogs.... I truly believe this since my dog is always bothering my mother-in-law's legs and she's constantly having stuff burned off them (pre-cancerous lesions).

BTW Sky--- great article. I can't imagine how you heard of it

[Skylace]

[eefanincan]

[Skylace]

[luke]

this surprised me ... although i'm quite pleased

[faceless]

Marijuana smokers are at less risk of lung cancer than non-smokers?! Brilliant - I should live till I'm a hundred then!

[eefanincan]