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Dogs smell cancers! I first learned of the ability of dogs to sniff out cancers from a letter published in the prestigious Lancet. It cited a story of a woman whose dog constantly sniffed at a mole on her leg. On one occasion, the dog even tried to bite the lesion off. The constant attention from the dog prompted her to seek medical advice and when the path lab report came back, it was found to be a malignant melanoma! Since it was caught early, the patient recovered fully from this very dangerous cancer and has remained well, with no sign of recurrence. The dog saved her life. In another instance, a man aged 66 years developed a patch of eczema on the outer side of his left thigh, which grew slowly over 18 years, to about 1–2 cm in diameter. When dry, the lesion would become scabby, and it caused occasional itching. Various doctors tried treating it with steroids and antifungal creams, without any benefit. Then a pet Labrador arrived in the home and the dog began to persistently push his nose against his owner’s trouser leg, sniffing the skin lesion beneath it. This prompted the patient to return to his family physician for review. An excision biopsy (removal) showed it to be a basal cell carcinoma. After it was gone, the dog showed no further interest in the area, so the animal was definitely reacting because of the pathology. [Williams H, Pembroke A. Sniffer dogs in the melanoma clinic?. Lancet 1989; 1: 734.]

Dogs smell cancers! I first learned of the ability of dogs to sniff out cancers from a letter published in the prestigious Lancet. It cited a story of a woman whose dog constantly sniffed at a mole on her leg. On one occasion, the dog even tried to bite the lesion off. The constant attention from the dog prompted her to seek medical advice and when the path lab report came back, it was found to be a malignant melanoma! Since it was caught early, the patient recovered fully from this very dangerous cancer and has remained well, with no sign of recurrence. The dog saved her life. In another instance, a man aged 66 years developed a patch of eczema on the outer side of his left thigh, which grew slowly over 18 years, to about 1–2 cm in diameter. When dry, the lesion would become scabby, and it caused occasional itching. Various doctors tried treating it with steroids and antifungal creams, without any benefit. Then a pet Labrador arrived in the home and the dog began to persistently push his nose against his owner’s trouser leg, sniffing the skin lesion beneath it. This prompted the patient to return to his family physician for review. An excision biopsy (removal) showed it to be a basal cell carcinoma. After it was gone, the dog showed no further interest in the area, so the animal was definitely reacting because of the pathology. [Williams H, Pembroke A. Sniffer dogs in the melanoma clinic?. Lancet 1989; 1: 734.]