Sniffing out Cancer - Dogs know Scents

Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. - James Dean 

We continue to learn so much about animals and their unique abilities. One ability that has come to light in recent months involves sniffing out Cancer. Sniffing Out Cancer.

In a groundbreaking move, a new course is set to start this Fall. The InSitu Foundation in Chico, CA is offering the first cancer detection dog training certification course starting in Oct 2016. Details.


Overview: Over a decade ago, Dina Zaphiris began to train and research with her dogs in cancer detection. Results show her dogs can indeed detect cancer on human breath and in urine, even at Insitu, the earliest stage. Accuracy rate: 98%  Funding Video.

Uniquely qualified for the endeavor, canine scent sleuthing abilities are extraordinary. Unfortunately, these abilities have yet to be widely recognized and tapped. The more the word gets out on this and the wider the information is shared, the greater the lifesaving potential.

* "Currently, there are approximately 317 million people in the United States. There are approximately 83 million dogs; less than 50 of them have received training to detect cancer." CNN.

Dummies/Dogs says, when it comes to scent receptors, humans possess about 5 million. In comparison, a Bloodhound has 300 million. In other words, we are limited to the Cliffs Notes version in smell awareness while dogs can access an entire library and then some. More insight into that wonderful ability is available through the NOVA feature: Dogs' Dazzling Sense of Smell.

Highlights from Dummies/Dogs:

• "Your dog's nose has a pattern of ridges and dimples that, in combination with the outline of its nostril openings, make up a nose print believed to be as individual and unique as a human being's fingerprints."
• "A dog's brain is also specialized for identifying scents. The percentage of the dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It's been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than nasally challenged humans can."  - Source - Dummies.com

I discovered the Sniffing Out Cancer Project, currently a work in process, through Kim Saavedra, one of my contacts for my Conscious Living Program and immediately wanted to follow up and share the content. Kim has had her own challenge with Cancer and is featured in a promo for the Documentary.



This film promises to bring awareness (and hopefully, wider development and incorporation) of this effective and non-invasive technique to help improve our ability to offer earlier medical support and proactive treatment for a disease where time is a crucial element in determining strategy and methods for successful recovery.

If smell is a factor in detection, who better to rely on than the experts in the field of scentology?

Our undying gratitude we own them for this service, combined with recognition for outstanding past performance in life-saving skills demonstrated on behalf of their human companions. There is no pedestal high enough for hu/man's best friend/s.

Film Producer: Adriana LaCorte
Sniffing Out Cancer
Sniffing out Cancer on Facebook
Insitu - DogsDetectCancer.org
Pine Street Foundation Canine Cancer Research
Dog Diagnoses Cancer story from 2008
This story is about a dog who sniffs out Stress. School Service Dog: Cali


For more interesting notes regarding Dogs and their incredible noses read: 7 Amazing Facts on Dogster