Cancer Detection: Trained Medical Dogs Are More Than Man's Best Friend

For centuries, dogs have been trained not only to be man's best friend and companion but also to do certain tasks for humans. In the Artic as well as in Antarctica, dogs pull the sleds that contain heavy loads or are used for transportation. . In some cowboy movies, dogs are shown as effective helpers in herding cows or sheep to wherever the destination is. In these cases, the dogs act as beasts of burden and make the work of their best friends easier.

Nowadays, it's no longer unusual to see dogs working side by side with human police officers. Certain breeds have the knack for sniffing out smells that we humans can't even detect. It is said that dogs have 40 times more capability in detecting smells than humans. The reliability of dogs in sniffing bombs and drugs has been thoroughly tested, they are no longer questioned. As regular members of the police and other law enforcement agencies, dogs have greatly contributed in keeping the neighborhoods safe.

Lately, another innovative application of the dog's superior sense of smell is being developed. Dogs are being trained to detect cancer based on the theory that there is a difference in the smells of healthy and cancerous cells. Proponents of this training program maintain that the difference in smell can be detected in as early as stage one of the cancer. There is one experiment where the .dog correctly got an 87% score in the detection of urine of patients with bladder cancer. To check that the result was not a fluke, more tests were conducted , with the results pointing to a higher than expected accuracy.

The method of training of cancer detection dogs is the same as that in drug and bomb sniffing dogs. Proponents of this program are excited by the potential of early cancer detection using sniffing dogs. Experiments and training are being carried out in different parts of the world and all are amazed at the positive results they are getting.

Opponent are so far, not impressed by the reliability of using dogs to detect cancer. The proponent are not fazed by the non believers and the research continues. Though universal acceptance of cancer sniffing dogs is not likely in the near future, there is reason to believe that the time will come when a dog will become part of a hospital's diagnostic team.

Dogs are no longer just man's best friend. The relationship has developed into various levels. Many incidents have shown that dogs are reliable partners and helpers as well. If sniffing dogs are finally able to reliably detect cancer at its early, treatable stage, then it will be a relationship that is higher than just being best friends.