Although cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, the second leading cause of death, cancer, is not far behind. Further, the death rate due to cancer is growing more rapidly than the death rate due to cardiovascular disease.
Among the various types of cancer, non–small cell lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer, and the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. As with most diseases, early diagnosis greatly improves the likelihood of positive outcome. Unfortunately, lung cancer typically has no symptoms in its early stages. Consequently, it is usually discovered only at a relatively advanced stage.
To make matters worse, even our most advanced radiology tools, such as CT and PET scans, are often inaccurate and unreliable, especially for early-stage cancers. Further, these machines are extremely expensive. and are therefore not used as a general screening technique for cancer when there are no specific symptoms.
Occasionally, a broken rib or chest injury will require a CT scan which will accidentally discover lung cancer. However, what is needed is a way to screen people for cancer at an early stage with high accuracy, especially for cancers with a high mortality rate.
According to an article recently published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a recent study used the ability of scent hounds, in particular beagles, to determine if their highly advanced sense of smell could accurately detect lung cancer.
A dog’s sense of smell is at least 10,000 times more sensitive than a human’s sense of smell. People have approximately 5 million olfactory receptors, while beagles have 225 million.
The researchers began by training a group of beagles for eight weeks, teaching them to distinguish between blood samples from individuals with non–small cell lung cancer and individuals who were healthy. The dogs had been trained to sit down if they walked past a sample of blood in which they smelled cancer, and to simply walk past samples of blood that had no such smell.
After the training period ended, the researchers collected new blood samples from people with and without non–small cell lung cancer, and tested the beagles’ ability to recognize the cancerous lung samples. The accuracy of the dogs was astounding: they accurately distinguished between the samples 97.5 % of the time.
The potential of using dogs to detect cancer is extremely promising. Not only do they provide great accuracy, they can provide this accuracy even at early stages of the disease. In other words, people could be screened for cancer quite easily, in a cost-effective way, at a time at which their chances for survival are at their highest.
The researchers stated clearly, with enthusiasm and optimism, that they expect that scent hounds could be trained to detect a wide variety of cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer — two of the most common cancers. Dr. Thomas Quinn, a professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA, who led the study stated, “Right now, it appears dogs have a better natural ability to screen for cancer then our most advanced technology.”
There is a well-known saying that a dog is man’s best friend. Perhaps this is true in ways we only now beginning to appreciate.
At the Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers, we offer the very best of care in a patient-centered environment. This means following our residents’ health carefully, listening to them, and respecting their capabilities, while helping them to achieve maximum functionality and independence — and always maintaining the highest professional and quality standards in our staff and our facilities. Our 25 years of excellent care have led to us being awarded a Best Nursing Homes award by US News & World Today, a 5-Star rating by USA Today, and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, among many other awards.
Contact us by clicking here to see which of our three facilities will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one.