You might be surprised to hear that there are dogs that can detect cancer. Some dogs can even detect cancer with greater accuracy than can sophisticated medical equipment. This was first tested with lung cancer. Dogs who detect cancer do so via breath samples, and there is a connection between breath and lung cancer obviously.

A talented dog can detect lung cancer via breath at ninety-nine percent accuracy. For breast cancer, they can detect at eight-eight percent. Recently, scientists are working to see if dogs can detect ovarian cancer too.

You have to train the dogs to do this first. The dogs are trained by putting breath samples into identical boxes. The boxes are weighted down with concrete slabs so the dogs don’t knock the boxes over.

Who thought up this unusual means for testing? Michael McCulloch is the researcher currently working on this project. He’s with the Pine Street Foundation, and is conducting the experiments in partnership with the University of Maine. He has tested four different dogs, and each had to accurately identify a correct sample thirty times.

Why would scientists bother with dogs for cancer detection? Survival rates for ovarian cancer aren’t the best – about five years. Catching this cancer early is the key to better survival chances. Unfortunately, it usually has few symptoms until it progresses to a stage that is difficult to treat.

Sometimes traditional medical tests can find this form of cancer early, but not always. If it is possible for a dog to smell ovarian cancer before a test could find it, this would greatly increase the patient’s chances for successful treatment.

The same can be said of other types of cancers. Lung cancer survival rates are also strongly dependent on how early the cancer is found. Breast cancer can be this way too, some forms are aggressive and grow quickly. Mammograms can detect tumors before we can find them with self-exam, but it would be even better if you could find the presence of cancer before it could be picked up by mammogram.

Don’t fall for hype of herbal remedies or cures for cancer, these don’t actually exist. There may be herbs that can help you, and can be used together with traditional treatment, but you need to discuss this with your doctor. Always tell your oncologist and doctor what herbs you are considering before you start taking them, because some herbs can interact with chemotherapy.

Access various other educational articles written by this author dealing with products like plastic wine glasses and unbreakable wine glasses.