Did you know that some dogs can detect cancer, and sometimes they are even more accurate than scientific equipment? This was first tested with lung cancer via breath samples. It seems there's a direct connection.
Actually, dogs are ninety-nine percent accurate in detecting lung cancer in this way. They also can detect breast cancer at eighty-eight percent. The next cancer that researchers are trying to see if dogs can detect will be ovarian cancer.
Some dogs really enjoy this type of work, so the researchers who test and train them have to weigh down the sample boxes. Breath samples are put into identical boxes, and then the dogs are brought in to sniff them to see which is the sample of someone with cancer.
Michael McCullouch, with the Pine Street Foundation, is the researcher conducting the tests. He's working in partnership with the University of Maine. He has four dogs, and they accurately identified the correct sample (the one with cancer) 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 ovarian cancer early, but not always. That's where the dogs come in. If a god can find it earlier than a test can, then the patient has a better chance of 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.
Be careful if you are taking or considering taking herbal supplements. There are no herbal remedies for cancer of any kind. Some herbs may help, but this is something you will need to discuss with your doctor and oncologist. Don't think that just because herbal supplements aren't prescription medicine that they are harmless - some actually can interact with chemotherapy medication.
Actually, dogs are ninety-nine percent accurate in detecting lung cancer in this way. They also can detect breast cancer at eighty-eight percent. The next cancer that researchers are trying to see if dogs can detect will be ovarian cancer.
Some dogs really enjoy this type of work, so the researchers who test and train them have to weigh down the sample boxes. Breath samples are put into identical boxes, and then the dogs are brought in to sniff them to see which is the sample of someone with cancer.
Michael McCullouch, with the Pine Street Foundation, is the researcher conducting the tests. He's working in partnership with the University of Maine. He has four dogs, and they accurately identified the correct sample (the one with cancer) 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 ovarian cancer early, but not always. That's where the dogs come in. If a god can find it earlier than a test can, then the patient has a better chance of 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.
Be careful if you are taking or considering taking herbal supplements. There are no herbal remedies for cancer of any kind. Some herbs may help, but this is something you will need to discuss with your doctor and oncologist. Don't think that just because herbal supplements aren't prescription medicine that they are harmless - some actually can interact with chemotherapy medication.
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