People are revealing the times their pets sniffed the cancer before the actual diagnosis

Animals often come to the rescue of humans, courtesy of their sharp instincts. Their sensitivity to smells, light, and other factors around them adds to their observation and understanding of their surroundings and their human friends. People have shared mind-boggling instances where their pets have used these senses to ingeniously sniff out cancer and other health issues growing in their bodies, as per Quora. Many noted that a certain odor gave them the feeling that something was not right and in many cases, pets were able to sniff out cancer long before its actual diagnosis. These 10 experiences just prove how alert and thoughtful our furry pals can be, and they deserve applause. 

1. 'Cat scan'

"I had two cats, Marmie and Spiffet. Marmie slept with me every night, laying tight up against my chest. Spiffet would lay on my pillow only when I was sick or troubled. When I was sick or sad, Marmie as nowhere to be seen. One night, Marmie refused to sleep with me. He sat on the footend of the mattress and just stared at me. After three nights, I asked him, 'What do you know that I don’t know?' I randomly made an appointment for a mammogram. A biopsy proved cancer. I had a double mastectomy for a rather large cancerous tumor. I went home with 83 stitches and four large drains. I thought Marmie wouldn’t come near me but he jumped on the bed, lay down tight and went right to sleep. Spiffet came and laid next to my head on the pillow. I knew I was okay. When the doctor asked me why I was so sure it was cancer. I told him that I had had a 'cat scan.'" -Analisa Phillips

2. Sniff and smoosh

"My mom’s golden retriever would not leave my abdomen alone. He would smoosh his snoot into my stomach, sniff and repeat. I’d been having a lot of pain and discomfort but figured it was due to ruptured ovarian cysts. He was not a typical golden. He had issues and did not like me at all. For him to approach me was out of the ordinary. This dog would not leave me alone. A few days later, I had a doctor's appointment where they did ultrasounds and found a very concerning mass. I was in surgery the next morning. They found a large benign, peritoneal mesothelioma, a first in the surgeon’s 30-year career. Once I was back and settled, the dog to came near me. He approached, sniffed from a few inches away and walked off. No more interest. Ever again. It was encouraging, strange and relieving. I think the dog absolutely could smell the tumor and the lack of it once I had it removed." -Heather Gunnerson

3. Well in time

"I am a cancer survivor. My cat was constantly sniffing my thigh. When the tumor started causing me pain, I had it checked out. I just thought she enjoyed my scent but it turned out she was trying to tell me something by sniffing that spot and then loving on me right after. Once I had the tumor removed, they sent it to pathology, and it came back positive for non-Hodgekin's lymphoma. It took the doctors a year to figure out why my leg was hurting. My cat figured it out way sooner.  They still caught it super early. Pre-stage 1. I had a 95% cure rate, and get checked regularly. I now pay way more attention to what she sniffs on me." -Kevin McCarthy

4. Wonder puppy

"I had a 3-month-old lab puppy to be trained as my service dog. When I would hold her, she insisted on facing to the right and would nudge and scratch right under my breast. Upon examination, I noticed a lump but not necessarily in the breast, just below it. I was scheduled for a routine mammogram but I moved it up. It turns out that it was cancer but would not have been found in a routine mammogram. It was at the very edge of the breast tissue and it had to be specifically addressed. Had she not found it, it might not have been addressed before it had grown and spread. My surgeon calls her my wonder puppy." -Kim Reed

5. Clingy

"My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year and we noticed our cat was sitting on him every night and fussing around him which he'd never done before. We even said it would be funny to see if after my husband's operation to remove his cancer, our cat would be so clingy around him. He wasn't! It’s quite something to witness." -Daisy Chain

6. Agitated reactions

"When my mom was dying from cancer, she started having hostile encounters with dogs, dogs who had known her and liked her prior to cancer and strange dogs. About three months before I was diagnosed with kidney failure, my own two dogs started acting strangely around me. They didn't want to take treats from my hand, which they'd done eagerly for nearly 10 years. One day one of them bit me and broke skin but they still continued to treat my husband as they always had, with affection and enthusiasm. My heart was broken over this. Then one day, the dog next door rushed me and bit me. I had previously played with him and he'd always been friendly to me. In retrospect, I believe it was because the dogs could smell or some other way sense the disease." -Cris Smith

7. Selfless senses

"Before my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, my cat had taken to smelling her armpit. We thought nothing of it until my mom felt a lump where he had been smelling. She was stage 3 when she was diagnosed and is 13 years out now. Unfortunately, we lost that cat during my mom's treatments. Ironically, we lost him to cancer." -Madison

8. 'Lick of approval'

"One of our poodles detected the spot of angiosarcoma on my nose. I was treated successfully with radiation and had most of my nose removed and reconstructed. Jackson checks me out every few days and I still get the lick of approval. My oncologist believes that some dogs can detect cancer. Now, I’m a believer too." -Bill Johnston

9.  Listen

"My precious Mini always sits in my lap. She started turning around and scratching at my left side frequently. I'd had a twinge or two, but nothing I would have gone to the doctor about. I had read an article in Reader's Digest about dogs that smell cancer. I went to the doctor and was treated for a UTI but my twinges and Mini's behavior continued. I begged my doctor for an ultrasound. It revealed a tumor the size of a small orange on my left ovary. My cancer was diagnosed at stage 1 when most ovarian cancers are not diagnosed until stage 3 or 4. I fully credit Mini with saving my life. If your dog is trying to tell you something, listen." -Melanie Pallatt

10. Unusually 'obsessed'

"Let me take you back to the worst night of my life. I had cancer. Not the 'caught it early, easily treatable' kind. Mine was the kind that crept up silently. The kind that almost won. One night, before my diagnosis, my dog started acting strangely. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept sniffing me, licking my arm, whining like something was wrong. He had always been affectionate but this was different. He was frantic. Obsessed.
I laughed it off at first— 'Maybe I spilled something on my shirt?'—but the behavior didn’t stop. I wonder: Did he smell it before I knew? And yet, there was a moment, long before I had any clue what was growing inside me when I remember catching a faint, metallic scent on my own skin. I didn’t think much of it. But in hindsight? Maybe that was my body whispering before it started screaming."  - Lisa Macdony

Dr. James Anderson, an oncologist, shared why cancer can have an odor. "These odors result from the metabolic processes of cancer cells, which can differ significantly from those of normal cells," he noted. He insightfully added that dogs have a "highly sensitive olfactory sense and can detect certain types of cancer, including lung, breast, and colorectal cancers, by smelling breath or urine samples from patients."

A doctor, John Henning Schumann, noted, "I heard about these dogs at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Working Dog Center that are able to smell ovarian cancer. They're able to detect it as early as stage one. We're not even talking tumors here. They're able to detect ovarian cancer in one drop of plasma from a woman with ovarian cancer," per NPR. He added, "They can sniff in parts per trillion." Humans have six million olfactory receptors, which aid in smelling and sensing. However, dogs have up to 300 million of these, making their sense sharper and accurate.