CANCER SNIFFERS
G'day folks,
No doubt you have all been involved with someone who has cancer. I certainly have. Still are. Here is an interesting article about dogs detecting cancer.
Research Shows Dogs Can Smell Cancer.
With
over 220 million olfactory cells, the canine nose is over four times stronger
than the human nose. This is why dogs have been so helpful to us in search
and rescue missions, drug detection, explosive detection and now, even cancer
detection.
McBaine
is a regal-looking dog with attentive eyes that is part of a research held in
the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers say he, and others like him, are
over 90 percent successful in identifying the scent of ovarian cancer, found
in tissue samples. Discoveries like this sheds new light on a disease that
has no effective test for early detection, and kills 14,000 Americans a year.
Past studies have found that cancer-sniffing dogs can also detect prostate
cancer by smelling urine samples, with 98 percent accuracy.
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Despite these findings and stories, there is still some skepticism whether this method can be used on a large scale. As a result, most current research is focusing on how to copy the canine ability to smell the disease, either with a machine or a chemical test. When the dogs "smell cancer", what they really smell are the chemicals emitted by the tumor which are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
Even if dogs will
never be officially used as medical "cancer sniffers" their ability
is still truly remarkable. It's another reminder that they are called
"man's best friend" for a good reason.
Clancy's comment: Amazing, eh? I'm happy to encourage anything that will rid this world of such an insidious disease.
Tonight is White Ribbon Night in Australia. Friday 25 July is White Ribbon Night! Join communities across Australia to unite in support of bringing an end to violence against women by having a night in to get the word out. You can invite two people or 2,000 to your movie night, games night, dinner party, watch the footy with mates ... the possibilities are endless!
We all like to think that our family, friends, neighbours and ourselves are safe at home. Most of us would believe this to be a basic human right but sadly, for many, this is not always the case. On average, one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner in Australia. And one in four young Australians are exposed to domestic violence.
It is our campaign to stop violence against women, and I am a great supporter of the white ribbon movement.
You might like to watch this video!
Think about this!
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