Cancer Detection Dog Training
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Bio-Dog Medical Scent Detection |
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Bio-Dog Medical Scent Detection would be the more accurate term for this page, but is less eye catching than "Cancer Detection Dog Training" so it lost the title spot. The reason I added the lengthy term though is because the every word promotes the idea of "science". Which is exactly what Cancer Detection Dog Training (CDDT) is. No magic, no voodoo. Just some good solid science applied to the training for our beloved companions. It surprised me when I realized how many people think of cancer detection by DOGS as something fishy; like one of those weight loss scams that offer amazing results, cost a lot and don't actually do anything. I suppose since the science is still very new and the precedence for the original idea was dogs that simply did so naturally, as if by magic, it should not be a surprise that the average person is a bit skeptical. I would like to fix that though.
The Nose
From the day they are born a dog's primary sense is that of smell, and what a sense it is. If you compared a dog's sense of smell to a human's sense of sight, what we could see at a third of a mile a dog could "see" 3,000 miles away with the same perfect clarity. For curiosity sake, an example would be from here in Clearwater as far as the city of Moron, Cuba. That's quite the distance huh?
A dog also has the Jacobson organ, which allows them to smell things that do not compare to sight. They can learn things from scent such as; sex, age, current health, mood and hormonal cues that we humans may guess at with out sight, but do not really Know.
The way a dog's nose works is also different from a human's. When we breathe in and out it is along the same path through the nose. When a dog breathes however, the air comes in from the front and then is expelled out the slits on the sides of their nostril. Additionally the track that air takes from our nose to lungs remains the same for a human, but in a dog that path splits to direct air along the olfactory path lines separately than the path lines to the lungs.
Finally; dogs have three hundred million scent receptors in their nose, where as humans only have five million, and the part of the brain that analyzes scent is 40 times larger than our own.
A dog also has the Jacobson organ, which allows them to smell things that do not compare to sight. They can learn things from scent such as; sex, age, current health, mood and hormonal cues that we humans may guess at with out sight, but do not really Know.
The way a dog's nose works is also different from a human's. When we breathe in and out it is along the same path through the nose. When a dog breathes however, the air comes in from the front and then is expelled out the slits on the sides of their nostril. Additionally the track that air takes from our nose to lungs remains the same for a human, but in a dog that path splits to direct air along the olfactory path lines separately than the path lines to the lungs.
Finally; dogs have three hundred million scent receptors in their nose, where as humans only have five million, and the part of the brain that analyzes scent is 40 times larger than our own.
Detecting Cancer
This field of helping humanity with a dog's nose is my passion and the avenues of study and work are nearly endless. There are so many areas of the body that cancer can attack; Bone, Blood, Brain, Breast, Lung, Ovaries, Skin, Stomach, and those are just a few examples. Each area can also have different strains of cancer attacking it. If I had to pinpoint my areas of interest down to one my priority would be Stomach Cancer. (But I will take any opportunity to start and work up to that goal.)
Dog trainers from around the world have already completed medical studies regarding the potential use of dogs to detect cancer. A few examples of studies done would be for; Lung, Breast, Ovarian and Prostate Cancer. The success rates for sensitivity (Correctly finding cancer samples) and specificity (Correctly ignoring healthy samples) are amazingly high and in many cases outdo the current screening methods rates available. If you would like a closer look at some of the studies I will have them posted on my "Medical Studies" page.
The high accuracy rates are only one of a few reasons why the idea of using dogs as an additional method for screening cancer is so exciting.
Dog trainers from around the world have already completed medical studies regarding the potential use of dogs to detect cancer. A few examples of studies done would be for; Lung, Breast, Ovarian and Prostate Cancer. The success rates for sensitivity (Correctly finding cancer samples) and specificity (Correctly ignoring healthy samples) are amazingly high and in many cases outdo the current screening methods rates available. If you would like a closer look at some of the studies I will have them posted on my "Medical Studies" page.
The high accuracy rates are only one of a few reasons why the idea of using dogs as an additional method for screening cancer is so exciting.
The samples required for training, and thus later for testing, are none invasive in nature. The dogs need only a; Blood, Plasma, Saliva, Sputum, Urine or Breath sample. This is a major improvement from some of the uncomfortable or even invasive nature of some screening methods such as; Mammograms, Prostate exams, and Biopsies. This means that there is no need to fear doing more damage to a possibly healthy patient in order to determine if they in fact have cancer.
The single most amazing factor that the dog's ability brings to the table is early detection. Most current screening methods require a later stage development of the cancerous tumors before being able to make a positive identification. The dogs do not. Because of the nature of their training and natural capabilities a dog does not differentiate between Stage 1 or Stage 4 cancer. This enables them to detect the problem much sooner. The significance of early detection lies in the treatment; the sooner a patient starts treatment for cancer the higher their chances of survival become.
The single most amazing factor that the dog's ability brings to the table is early detection. Most current screening methods require a later stage development of the cancerous tumors before being able to make a positive identification. The dogs do not. Because of the nature of their training and natural capabilities a dog does not differentiate between Stage 1 or Stage 4 cancer. This enables them to detect the problem much sooner. The significance of early detection lies in the treatment; the sooner a patient starts treatment for cancer the higher their chances of survival become.
Certification
When I first started looking into the world of Cancer Detection Dogs I found it surprisingly difficult to locate any information on the subject. The best source of information turned out to be from a web page called the "In Situ Foundation", I combed through its content and found the page simple, informative and welcoming.
Have a look at the page here: http://dogsdetectcancer.org/
From there I found the corresponding Facebook page and was thrilled at all of the videos where I could actually Watch the dogs detecting cancer! Dina Zaphiris posted many interesting topics and cute pictures that left me scrolling down and down for more, but within the content was also hidden treasures of information that I tried to glean about Cancer Detection Dogs. Finally I took a shot in the dark and messaged her personally, and was delighted to have her actually respond to me! (Or rather I think Todd did...) I learned that the In Situ Foundation was organizing a certification program hopefully to be made available in 2017. I was thrilled!
Check out her page here: https://www.facebook.com/getsniffed/
In the fall of 2016 Dina and the InSitu Foundation were officially ready to start teaching and I was desperate to be in that classroom! Although I had no idea how I would be able to raise the tuition fee, let alone travel expenses, I just knew I had to go and so I signed up for her second class on impulse and faith. What remains remarkable to me to this very day is how patient Todd and Dina were with me scrambling to make the money in time, allowing me to make payments and being so very encouraging. Her desire to share her knowledge with others is Such a blessing!
Once I got there (with some much appreciated help and the generosity of Team Gloria of Revelstoke, BC) the course was intensive and covered a mountain of information as well as hands on training with both in-experienced and experienced dogs. It was a fun, eye opening and life changing in the classroom and in the evenings with my fellow students. The InSitu Foundation gave a starting point for literally any hundreds of directions one might chose to take with Bio-Detection and offered support each step of the way, building a collaborated mentality between students across States and Countries.
I cannot be more vocal on how amazing it is that Dina is so passionate about the goal of Cancer Detection Dogs that she would offer her experience and knowledge to others openly. It is a precious gift for someone, like me, who would otherwise be Years away from achieving even a start within the field and a significant boost to the science becoming a reality.
