Dogs Sense Scents - Meet the Cancer-Detection Dogs!

I am so very excited to announce my latest project to try to make the entire planet cancer-free. Please read below...

Is it possible that the best medical diagnosis for cancer has four legs and a tail?

Dogs have been deployed for their keen sense of scent detection for many years and for multiple uses, including: agriculture detection, bomb and narcotics detection, criminal apprehension, money detection, contraband, missing persons, police, seizure detection, and bedbugs. There are research centers involved in training cancer detection dogs in the US, Canada, and England. Dogs trained at these facilities have demonstrated as high as 98% accuracy for specific cancers, far exceeding the rates of accuracy of methods currently used and considered the "gold standard" cancer screening methods.

Knowing if you have cancer will soon be only a sniff and a breath away.

In 2004, the principle study conducted in the UK proved that dogs could be trained to detect cancer in humans. The cancer detection dogs have proven that they can accurately detect specific types of cacer through breath, blood or urine. Scientists theorize the dogs are smelling the minute odors of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Taking a breath sample is simple and non-invasive. Using dogs to accurately screen for cancer can, and we believe will, transform the way we approach the diagnosis of the disease.

Have we been barking up the wrong tree?

Current diagnostic methods, including mammograms, x-rays, CT scans, blood tests (such as CA125 and PSA) and biopsies, have the following disadvantages: 

• they are costly.

    • the number of both false positives and false   
    negatives makes them unreliable.

    • they are usually ordered only when the patient 
    complains of symptoms, thus rendering the 
    diagnosis after the disease has already reached 
    an advanced stage, making successful 
    treatment more difficult.

    • they are invasive, and can cause damage to 
    the body, creating collateral illness.

A dog’s nose knows.

.The percentage of a dog’s brain devoted to analyzing odors is 40 times larger than that of a human. We have 5 million olfactory senses in our nose; dogs have up to 350 million.  Here are some illustrations of equivalences of the level of detection of extreme sensitivity and efficiency of the olfactory system of the dog:

1 pinch of salt on 10,000 tons of potato chips

       1 bad apple in 2 billion barrels

       1 to 2 drops in 20 Olympic swimming pools

Help us to help you.

We need exhaled breath samples. We are looking for individuals who have received a medical diagnosis of cancer, but have not yet started any medical treatment (chemotherapy, radiation or surgery), as all treatments change the composition of the samples used to train the dogs. It is essential for us to have these “pure” samples in order to train the dogs to discriminate between cancer and medications.

All we need is your breath.

Those who are interested in participating in our effort will be sent a breath kit with instructions to breathe into the simple and non-invasive device. That’s all we need: samples of breath. We are looking specifically for pancreatic, breast and lung cancer patients to begin our dogs’ training to detect these cancers. (And, btw, our dogs are all carefully selected from shelter dogs, as we are also actively involved in rescuing homeless dogs, and placing them in loving, devoted homes.)

Be a part of the future of eradicating cancer through early detection: the sooner cancer is diagnosed, the more effective any treatment.

Our experience is that a cancer diagnosis often serves as a wake-up call for improvement in life-style as well as treatment, thus also increasing the odds of a successful outcome.

Who We Are:

We represent the combined efforts of Blue Ridge Medical Detection Dogs (BRMDD) and Dogs Sense Scents. BRMDD is a North Carolina registered 501(c)3 Charity. Its Director and Founder, Terri Boyd, is certified to train dogs through scent, and has had experience training bomb and narcotic detection dogs as well as dogs for diabetes diagnosis. Dogs Sense Scents is pending NY state registration as a 501(c) Charity. Its Director and Founder, Jane G. Goldberg, Ph.D., has over 40 years experience in cancer treatment as well as cutting-edge research of cancer therapies. Molly Goldberg, Assistant Director, has a passion for dogs, and says that when she looks into their eyes, she “sees their souls.” She has both volunteered and worked at a no-kill animal shelter in Vermont.

Blue Ridge Medical Detection Dogs Advisory Board:

Wendy Coin, MD; Medical Director, Physician Owner Partner @ The Family Health Centers Denise Henry, DVM; Charlotte Street Animal Hospital

Raymond Thertuline, MD, PhD, Research Director, Oncologist; Asheville Hematology and Oncology,
Park Ridge Oncology, 21st Century Oncology

Jane G. Goldberg, PhD, Oncological Psychologist; Psychoanalyst

Blue Ridge Medical Detection Dogs Board Members:

Terri Boyd, Executive Director & Founder BRMDD; medical dog detection trainer

Amanda Miles-Graeter, CPA

Laura Dressel, MD; Physician Owner Partner @ The Family Health Centers

The Dogs:

Mr. Huey
Black Lab, Male

Huey is in training (it), specifically for the Lung Cancer Detection Dog (CDD) team. He is a sweet, loving hunk of working dog who aims to please. His favorite reward is food, but we continue building ball drive on a daily basis, in hopes of fewer future calories. He loves playing with his canine friends and snuggling on the sofa with his human family! Huey’s drive, focus and willingness to work makes him a great cancer detection dog (CDD).

Ms. Maya
Carolina Dog, female

Ms. Maya, we believe to be a Carolina Dog. She is about 2.5 years old, rescued from death row by Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Maya is our first CDD for our Breast Cancer Detection Dog Team. Maya is so sweet and independent. She’s the defender of all squirrels and hole-digging ground hogs. She is very independent, yet the first to instigate pack play with her canine friends.

Mr. Bo Jango
Lab mix, Male

Mr. Bo Jango is the newest member to the medical detection dog family. He came to us by way of a foster home in Sylva, NC. After being found as a small puppy along the side of the road, his saving family was then greatly impacted by cancer. Long hours away lead the energetic Jango to be placed in foster care at just one-year-old. We are grateful for his foster family who then contacted us.

Dogs Sense Scents Advisory Board:

Dr. Timothy Mann, VMD CVA (for veterinary acupuncture)

Terri Boyd, Executive Director & Founder BRMDD; medical dog detection trainer

Laura Dressel, MD, Physician Owner Partner @ The Family Health Centers

Summer Hall, dog lover

Dogs Sense Scents Board Members:

Jane G. Goldberg, Ph.D., Executive Director & Founder of Dogs Sense Scents;, oncological psychologist; psychoanalyst; author (8 books and numerous articles and blogs)

Molly Goldberg, Assistant Director

Gregg Lalley, Secretary/Treasurer

Contact us for more information:

 Jane:
   JaneGoldberg@JaneGoldbergPHD.com
   212-477-6039

   Terri:
   Terri@BRMDD.org
   828-335-7673

www.BRMDD.org