Smelling cancer!

This is interesting...I certainly heard of dogs smelling cancer on their owners. Sometimes it's the first clue one does have cancer...
First, I remember when my brother (unknown to us, at first) was developing lung cancer. His wife said his breath was horrendous! She couldn't stand to be in the car with him, it was that bad.
Second, I have noticed many times my urine had an off-smell. Someone said like "cat pee" and I would agree with this as well as the ammonia smell. I thought it was a result of all the medications I take. I had my bilateral mastectomy in May 2025. But occasionally I still smell it in my urine. I had one positive lymph node...I am going to try the spoon test. Since my concussion and subsequent development of migraines my sense of smell is really sharp. Thanks for sharing this "oddity??" everyone.
We all can't be crazy, there is certainly something to this - the smell of cancer.

Hi！Briarrose:

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

Could you please let us know what is "the spoon test" that you are going to try? I've never heard of it before, so they say curiosity kills this cat:)

Thanks!

I just read it in one of the posts on this subject. Someone (don't know who) said they were going to lick a spoon, wait for it to dry and give it a whiff.
I suppose what we are looking for is a cat pee odor or ammonia odor...these 2 "smells" were mentioned and, as I said, I smelled it in my own urine, not all the time but enough for me to notice.
Now here's the thing...if we DO smell these odors - what do we do with this information?
Notify our breast oncologists of it? "Hey Doc, my urine smells like cat pee, my cancer is back!"
Have no idea if any oncologist would be on board with this possible "cancer warning??"
But we all are not wacky...thoughts anyone?

This is very interesting; I did not notice a smell, but my dog kept smelling my right armpit -and for about two years! In April I was daignosed with atypical duct hyperplasia and following lumpectomy, LCIS -and both in my right breast. And I thought I wonder if my dog can sniff cancer!

I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy on July 9 and I'm awaiting tissue results - I was betting with friends if I have anything more, it will be in my right side because my dog kept sniffing that armpit. She continued to sniff my right armpit post lumpectomy, but I thought that was because she could smell an injury - maybe she could still smell cancer present? If I evidence more than precancer in my right breast path report, I am going to try to find a dog training group that works with animals that can sniff out cancer; hoping to offer my dog to help other people get earlier diagnoses. Who knows maybe my breast surgeon, or others in my local BC community, would be interested in looking more into this situation - or maybe a larger national study? The idea that we could smell something different, or our children, or our pets is very intriguing.

I sent my dog to "doggy summer camp" until I have my drains out (hopefully tomorrow) and I kind of wish you were here for a comfort -and also to continue sniffing my right armpit, or not, as an indication of whether something is still present. Time will tell... I will update post tissue path results and following me picking up my fur baby. Just in case anyone is wondering my dog is an Australian Shepherd. Not truly a scent breed, but one would imagine they're pretty good at catching the scent of predators to protect their flocks.

An Australian Shepherd is a great dog.
You have a good plan in place.
There is no doubt in my mind dogs and smell cancer. Their "smelling" abilities, I think, are about 200x greater than a human.
Keep us posted on the final pathology results, very often different from what the surgeon originally thinks.
Hang in there...best of luck to you!

Hi! @briarrose:

Thanks for explaining the "spoon test" and presenting this great question!

Indeed, if we DO smell these odors - what do we do with this information? Depending on which physicians of yours that you feel more comfortable with should be the one that you contact with this new information, I guess. If it happens to me, I'll contact my PCP (primary care physician) first, because she knows my overall health the best. I imagine that my PCP and I probably will then discuss the various options to go about this, such as: simple blood test to check tumor markers, for example CA15-3, CA19-9, and Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), etc. If any of these tumor markers are elevated above normal range, then we'll probably discuss these situations with my medical oncologist and ask for MRI or PET scans accordingly. The journey of fighting the disease of cancer surely is not an easy one but we need to strive on.

Wishing you all the best journey ahead with hope, peace and better health to enjoy your loved ones!

I can smell cancer. I am struggling trying to find someone who will be willing to test me. I feel like no one believes me but I smelled it on my husband (50) and best friend (52). It’s a very distinctive smell. I wish I could get someone to test me.

Hi! @michsol:

I am so sorry for what you have been through! It is so frustrating feeling like nobody believes in you; but believe me, we - your friends in this connect-group - believe in you.

How's your communication relationship with your PCP (primary care physician)? I think your PCP should know your overall health condition the best - especially if he/she also treats your husband. If you bring up your concerns to your PCP, perhaps you will then discuss the various options to go about this matter, such as a simple blood test to check various tumor markers in your blood. If any of these tumor markers are elevated above normal range, you can then discuss these issues with your medical oncologist with more confidence and ask for imaging tests such as: MRI or PET scans accordingly.

Best wishes to you all!

@michsol
I’m curious, can you zero in on where you have the cancer smell?

I believe all of you because my son has always had a bloodhound sense of smell and could smell bad things I couldn’t smell at all. For one, he has always told me it’s hard for him to be near old people because they have a smell of decay. I wonder if he was smelling cancer on any of them? I guess a heightened sense of smell can be a blessing or a curse.

So I’m about to have a mammogram biopsy and ultrasound this week after finding a large lump in my breast and the reason why I went looking for this as a few months ago I could smell a different smell coming from my chest . At the time I thought it was some sort of different bacteria creating a different kind of a smell. I am like you in terms of having a very sensitive nose. I know I can smell things that other people can’t exactly like the gas leak that I smelt in a friends place when they’ve come out and done testing and cannot detect it exactly the same as you!! I’ll find out my results hopefully in the next 10 days. Let’s see if my sensitive nose is picked anything up.