Smelling cancer!

I didn’t notice any scents or smells, my breast did itch intermittently for about a year or so. They ultimately told me that itching can be a sign of cancer. It itched right on the nipple area. I thought at first, dry skin but nothing seemed to help. When I finally remembered to tell my Dr, she did a mammogram and then they did an ultrasound. They saw something but after looking at older mammograms decided it was just dense breast. They should have looked further as 18 months later I had a 16mm cancer. So yes, anything different; smells, dimples or itching could be your early warning sign of cancer.

Welcome @mayfisher. What type of breast cancer did you have? Is this a recent diagnosis? Are you in treatment?

Yes I’m in treatment. On Sept 27, 2023 I had a lumpectomy, no lymph node involvement. I’m supposed to start radiation therapy next week. I was diagnosed with cancer via a biopsy on Aug 15,2023. It’s been a bumpy rough road for me. I fully understand the journey now.

Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience with us:) I am so glad that you followed your gut feeling and got it checked out by your gyno in time for early detection / starting treatment early.

I just joined this group discussion recently and found this topic to be very helpful. Could you please let me know where can I find that article that you mentioned: "one random medical journal from India" linking body odor to breast cancer, please?

Hope you've been well, healthy and happy since last year:)

Yes! I wished I knew that before finding out I had breast cancer(w/huge 94mm tumor). But for months my chest smelled like garbage 🙁 Glad I did double mastectomy in beginning and avoided multiple surgery's and chemo.

It's six months now since my breasts were removed, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, hormone receptive. The surgeon says he "thinks" he got it all. But with each passing day for the last couple months now, the sickening smell that I detected prior to my cancer diagnosis is back again, stronger than before surgery!! And nobody around me smells it except me, and I'm thinking they don't believe me!! The surgeon acts like I have three eyes when I ask if the smell means the cancer is still there!!! How can THEY who work around cancer all the time NOT detect this thick-oily-sweet-almost puss like- foul odor?!?

wow I never heard of that either. I don't smell anything and I have a 9 cm mass in my left breast. I hope you get to the bottom of this and let us know ..
kay

My happy, friendly Wirehaired Pointing Griffon became an aggressive guard dog for no apparent reason during a conformation training class. Several of the gals in class told me to "get to a doctor and get checked out because he smells something." Turns out, I did have breast cancer. My happy dog reacted the same way prior to my second recurrence, and he continued to guard me even though the surgeon said I only had scar tissue. Now that I have received a third cancer diagnosis, he still guards. My dog was correct; the surgeon--not so much.

I too have smelled this type of ammonia smell as well. I smelled it when both my parents had cancer and now I'm concerned for myself. I have been smelling this odor again on myself now for a couple months. I've expressed this to my doctors and they just shrug it off like it's impossible. I do believe
there is something to it .

Call your doctor and insist that you have mammograms ultrasounds but better yet an MRI it will show for sure if you have cancer if both your parents had it there’s a huge chance that you will have it if your doctor won’t do that change doctors but get done. If it’s cancer it’s growing while you’re sitting here typing this message so please call your doctor and demand that he orders it it’s your body not his.