Loyal dog detects woman’s cancer days before doctor's diagnosis. Do dogs have a sixth sense?

According to New York Post, Bortner had been feeling fatigued for a year but had no reason to suspect anything serious. However, while scratching a mosquito bite near her breast, she discovered a lump. Aware of stories about dogs detecting cancer through scent, she decided to get checked. A few days later, doctors diagnosed her with stage 2B triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma—an aggressive form of breast cancer that does not respond to common hormonal treatments. “That’s how fast and aggressive this triple-negative breast cancer is,” Bortner said. “It went from non-feel-able, non-detectable to a physical lump within three months.”

The Role of Dogs in Cancer Detection

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the U.S., with roughly one in eight women being diagnosed in their lifetime. Early detection plays a crucial role in survival rates—up to 89% when caught before spreading, but only 31% if it metastasizes.

Scientific studies suggest dogs can detect cancer with remarkable accuracy, similar to what is often portrayed in sci-fi as sixth sense. A 2019 study found that trained dogs could identify blood samples from cancer patients with 97% accuracy. Other research has shown that canines can detect various cancers, including prostate, breast, cervical, and lung cancer, sometimes earlier than traditional medical tests.

“We really underestimate how smart [dogs] are just because they don’t talk and they can’t communicate to us, but their actions obviously show us the things that they’re