Labradoodle's persistent sniffing leads to early melanoma diagnosis in Chicago Heights woman
核心洞察
A family labradoodle named Zeki repeatedly pressed his snout into Karen Daggett's armpit during a 2022 vacation, prompting her to notice a painful lump she might otherwise have missed.
Doctors subsequently found three cancerous growths in her lymph nodes, leading to a melanoma (搜索) diagnosis and surgery to remove 17 lymph nodes followed by immunotherapy (搜索).
Oncologist Dr. Ari Seifter noted the early detection was a major factor in successful treatment, and that immunotherapy (搜索) has become a mainstay for melanoma (搜索) because chemotherapy is ineffective.
When Karen Daggett of Chicago Heights goes to her doctors at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, she is known as the "dog patient" — a bittersweet reminder of a family pet that may have saved her life. Zeki, a black labradoodle belonging to Daggett's granddaughter, repeatedly pressed his snout into Daggett's armpit during a family vacation in Louisiana in 2022, an unusual behavior that ultimately led to an early melanoma (搜索) diagnosis.
"He came over and stuck his nose right into my armpit," Daggett said. Zeki would not budge, and a family member had to pull the dog away. "I was surprised he did it." When Zeki pressed his snout into the area, Daggett noticed it hurt, and afterward she felt something that did not seem like it should be there. "If it hadn't been for Zeki, I don't know how long it would have been before I found the lump," she said.
Zeki, who has since died after a battle with spleen cancer, belonged to Daggett's granddaughter, Anastasia Shriver, a professional handler who had trained Zeki to visit residents in a nursing home. Daggett emphasized that Zeki was not trained to detect cancer; rather, his unusual behavior alerted her to something she might not have noticed.
Diagnosis and Treatment
After noticing the lump, Daggett saw her primary care doctor. A mammogram and ultrasound revealed three cancerous growths in her lymph nodes, and she was diagnosed with melanoma (搜索). She then underwent surgery to remove 17 lymph nodes and began a course of immunotherapy (搜索).
Now cancer free, Daggett, 74, still sees her dermatologist, oncologist and surgeon every six months. She said she was told, "If this had happened 10 years ago, they would have given you six months," underscoring how recent advances in treatment changed her prognosis.
A Clinician's Perspective
Dr. Ari Seifter, the oncologist/hematologist at Advocate Christ Medical Center (搜索) in Oak Lawn who has been treating Daggett, said that the first time he discussed her cancer diagnosis, she told him, "My dog found this."
Seifter said he had read anecdotes about dogs sniffing out various maladies, but noted that a canine being able to detect cancer would likely be hard to verify with the same "rigor" as other scientific questions. Still, he is not a total skeptic. "It seems like something that could be possible," said Seifter, a dog lover himself. "Any chemical can be detected by olfactory means and there are definitely proteins and things produced by cancer (that might emit an odor)."
"We know some animals have a more keen sense of smell than we do," Seifter added. He also said there was something to Daggett's experience with Zeki sniffing the exact spot where the lump was. "It doesn't seem like a coincidence," he said.
Regardless of the mechanism, Seifter emphasized that the episode led to the cancer being identified early, which was a big factor in the successful treatment. He said one reason for Daggett's successful treatment was that she went to the doctor soon after finding the lump.
The Role of Immunotherapy
Seifter noted that patients like Daggett were fortunate to have access to immunotherapy (搜索), which has been used increasingly for different forms of cancer in the past decade, because chemotherapy does not help melanoma (搜索). Side effects are not usually as painful, either. "It has become a major mainstay for treatment of several types of cancer," he said.
Seifter also observed that it was no surprise if more cases of melanoma (搜索) were found now in older people, because in the past there was not the same knowledge and vigilance about avoiding the sun or using sunscreen.
Recognizing Changes in the Body
Patients at Advocate are advised to see their primary care doctor if they notice different skin abnormalities, including a new lump, lesion or swollen lymph node, a mole or skin spot that changed size, shape or color, unexplained pain or tenderness, or a wound that did not heal. Seifter stressed the importance of knowing what is normal for your body and speaking up when something changes.
Besides being thankful for Zeki, Daggett said she was grateful for all of Seifter's help as well as for advances in medical research.