Smelling Cancer?

Nurses General Nursing

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One of my nursing instructors told our class that she has acquired a smell for cancer, and when she walks in a room she can tell immediately if a patient has cancer. :confused:

Do nurses typically "acquire" these intuitive smells after many years of nursing??

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I know some can indeed "smell" it. I had a dog with cancer, and her veterinarian knew it by the "smell".

so yea, there IS something to it!!!!!!

I know that schizophrenia often has a certain odor so I believe that there may well be an odor associated with cancer.

Specializes in ER, Occupational Health, Cardiology.

She has probably learned to associate some odor of decay as the disease has progressed, such as exhalation from a terminal lung CA pt.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geri, Ortho, Telemetry, Psych.
I wonder how this can be true because cancer is not really one disease, it is a catch-all term for malignant cell overgrowth. If someone told me they can smell small cell carcinoma of the lungs, I might believe them, but cancer?

I know it sounds crazy but I swear to God some people can smell it. I also have the power to smell when someone has just passed gas.:rotfl: :yelclap: :no: :nono:

Specializes in trauma, ortho, burns, plastic surgery.

totally true! if you worked long time in a facility were you had cancer patients and if yours extra feelings are raised more than others you could fell the cancer smell. i had one colleague who can diagnose the cancer after the blood traces on the surgical instruments. not wrong any time! us much your sensitivity will be raised and us much you will work there you will fell it also. i can't smell it sorry! you could make some empirical predictions, but are not scientific evaluated so they can not be used.

Specializes in trauma, ortho, burns, plastic surgery.
I know that schizophrenia often has a certain odor so I believe that there may well be an odor associated with cancer.

May be some closed to true is another sentence, "schizofrenics can smell a lots of ireal odors". First in schizopfrenia appear olfactory halucitnaitions...nice to ask WHY THEM FIRST and not others type?

Schizo human they don't smell, only their perspiration after medications could smell in different ways, but is not a pattern for "schizo smell"

Specializes in Education, Administration, Magnet.

Maybe it is the chemo drugs or radiation that make them smell different???

Specializes in NP / USAFR Flight Nurse.

I dont know...but I am fascinated by this. Anyone know if there is any evidence based theory to this, or just old wives tales?

I am not sure of the evidence base to this theory. It is not radiation induced or chemo induced smell. The people I have found to have that sent have not yet been diagnosed. My husband died from renal cell and I will never forget that sent, I just wished I had thought about it at the time I had first smelled it, things might have been different. I think it is the rapid growth and normal tissue displacement that may be the cause of the smell.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

I can't "smell" cancer; I wish I could! However, I really don't doubt that some people can.

I think all of us have different smelling abilities. In one hospital where I worked, one of the urologists used something different (never found out what it was) when he did cystos (this was when people were admitted for everything). I could step off the elevator and know when Dr. K had done one on one of our patients. Everyone else thought I was nuts- no one else could smell it!

I was right every single time.

If ketoacidosis, c diff, strep, bacterial vaginosis, and the like have distinct smells, why not cancer?

It's possible that some of this might be just that gut instinct thing- you look at someone and just know, and you really can't define how you know, you just do.

It would be an interesting research study!

I had a patient that had mets cancer to the brain/ear/jaw area. He was terminal. His ear was draining and looked like raw hamburger. It had a smell to it, and the doctor told me it was the cancer that I was smelling. Sad situation. But, I do know that smell.

I know that schizophrenia often has a certain odor so I believe that there may well be an odor associated with cancer.

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but schizophrenia has a certain odor?? I never heard this.

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