Smelling Cancer?

[MikeyJ]

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.

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

[DoGoodThenGo]

In the book "Nurse", staff attended a funeral for a long term patient who died of cancer. As the nurses were leaving the service they all turned and said to each other "it smelled like her"; that is the whiff around the casket and body was the same they each had smelled whilst taking care of the dying woman.

[RobJS]

Hello,

For the past few weeks I have noticed a strange smell on myself. It seems to be coming from inside of me. After doing some searching, I ran across the "cancer smell". This "smell" seems very similar to what I am smelling on myself (or in myself). I actually sort or "taste" it, as though it is coming from my stomach; when I breath out (such as when you make the Hmmm sound, I almost taste the "smell"). Anyway, I was wondering if someone could try to describe the cancer smell for me.

It is hard for me to describe. I think I notice the "sweetness" that people talk about, combined with a disgusting putrid smell. When I first noticed it, it was very faint and I thought it almost smelled like mold, but not exactly. The smell is usually very faint (although it was stronger one day last week). I also noticed that it faded for a day or two, before returning.

Any additional info. on the smell would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

This is an old thread I will close