Higher concentrations of substances have been recorded in people with breast cancer.
Cancer can present a long list of nonspecific symptoms, making it difficult to detect the disease in its early stages.
However, the case of a girl named Kate is particularly unusual. She is convinced that she learned about her diagnosis due to a specific smell.
“Rotten Wood”
As Kate explained in her social media video, she has a very sensitive sense of smell. Therefore, she learned about her cancer before doctors communicated the diagnosis to her.
The unpleasant odor was something she detected on her clothes and sheets even after several washes.
This smell resembled “damp, rotting wood with a slight hint of cinnamon.”
When she went to the doctor, he found non-Hodgkin lymphoma — a malignant condition affecting the lymphatic system.
After therapy, the smell disappeared. However, a couple of months later, it returned, and Kate was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
What Doctors Say
In the comments to Kate's video, many users wrote that they also encountered a strange sweet smell when they had cancer.
Scientists have an explanation for this phenomenon. Cancer can indeed affect body odor. The fact is that malignant tumors provoke the production of volatile organic compounds, including polyamines.
Polyamines have a sharp and unpleasant odor that can be detected by both humans and animals. These compounds are often found in the urine and blood of cancer patients.
Higher concentrations of volatile organic compounds have been recorded in people with breast, lung, prostate, and bladder cancers.
Additionally, an unusual odor may be associated with an ulcerated tumor. This neoplasm has a center that has formed an ulcer due to tissue breakdown.
Moreover, the process of therapy can also cause a person to perceive strange smells. Chemotherapy drugs can alter the sense of smell and affect the odor of bodily secretions, the New York Post reports.
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