“My Dog Detected I Had Breast Cancer” Veteran Taiwanese Star Says Her Pet Maltese Helped Save Her Life

How accurate is a dog’s sense of smell? Accurate enough to discover breast cancer, apparently.

When veteran Taiwanese singer-actress Sima San San was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, it was not medical professionals who first sounded the alarms.

In fact, it was not even human science but her pet Maltese who caught her attention with his out-of-character behaviour.

“Usually, he would lie quietly in my arms when I am on the sofa. But this time, he kept jumping, stepping and bumping into the same area around my chest. It went on for three consecutive days,” she shared in an interview.

San San also noticed that she felt discomfort each time her dog did that and eventually realised that there was a “sharp and hard” lump, which prompted her to rush to the hospital for a checkup.

A biopsy later revealed that San San had second stage of breast cancer.

“The doctors were surprised. When I told them that I never did and routine checks and it was my dog who first detected it, they called it ‘amazing’,” said San San.

However, the story takes a bittersweet turn.

After San San underwent surgery and completed chemotherapy, her dog suddenly went blind the day after he was assured that his owner was going fine.

“I sometimes wonder if he was there to help me ward off a disaster,” she says.