Husky sniffs his owner's ovary cancer THREE TIMES after a doctor has dismissed his pain as a cyst - Daily Mail

An ex-fellow recognizes his dog for saving her life after the dog has smelled the cancer three times.

Stephanie Herfel, 52, had a severe discomfort in the abdomen, which her doctor dismissed as a cyst.

Sent home with painkillers, Mrs. Herfel made an appointment to see a gynecologist when her Siberian Husky Sierra sniffed her lower abdomen before escaping and cowering in the closet.

On 11 November 2013, Mrs. Herfel was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the third phase.

After undergoing a complete hysterectomy, chemotherapy and the removal of the spleen, Ms Herfel thought she was disease-free until the Sierra sniffed her again in 2015 and 2016 – later tests revealed her cancer was come back both times.

Now, free of the disease, Mrs. Herfel believes she would not be here if it were not for Sierra. "I owe my life to that dog," he said. "It was really a godsend for me."

Ovarian cancer affects about 22,200 new women each year in the United States, with one out of 78 women developing the disease at some point in their lives, according to the American Cancer Society.

About 70 percent of women with ovarian cancer see their disease return, which becomes more likely the more advanced it is when diagnosed, says the Alliance for Ovarian Cancer Research.

In the United Kingdom, ovarian cancer affects around 7,200 new women each year. The chance to survive more than a decade after diagnosis is 35% in England and Wales.

Sierra first smelled Mrs. Herfel's abdomen shortly after moving to Wisconsin from California. He adopted the animal from his son in 2011, when he left for the service abroad while he was serving in aeronautics.

"Scared", Mrs. Herfel, who served in the US Marine Corps from 1984 to 1988, contacted her gynecologist. The doctor then prescribed blood tests and an ultrasound.

After being diagnosed, Ms. Herfel thought she had undergone her final chemotherapy session in April 2014.

But in 2015 and 2016, Sierra correctly identified that the cancer had returned, with subsequent tests showing that the disease had spread to Mrs. Herfel's liver and pelvis.

His primary cancer doctor, David Kushner, told Mrs. Herfel that this was no accident, and that some dog breeds were able to detect cancer with a 98% accuracy.

Sierra also acted the same way when Ms. Herfel, who was fighting against ovarian cancer, visited, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Mrs. Herfel, who married her husband Jim last year after meeting online, is now cancer free.

But she still takes a daily dose of chemotherapy tablets as part of a clinical trial to reduce the risk she may return.

Whenever she comes home from a check-up at the Coal Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin, Mrs. Herfel is forced to change clothes because of Sierra who becomes anxious about the smell of cancer .

While she is worried that her illness may still return, Mrs. Herfel has already challenged the five-year survival rate and remains positive about new treatments being continually developed.

Ms. Herfel, who is now retired, has recently joined the Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance board of directors and hopes to write a book about Sierra "just to give credit to animals that are quite intelligent".