By FireRescue1 Staff
SAN ANTONIO — Apart from being man’s best friend, canines help sniff out cancer in firefighters, too.
Fire officials are implementing the use of beagles that are trained to detect different kinds of cancer in firefighters, reported CBS Austin. They are able to detect colon, prostate, rectal, liver, stomach and breast cancers.
San Antonio fire officials learned about a screening program last summer, which requires a firefighter to breathe into a mask for 10 minutes. A kit is then sent to Canada, where beagles from Cancer Dogs smell each sample.
If a sample tests positive, it will undergo a second round of sniffing. Should the test read positive again, firefighters will be asked to complete another kit.
“The reason for the second test [is] what these dogs are smelling for are the waste products for cancers, but there are other things that can cause a false positive,” Jennifer Chadwick, the department’s safety division executive officer, said.
Since December 2016, around 1,200 kits have been completed; they cost $20 each.