Dog's behavior led to breast cancer diagnosis for pet owner

A North Carolina woman says her dog’s unusual behavior led her to find a painful lump that was diagnosed as triple‑negative breast cancer; she received treatment and now has no sign of disease.

A North Carolina attorney, Chase Johnson, says her dog Ceto began acting unusually anxious in early 2021 and eventually poked her chest, which led her to discover a lump. After initial appointments and imaging, she was diagnosed on February 16, 2021 with triple‑negative breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a lumpectomy and lymph node removal, and currently has no sign of disease. Key details: - The dog, a Labrador-retriever mix named Ceto, had previously shown anxious behavior around Johnson's husband, who later was found to have colon cancer, which informed the family’s response. - Johnson reported that some primary care clinicians initially deferred testing because she was young and because she had pain, which they described as not typical for cancer; a physician associate at Duke arranged a mammogram. - Diagnostic steps included a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, with a triple‑negative breast cancer diagnosis on February 16, 2021. - Treatment included chemotherapy, radiation, lumpectomy and lymph node removal; an oncologist told Johnson that an earlier diagnosis likely affected her prognosis. - Johnson is participating in a Phase I preventive breast cancer vaccine trial run by the Cleveland Clinic in partnership with Anixa Biosciences; early findings reported an immune response in 74 percent of participants and the vaccine was described as safe and well-tolerated. Summary: The report describes how a pet's change in behavior led to a patient finding a lump and receiving a triple‑negative breast cancer diagnosis followed by successful treatment. She is now enrolled in an early-stage preventive vaccine trial; broader outcomes from that research are undetermined at this time.