In another thread, there’s an article about a woman being able to smell Parkinson’s disease on people. Someone asked what the woman would do if she smelled it on someone in a social setting.
For this hypothetical, I’m changing it to cancer because that’s more common.
If you had the ability to smell cancer on someone accurately and smelled it on someone in a social setting, what would you do?
It depends how well I knew them. If I was an acquaintance, I would probably ask them how they had been feeling, and have a general conversation about health. It’s difficult to say really, but I would try and highlight it and encourage them to see a doctor just for a check up. Even if you can smell illness on someone, it doesn’t really make anyone medically qualified 
What if they say they had been to a doctor recently and was told they were fine?
This woman was supposedly 95% accurate.
Knowing that doctors don’t always find problems if they don’t know what to look for, would you let it go, with the possibility you could be letting this person die of cancer without it being treated?
Id see it as a curse to be able to tell , I think what i would do is ignore it … or id be getting to stressed .
Wouldn’t it be best to tell them (privately of course) and save their life?
Some dogs can smell cancer but l’m not sure how they tell anyone?
I think in that case, I would have to say that she ought to get a second opinion. I wouldn’t say anything alarming to them unless there was an associated physical defect. You couldn’t really say outright to someone you barely knew “I can smell cancer and I believe you have it” They would laugh at you and walk off!
It would be very difficult if it was a stranger. They’d probably think you were a weirdo and be freaked out. On the other hand, you’d sort of feel responsible, wouldn’t you?
What if they found out and it just made them depressed?
The dogs must be able to tell someone or people wouldn’t know the dog could do it. The person who knows the dog detected it would be in the same situation as the person who could detect it.
I think I’d have to bite the bullet and tell them, and suffer the potential awkwardness and disbelief
If someone found out they had cancer before they knew, they would be ecstatic, not depressed. Yes it’s a shock, but better you know now and get it fixed, than go along being blase and die.
That’s assuming it could be fixed. It could be in the terminal stages.
If… being the operative word…
What if they didn’t know at all and you save their life?
I think it’s more about how you word your initial conversation with them…
How would you word it?
I haven’t been in the situation to be able to say what l’d say but l wouldn’t say it outright and l wouldn’t mention the word cancer.
I might gently advise them to see a medical person to be checked out as l had rightly, or wrongly detected something that needed to be attended to.
Gosh! Even that sounds wrong but l know in the situation, l would know exactly what to say.
I think that having a card with one’s (verified) credentials would be somewhat useful. Handing it to them for them to read, with advice they check with a doctor might prove a useful alternative to speaking, or walking around wafting a brass incense burner chanting their last rites (which is potentially allegorically what you’d be doing)
Hi
Art is far more socially aware than I am.
My initial reaction is no, I would not say it outright.
I would try to introduce a story involving my health and how much better things could have been if I had been to the doctor sooner.
Nothing is ever certain in life, that is one of the few lessons I have learnt.
The medics do not always get it right, I have flatlined twice and still come round.
I will listen to her on this one.
Non of us are experts and are only imagining what we would do. In a real life situation you will probably act differently.
Who’s to say they don’t rip your card up straight away, thinking you are a salesman, or something else?
There is no right or wrong way to do this and we are thinking through untrained minds.
That is more like… now this is the good news…now here is the bad news!
Because verified credentials can’t be faked on a card? 
Do you think they would relate it to themselves or just think you were talking about yourself?
This is a sore subject for me as my daughter has just been through cancer.
No, I would definitely not tell a person if I could ‘smell’ cancer on them. It wouldn’t be my place to tell anyone face to face.
In my daughter’s case I suspected it and encouraged her to see her doctor.
