A woman credits her dog with saving her life after his unusual behavior led to a breast cancer diagnosis.
Chase Johnson, 36, noticed her dog, Ceto, a Labrador and retriever mix, started acting “anxious” and “whimpering” around her, but didn’t know the cause.
A few weeks later, Chase said Ceto got “all worked up” and poked her left breast with his nose, and when it hurt, she felt her breast and found a lump.
Chase went to her primary care provider, and after multiple appointments and a mammogram, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer — an aggressive form of cancer.
She immediately underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a lumpectomy and lymph node removal, which were successful, and Chase currently has no sign of disease.
An oncologist told Chase that if she hadn’t persisted and visited the doctors when she did, she might not have survived.
Chase, an attorney from Cary, North Carolina, said: “Ceto is a pretty calm dog; he never gets anxious and is always pretty chill.
“A couple of weeks before I found the lump, he followed me around the house, would pace the room, whimpering and became really anxious.
“We were trying to figure out what was going on, until he got so worked up one day and poked his nose to my breast.
“He did it a second time, which hurt; that is when I started searching and found the lump.
“If he had not done that, I would not have found it.”
Chase said Ceto was her “little shadow” and would follow her everywhere she goes.
In January 2021, Ceto started acting “anxious”, which confused her. Previously, Ceto had alerted her husband Ben Byrn, 48, to the fact that he had colon cancer by acting anxiously around him and following him around — so the pair knew something was wrong.
Chase said: “Ceto had always been my little shadow; we are very much bonded together.
“We were trying to figure out what was going on. Previously, Ceto had alerted Ben to the fact that he had cancer.
“So when he started feeling anxious again, we knew he was warning one of us, and my husband just had a clear scan, so we knew it was me.”
When Ceto poked Chase in the chest, she started checking for a lump.
She found a “rubbery lump” so booked an appointment with her primary care provider, who told her they were fully booked until May 2021.
“I told them that I had found a lump, but they told me I was too young for cancer,” Chase said.
“They said that cancer doesn’t hurt, so I probably had a benign cyst that would be nothing to worry about and come back in May.”
Not satisfied with the response, Chase contacted a physician associate at Duke University Hospital who had also thought she was too young for cancer.
Chase said: “Again, I was not satisfied with that answer.
“I told her how Ceto had alerted my husband to the fact that he had cancer, so she agreed to send me for a mammogram.”
Chase underwent a mammogram, ultrasound and a biopsy, and on February 16, 2021, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer.
Her treatment was successful and she now has no sign of disease.
“After my diagnosis, I met with my oncologist, she said if I had waited till May, that we would be having a very different conversation, and I may not have survived,” Chase said.
“If I didn’t have Ceto, and if I didn’t have that past experience with my husband, I might not be here.
“You have to be your own advocate, I was told by experts that I was too young and cancer didn’t hurt — then I received this diagnosis.”
Chase is currently taking part in a Cleveland Clinic clinical trial for a preventive breast cancer vaccine.
Chase joined 35 patients in the Phase I study, conducted in partnership with Anixa Biosciences, Inc.
Early findings showed that the investigational vaccine produced an immune response in most participants (74 percent) and was safe and well-tolerated.
G. Thomas Budd, MD, principal investigator of the study, said: “It’s a hopeful time for all of us concerned about this serious disease.
“For triple-negative breast cancer, until just a few years ago, chemotherapy was our only systemic option beyond surgery and radiation.
“Recently, immunotherapy has shown benefit when combined with chemotherapy, which makes exploring a vaccine strategy even more significant.”
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