The mental and physical anguish of being a firefighter can extend far beyond the day-to-day routine. Whether they attend to large building blazes or conduct medical checks in what can be unsterile environments, these first responders continually put themselves at risk of contracting what could be a multitude of diseases. That is why the Clinton Township Fire Department recently aligned with a Canadian detection screening service called CancerDogs. Based out of Quebec and started back in 2010, the service uses specially-trained dogs to detect the odor of all types of cancer present in a person’s exhaled breath. Screening trials commenced in 2011. Four trained dogs are able to detect a general cancer odor composed of metabolic waste products. The dogs are trained via a library of breath samples collected from people diagnosed with cancer, but not yet treated. Abnormal or precancerous cells are also able to be detected.