The AGM for the local University of the Third Age (U3A) was held on Monday, October 16. It was very well organised and greatly supported by at least 100 attendees. Of interest to the readers will be that the chair and secretary will only be able to serve another year for constitutional reasons. They would love to hear from anyone who is interested to take on these roles in 2018 or would like to be co-opted to help the committee run the organisation.
If individuals would like to be a co-ordinator for a new group, do get in touch with the Rye U3A. There are monthly meetings every 3rd Monday at 2pm in the Community Centre, Conduit Hill, which also include a talk on different subjects. The yearly fee is £14 at present.
At the AGM a talk was given by Medical Detection Dogs Saving Lives. It was surprisingly interesting. We were told that dog brains are 40 times bigger than human brains and their sense of smell is much better as are that of rats, grizzly bears and sharks, but of course those animals are harder to train. The research and training centre, Medical Detection Dogs, uses the amazing power of the dog’s nose to detect human disease. Research is based on their ability to detect minute odour traces created by the disease. Their ability to smell is so great that they can detect a small particle in a trillion (equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic sized swimming pools) so are potentially able to detect cancer earlier than currently possible. This pioneering work and research could help speed up the diagnostic process and impact on thousands of lives, apart from saving the NHS money doing unnecessary invasive procedures, in some instances, before it is confirmed that cancer exists. The company is carrying out an ethical NHS approved study into the dog’s ability to detect urological cancers as well as breast, lung and colorectal cancer using smell.
The speakers told us of many successes, when dogs were paired with an ill person and changed their lives. For example: A young girl had several seizures daily and was unable to leave the house for years. She was given one of the trained dogs who was able to warn her that the seizure was going to occur. Her first adventure was to go to the pizza place not far from the house, order the meal to take away when her dog warned her. She told the staff and diners not to worry, laid down on the floor, blacked out, woke up, got her pizza and went home. Her life has changed for the better since.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated a huge amount of money for malaria research. The idea is to use donated croc-type shoes which children wear and a trained dog will be able to smell through the odour if a child has or is about to get malaria. This would prevent a lot of deaths in the relevant countries. If you would like more information or to sponsor a training puppy, please email: operations@medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk or phone 01296 655 888.
Photo: Medical Detection Dogs