New Jersey Pug Aids Cancer Detection & Recovery Of Two Sisters

New Jersey siblings, Amanda Tasca and Amy Niosi credit their pug, Daisy, for their cancer detection and recovery. Daisy, who leapt on Tasca’s chest one day, prompted Tasca to do a breast self-exam after experiencing pain.

Detecting a grape-sized lump, Tasca decided to have herself checked. Her older sibling, Niosi, was, then, prompted to do a breast self-exam, herself, while watching TV. She detected a lump on her breast, which she said she couldn’t feel if she wore a bra.

Tasca recalled one conversation with Niosi, saying, “Mine was like a grape, and when she was like, ‘Oh, mine is like a clementine,’ I was like ‘What?”

Both in their mid-thirties, Tasca and Niosi, were, later on, found to have breast cancer and had to undergo double mastectomies. Niosi, who had stage 3 breast cancer which also affected her lymph nodes, was, then, advised to proceed with chemotherapy and radiation. According to doctors, prognoses for both patients were good, and that, detection was crucial to their recovery.

“This is definitely a first for me,” Dr. Deena Graham said, “Generally, we recommend screening mammograms, but whatever way we can discover things as quickly as we can.”

Tasca and Niosi thank Daisy for being instrumental to their recovery, saying she stayed with them throughout the journey. October happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the two sisters urge women, young or old, to have regular breast self-exams and medical check-ups.

Image & Feature Image Source: Family photos, WABC via CNN