At first, Maria Schenkel didn’t think much about her sudden increase in body odor. The 41-year-old, a working mother of two, was used to rushing from one thing to the next and initially assumed she just got hot and sweaty during her busy days.
But after a few weeks, she noticed that the smell became more intense—and, even stranger, that it seemed to return almost immediately after washing.
“I remember thinking, ‘Why do I smell so bad?’ because I had just showered, not sweated at all, and still smelled so awful afterwards,” says the former business development employee.
“But because I was busy working and raising a family, I just kept going.”
It is a decision that Maria now bitterly regrets. After noticing a lump in her breast a few months later, she finally sought medical help. Doctors found a two-inch cancerous tumor that had been there for some time.
Maria, who now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, had a mastectomy and two years later she is cancer-free. But she regrets not listening to the changes in her scent much sooner. “I wish I knew then what I know now,” she adds.
It may sound strange, but experts say persistent and unexplained changes in body odor can signal a growing tumor.
Dr. John Riches, consultant haematologist at Barts and London NHS Trust, said: ‘Cancer cells can release substances into the bloodstream, which the body then releases in the form of blood, sweat and breath. This can result in a change in body odor.
Working mother of two children Maria Schenkel initially had little trouble with her increasing body odor
“What’s quite rare is that people can smell it themselves.”
Research shows that fast-growing cancer cells can release small chemical particles called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These particles are then excreted through the skin, breath, urine and feces.
Research continues into ways to identify cancer at its early stages by measuring the VOCs released by the body.
Some emerging research has already shown that analyzing urine and breath can identify early tumors in stomach, liver and prostate cancer. And several major programs are investigating the VOCs released by some of the most common breast tumors.
Dr. Riches says, “When you hear those incredible stories about a dog sensing its owner’s cancer, it’s the VOCs that the animal is picking up. It is even less clear whether people, who generally have a less acute sense of smell, can also identify them.’ In Maria’s case, a change in body odor was quickly accompanied by a series of worrying symptoms – all of which she initially dismissed.
Due to the extreme fatigue, she woke up in the morning feeling “like I had been run over by a bus.”
She adds: ‘My legs felt incredibly heavy and I had slept for eight to nine hours, but I still felt exhausted. I honestly thought this was exactly what turning 40 felt like.”
Maria also noticed that she increasingly craved sugary foods, frequently suffered from bloating, and had unexplained bruising on her legs. But it wasn’t until her four-year-old daughter accidentally pressed her chest, causing it to become painful, that Maria noticed an unusual area of ”slightly harder” tissue.
Maria thought she was due to be checked after noticing an area of ’slightly harder’ tissue in her breast
“I thought it was just dense breast tissue,” she says. ‘I didn’t actually think it was cancer, but I thought I should have it checked out anyway.’
Thanks to an ultrasound, mammography and biopsy, she was quickly diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma – the most common form of breast cancer.
The diagnosis came as a complete shock to her.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Maria says. ‘I lived a healthy lifestyle. I exercised, ate a plant-based diet, didn’t smoke or drink and there was no cancer in my family.’
Almost 60,000 British women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, making it the most common form of cancer in Britain.
About 80 percent of cases occur in women over 50 years of age. But the number of cases under the age of 50 – known as early-onset cancers – is rising rapidly.
Women under the age of 50 now make up one in five cases of breast cancer in Britain – a 20 percent increase since the early 1990s. Research has linked a range of different factors to the spike in early cancer cases – from rising rates of obesity, to an increasingly ultra-processed diet, to changes in pollution.
But experts warn that despite increased awareness about the rise in breast cancer in younger women, many are still ignoring the key early symptoms of the disease.
Maria was soon diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma – the most common form of breast cancer
As a result, studies show that women under the age of 40 are almost 40 percent more likely to die from the condition than women over 40.
Common symptoms of the disease are the same for both older and younger women. These may include a new lump or thickening in the breast, skin changes, changes in size or shape, and persistent pain.
Yet research shows that younger women are more likely to attribute breast changes to hormonal shifts or simply overlook them, believing they are too young for cancer.
Maria says, “I met many people on this trip who said they ignored the symptoms because they were busy taking care of everyone else.
‘Don’t think you’re exaggerating. If something continues to bother you or you don’t feel normal, get it checked. Listening to your body can make the difference.’
