{"id":594139,"date":"2026-04-19T18:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594139\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:48:13","slug":"womans-dog-diagnosed-with-breast-cancer-years-after-her-own-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594139\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman’s dog diagnosed with breast cancer years after her own battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘My dog detected my cancer before doctors did’<\/a> <\/p>\n

Breanna Bortner\u2019s dog, Mochi, began fixating on her breast before she was diagnosed with stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer, showing unusual and intuitive behavior throughout her journey.<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

A woman who got a dog to support her through a breast cancer diagnosis<\/a> was later shocked when the pet was diagnosed with the same disease years later.<\/p>\n

Vickie Doogan, 52, from England, said her dog Dolly, a poochon, became her constant companion during recovery from her second cancer diagnosis<\/a>, news agency SWNS reported.<\/p>\n

Doogan was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 39 after noticing a dull pain and a lump under her arm, which doctors later confirmed was invasive breast cancer that had spread.<\/p>\n

COMMON FRUIT FOUND IN AMERICAN KITCHENS MAY SLOW DEADLY FORM OF BREAST CANCER, STUDY SAYS<\/a><\/p>\n

She underwent chemotherapy, surgery and radiation and was eventually declared cancer-free following an intensive course of treatment.<\/p>\n

\"Vickie <\/p>\n

Doogan is pictured with her dog Dolly, who stayed by her side throughout her recovery from a second cancer diagnosis. (SWNS)<\/p>\n

At 44, she was diagnosed again and underwent another round of treatment before opting for a double mastectomy after learning she carried a BRCA2 gene mutation, which increases the risk of breast cancer.<\/p>\n

She got Dolly in 2018 while recovering at home, saying the dog provided comfort and companionship during a difficult period in her life.<\/p>\n

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“She\u2019s like my shadow,” Doogan said. “She\u2019s the most perfect little dog.”<\/p>\n

In February 2026, Doogan took Dolly to the vet<\/a> for what she believed was an upset stomach, where a lump was unexpectedly discovered under one of the dog\u2019s nipples.<\/p>\n

\"Vickie <\/p>\n

Doogan and her dog Dolly (pictured), with the dog later diagnosed with a lump after a February 2026 check-up. (SWNS)<\/p>\n

“The vet said she needed to have a mastectomy. I was so shocked,” Doogan said. “I didn\u2019t even know dogs could have mastectomies.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/a><\/p>\n

Dolly underwent surgery<\/a> to remove the cancer, which was determined to be low-grade and did not require additional treatment, allowing her to recover relatively quickly.<\/p>\n

“She bounced back just as well as I did,” Doogan said. “People said it\u2019s like she\u2019s mirroring how I dealt with it.”<\/p>\n

\"Vickie <\/p>\n

Doogan and Dolly (pictured), both of whom recovered quickly following their surgeries. (SWNS)<\/p>\n

Both Doogan and her dog are now cancer-free and focusing on moving forward after their shared experiences with the disease, SWNS noted.<\/p>\n

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Doogan said she hopes their story offers encouragement to others facing a diagnosis<\/a> and shows that recovery is possible.<\/p>\n

“When I was first diagnosed, I was absolutely floored,” she said. “Chemo was brutal, but thankfully I responded well.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

“Now I\u2019m living my best life again,” she added. “I want people to know that although breast cancer is scary, you can still live a really full life.”<\/p>\n

Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘My dog detected my cancer before doctors did’ Breanna Bortner\u2019s dog, Mochi, began fixating on her breast before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[7966,687,97,152788,1068,5313],"class_list":["post-594139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-breast-cancer","tag-cancer","tag-health","tag-pet-health","tag-pets","tag-surgery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}