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point body check that could catch dog cancer weeks before symptoms appear

Vet Dr Alex Crow is urging dog owners to perform a two-minute monthly 'bean check' on their dogs' lymph nodes to catch lymphoma early, often before symptoms appear. The PDSA explains that lymphoma is a common blood cancer in dogs, and early detection through checking three key areas could be lifesaving.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 23, 2026 Published 2d ago

The two-minute check that could save your dog's life

A vet is urging dog owners to carry out a simple monthly check that takes just two minutes and could catch cancer in dogs weeks before any symptoms appear. Dr Alex Crow, also known as Alex the vet, says the check, which he calls the dog "bean check", focuses on feeling for changes in the lymph nodes.

"If I had just two minutes a month to catch cancer in my own dog before they ever showed a single symptom, here is exactly what I would do," he said, as reported by both the Daily Record and the South Wales Echo.

Why lymphoma is a silent threat

The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) explains that lymphoma is a cancer of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that protects the body against illness and disease. While it is most commonly found in the lymph nodes, or glands, it can also affect the liver, spleen, bone marrow, thymus, kidneys, digestive system, and skin.

Dr Crow notes that lymphoma is the most common blood cancer in dogs, something he says "most owners don't know".

"In classic cases, the very first sign isn't your dog being unwell, it's the lymph nodes becoming hard and swollen - often weeks before they feel sick," he shared.

How to do the bean check

Dr Crow advises owners to look for lymph nodes that feel like small, soft beans. Any that feel hard, swollen, lumpy, or irregular - or seem fixed to the surrounding tissue - can be a warning sign. He suggests checking three specific areas:

Under the jaw: Slide your finger and thumb together along the angle of your dog's jaw. You should be able to feel one small, bean-like node on each side.

In front of the shoulders: Sweep your hand down either side of the neck towards the shoulders. Just in front of the shoulder blade, press gently into the muscle - you may feel a lymph node on each side.

Behind the knee: On the back leg, feel behind the knee (opposite the kneecap). Check the soft hollow between the two large muscles, where lymph nodes can be found.

If you don't find the last two, Dr Crow says not to worry - the key is to be consistent and know what is normal for your dog.

How each outlet told it

Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC

Framing: Headline is partially captured as 'minute check every month to prevent cancer', emphasizing the time and frequency of the check, but not fully available. — Urgent and instructive, using phrases like 'could save their life' and 'months are everything when it comes to cancer'.

Facts Included:

Vet Dr Alex Crow urges dog owners to do a two-minute monthly check to catch cancer early
The check is called the 'bean check' and focuses on lymph nodes
PDSA explains lymphoma is a cancer of lymphocytes and can affect various organs
Alex states lymphoma is the most common blood cancer in dogs and owners often don't know this
In classic cases, first sign is hard and swollen lymph nodes, often weeks before feeling sick
Instructions for checking three areas: under jaw, in front of shoulders, behind knee
Advice that soft beans are normal, hard beans are not, and to get checked by a vet if concerned
Heading: 'minute check every month to prevent cancer' (incomplete headline captured)

Read the source article →

South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC

Framing: Headline is partially captured as 'point body check that could catch dog cancer weeks before symptoms appear', emphasizing the check's ability to catch cancer early; full headline not available. — Informative and urgent, using phrases like 'could save a dog's life' and 'months are everything when it comes to cancer'.

Facts Included:

Vet Dr Alex Crow urges dog owners to do a simple monthly check that takes two minutes and could save a dog's life
The check is called the 'bean check' and focuses on feeling for changes in lymph nodes
PDSA explains lymphoma is a cancer of lymphocytes and can affect various organs
Alex states lymphoma is the most common blood cancer in dogs and owners often don't know this
In classic cases, first sign is hard and swollen lymph nodes, often weeks before feeling sick
Instructions for checking three areas: jaw, shoulders, knee
Advice that soft beans are normal, hard beans are not, and to get checked by a vet if concerned
Heading: 'point body check that could catch dog cancer weeks before symptoms appear'
The article includes a section 'What are the signs and symptoms of lymphoma in dogs?' but the list is not shown in the text provided

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimVet Dr Alex Crow urges dog owners to do a two-minute monthly check to catch cancer early.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimThe check is called the 'bean check' and focuses on lymph nodes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimPDSA explains that lymphoma is a cancer of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimPDSA states lymphoma can affect the liver, spleen, bone marrow, thymus, kidneys, digestive system, and skin.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimAlex says lymphoma is the most common blood cancer in dogs.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimAlex says that in classic cases, the first sign of lymphoma is hard and swollen lymph nodes, often weeks before the dog feels sick.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimThe check involves three areas: under the jaw, in front of the shoulders, and behind the knee.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimSoft beans are normal, hard beans are not, and owners should get their dog checked by a vet if concerned.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets) via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC
ClaimThe article headline states 'two-minute check every month to prevent cancer'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Daily Record as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC
ClaimThe South Wales Echo headline states 'point body check that could catch dog cancer weeks before symptoms appear'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 23, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Daily Record, South Wales Echo 10 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-23