By MEIKE LEONARD, HEALTH REPORTER and JONATHAN NEAL, HEALTH REPORTER
Published: 17:10 BST, 29 August 2026 | Updated: 17:10 BST, 29 August 2026
At first, Maria Schenkel didn't think much of her sudden increase in body odor.
A working mother of two, the 41-year-old was used to rushing from one thing to the next, and initially assumed she was simply getting hot and sweaty during her busy days.
But after a few weeks, she noticed the smell intensify – and, more strangely, it seemed to return almost immediately after washing.
'I remember thinking, "Why do I smell so bad?", because I would have just showered, not sweat at all and then smelled so awful still,' says the former business development worker.
'But because I was busy working and raising a family, I just carried on.'
It's a decision Maria now bitterly regrets. After noticing a lump in her breast a few months later, she finally sought medical attention. Doctors found a 4cm cancerous tumor that, they said, had been there for some time.
Maria, from Greenville, South Carolina, underwent a mastectomy and two years on is cancer-free. But she wishes she had listened to changes in how she smelled far earlier.
At first, Maria Schenkel, 41, didn't think much of her sudden increase in body odor. Strangely, it seemed to return almost immediately after washing
It might sound strange, but experts say persistent and unexplained changes in body odor can signal a growing tumor.
'Cancer cells can release compounds into the bloodstream which the body then releases in blood, sweat and breath,' says Dr John Riches, consultant hematologist at Barts Health NHS Trust in London.
'This can result in a change in body odor. What's quite rare is that people are able to smell it themselves.'
Rapidly growing cancer cells can release tiny chemical particles called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), research shows.
These particles are then excreted through the skin, as well as in the breath, urine and stool.
