Debbie Cann

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Jodie Foster has made a full recovery from jaw cancer.

Saving the 110-pound (50-kilogram) reticulated python required two operating tables and a cancer therapy normally reserved for people.

The 23-year-old snake, housed at Chester Zoo in England, is thought to be the first of her species to receive electrochemotherapy.

Keepers grew worried when the 15-foot (4.5-meter) python started eating less and remaining unusually still for long periods.

Diagnostic tests uncovered a fibrosarcoma, an aggressive tumor developing in her jaw. Surgeons excised the growth, yet the malignancy reappeared and began spreading into the jawbone, steadily impairing her ability to feed.

Recognizing that surgery alone would prove insufficient, the zoo’s veterinary staff collaborated with oncology experts from the University of Liverpool to modify electrochemotherapy for use on a snake.

Jodie was sedated within her enclosure and then transferred to the zoo’s animal hospital. No single operating table could accommodate her length, so personnel joined two tables to form a surface comparable to a double bed.

In the course of the 90-minute operation, the surgeons extracted the tumor along with a section of the affected jawbone. They next injected the chemotherapeutic agent bleomycin and applied precisely calibrated electrical pulses to the site.

Those pulses briefly increase the permeability of cancer-cell membranes, enabling greater uptake of the drug. The technique heightens the medication’s impact while permitting a reduced dosage.

Throughout the procedure the team maintained Jodie’s body temperature with heated blankets and warm air.

Several months afterward her appetite has been restored, and she retains the ability to strike, seize, and swallow prey despite the partial loss of jawbone. A concluding examination detected no evidence of recurring disease.

The veterinary group intends to publish a full account of the intervention so that specialists worldwide may benefit from the experience.

[Debbie Cann @DebbieCann3]

@Rainmaker1973 That's awesome news. I've had cancer three times and I'm so pleased for Jodie 🐍