Giant Python Jodie Beats Cancer After World-First Treatment
By Animals Correspondent
There’s some seriously slithery good news from Chester Zoo, where a 15-foot python named Jodie Foster has made an incredible recovery after beating cancer.
The 50kg reticulated python was facing a worrying future after a cancerous tumour returned in her jaw following surgery.
But thanks to a pioneering collaboration between Chester Zoo’s veterinary team and cancer specialists at the University of Liverpool, Jodie has now been given the all-clear.
She is believed to be the first snake in the world to receive electrochemotherapy, a treatment more commonly used to treat cancer in humans.
Jodie first started showing signs that something was wrong when she became less interested in food and spent more time resting. Tests revealed a malignant tumour called a fibrosarcoma in her jaw.
When the tumour returned and began affecting her jawbone, vets knew they needed to try something different.
The team removed the tumour and part of the affected jawbone before using electrochemotherapy to target any remaining cancer cells.
The treatment uses the cancer drug bleomycin alongside carefully controlled electrical pulses. These pulses temporarily make cancer cells more receptive to the drug, helping it reach its target.
And the results have been fantastic.
Months after her treatment, Jodie is cancer-free, eating normally and back to her lively, feisty self.
Even more impressively, losing part of her jaw hasn't stopped her from doing what pythons do best.
Keepers have watched her successfully strike, grip and swallow her food, showing that her appetite and ability to eat have remained unaffected.
Ian Ashpole, Veterinary Officer at Chester Zoo, said:
“Seeing her back to her normal bright and feisty self has been incredibly rewarding. A few months ago, we genuinely didn’t know whether she’d survive. Now she’s eating normally, exploring her habitat and behaving exactly as we’d hope.”
The unusual operation also required some creative thinking. Because Jodie is so large, two operating tables had to be joined together to create a surface roughly the size of a double bed.
Heated blankets and warm air were also used to keep her temperature stable during the 90-minute procedure.
The successful treatment could have benefits far beyond Jodie herself, with the veterinary team planning to formally publish details of the procedure so specialists around the world can learn from the experience.
Jose Alvarez Picornell from the University of Liverpool said the success demonstrated what can happen when veterinary and cancer specialists work together.
For now, though, the biggest winner is Jodie.
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A final check confirmed there were no signs of the cancer returning – leaving this giant snake free to get back to enjoying life at Chester Zoo.
And there's one final bit of fun behind her name.
Jodie was named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster after keepers noticed her paperwork described her as a “JF” – shorthand for “juvenile female”.
It turns out the name has become rather fitting: this particular Jodie has certainly proved herself to be a star.
