A 15-foot (4.5-metre) reticulated python named Jodie Foster is reported to have recovered after receiving an experimental cancer treatment used in humans. The snake, which weighs about 50 kg and lives at Chester Zoo, is said to be “back to her usual feisty self” after being treated for a tumour in her jaw.
Zoo staff first noticed changes in her behaviour, including eating less and spending more time inactive, and became concerned she was unwell. According to multiple outlets, her care involved surgery combined with electrochemotherapy (ECT), which uses electrical pulses to help drugs treat cancer. All reports describe the case as the first of its kind for a snake, with the treatment approach described as pioneering for reptiles.
The Guardian, Phys.org, and The Independent frame the key point similarly: the treatment is believed to be the first time a snake has received this particular cancer-care combination, and that Jodie Foster has returned to normal activity afterward. They differ mainly in emphasis and phrasing—some stress the “life-saving” nature of the outcome and others focus on the “successful treatment” and integration of surgery and ECT.
