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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent

Python named Jodie Foster first snake to receive pioneering cancer treatment

Closeup of the snake during the surgery
Jodie Foster was treated for a malignant tumour that had begun to invade her jawbone. Photograph: Chester zoo/Cover Images

A 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans.

The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat.

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