Big CAT scan: LSU mascot Mike the Tiger in cancer treatment

Big CAT scan: LSU mascot Mike the Tiger in cancer treatment
This Oct. 26, 2013, file photo, shows LSU's Mike the Tiger on the field before the NCAA college football game against Furman in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman, File)

Call it a big CAT scan.

Louisiana State University's live tiger mascot was sedated this past weekend and brought to a human cancer center near campus where he'll be treated for a .

At the hospital, Mike VI received a CT scan and a radiation simulation. During the simulation, set up devices that will keep the 420-pound tiger in position for precisely targeted radiotherapy to treat a tumor on his face.

The LSU veterinary school says in a statement that doctors haven't yet decided whether to treat Mike on one day or over two or three days. They say that without treatment Mike could live one or two months, but treatment could extend that to one or two years.

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Citation: Big CAT scan: LSU mascot Mike the Tiger in cancer treatment (2016, May 31) retrieved 10 May 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2016-05-big-cat-scan-lsu-mascot.html
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