• Amy Smotherman Burgess / Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
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    Tsavo the lion went in for his fourth, and hopefully last, radiation treatment this month. According to MSNBC, Tsavo has a cancerous tumor on his mouth that the University of Tennessee's Veterinary Medical Center in Knoxville has been treating since its appearance. 

  • Amy Smotherman Burgess / Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
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    BIG CAT

    At 11 years old, Tsavo weighs 357 pounds, so getting the animal on the operating table can be a bit tricky. Professionals at the center worked carefully to prep the lion with anesthesia and move him to the area for treatment. All of this work is done for a procedure that five minutes. 

  • Amy Smotherman Burgess / Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
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    SMALL IS GOOD

    The tumor next to Tsavo's mouth was originally the size of an orange, measuring roughly 10 centimeters. Thanks to treatment, the mass has shrunk to six centimeters, or about the size of a lime. Doctors decided to try radiation on Tsavo after having success with similar cases in canines. 

  • Amy Smotherman Burgess / Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
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    FURRY THOUGHTS

    Veterinarians hope that the tumor's shrinking size is a sign that the cancerous DNA present in the mass has been killed. If this is the case, the tumor should continue to disappear on its own. If the size does not change in the next four weeks, Tsavo will undergo surgery to remove the mass. 

    Feel better, gentle giant! 

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