Esther the Wonder Pig is on the road to recovery after successfully undergoing surgery for breast cancer.
The six-year-old pig started suffering from health complications, including seizures and hyperventilation, last fall. But there was no scanner big enough to diagnose her symptoms.
So her caretakers, Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter, used Esther’s celebrity power to raise more than half a million dollars to bring an oversized CT scanner to the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph.
Esther was found to have tumours in her mammary glands, one of which was cancerous.
Her caretakers say the nearly 650 lbs. pig has had a lumpectomy to remove four tumours and her lymph nodes.
She’s now recovering at home.
“She’s been fabulous,” says Jenkins. “She’s resting a lot. I’m sure she’s been sore especially the first couple of days.”
“Knowing that Esther is in the clear is a deep sigh of relief,” says Walter.
They say doctors told them chemotherapy is not needed.
Ester will have another operation to remove her ovaries as a precautionary measure.
