Juno the elephant has second successful cancer treatment

The City of El Paso reports a second round of cancer treatment was successfully performed Friday on El Paso Zoo’s Asian elephant, Juno.

The Veterinary Oncology Services in New York, El Paso Zoo veterinarians Dr. Victoria Milne and Dr. Misty Garcia, and the El Paso Zoo’s staff, successfully performed Juno’s second round of electrochemotherapy.

The City said, “Juno was put under general anesthesia for approximately an hour and a half. During the procedure, the tumor was infused with a chemotherapy drug then treated with a small electric pulse that draws the chemotherapy into the cancer cells.”

Dr. Joseph Impellizeri, with The Veterinary Oncology Services in New York, said, “This type of treatment on large, exotic animals isn’t getting done anywhere else, not even Europe. It’s incredible.”

The El Paso Zoo reports Juno is alert and walking. The elephant will be monitored closely as she recovers from the procedure.

In January, Juno was diagnosed with a malignant mass in her right mammary gland. Her first electrochemotherapy treatment was in March.

Juno is one of two Asian elephants at the El Paso Zoo, the City said.