Friday, August 25, 2006

First Fish To Undergo Chemotherapy Dies

Bubba the Queesland Grouper was born a female but became a male. More remarkably, this Shedd Aquarium resident was the first fish to successfully undergo chemotherapy. Now, staff members at the Shedd Aquarium are mourning the death of a most “super grouper.”

Bubba died suddenly on Tuesday. Teams were mobilized to provide emergency medical care to Bubba, but efforts to save the fish were not successful.

Bubba was born a female, but later became a he because groupers can actually change gender as they mature because of social and other factors. Bubba was left as an abandoned pet at the Shedd in 1987.

Bubba was diagnosed with a type of cancer and successfully treated in 2003, earning him the nickname “super grouper” by the media who followed his story. He became an inspiration to cancer paitents and even has a tile in his honour at the Hope Children’s Hospital oncology division in Oak Lawn, Ill.

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