LSU Mascot Diagnosed with Cancer

In the SEC, we love our live mascots. Nobody doesn't love Reveille, Texas A&M's erstwhile canine companion. Or Uga, the proud bulldog at the University of Georgia. There's one mascot who takes it over the top. I know because I used to see him every day.

One of the things I'm pleasantly surprised about here in Central Texas is the number of people who, like me are from Louisiana and have moved here. Naturally, when the continent's largest military installation is in your neighborhood, you're going to meet folks from all over the place. Also, Louisiana is just next door and a lot of college grads who received free tuition from the state actually end up moving out of state, usually to Texas (you'd think Louisiana would have fixed this, and now it's bankrupting the state.)

There are Louisiana people all over Texas...and every one of them is sad to hear that LSU's beloved Mike The Tiger mascot has been diagnosed with a rare and inoperable form of cancer.

Yes, this is a live, full-sized and totally wild Bengal Tiger. Yes, the kind you'd find in the jungle in India. His habitat is actually on the LSU Campus.

Mike’s veterinarian, David Baker, DVM, PhD, and his veterinary student caretakers previously noticed swelling on the right side of Mike’s face. On Thursday, May 12, Mike was sedated in his night house and then brought to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine for a physical examination and diagnostic tests.

Once at the LSU SVM, Mike was put under general anesthesia and given a CT (computed tomography) scan to determine the cause of the swelling. All diagnostic findings were reviewed by multiple specialists, both at LSU and at other institutions, and it was determined that Mike has a tumor in his face near his nose. Biopsy analysis led to a diagnosis of spindle cell sarcoma, which is a malignant tumor derived from fibrous connective tissues of the bone. This is an extremely rare form of cancer, but this type of cancer is unlikely to spread to other areas of the body.

In an unprecedented move, the Tiger will be given radiation treatment at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, a facility normally used to treat people. Baker told the media he doesn't know of any tiger being treated for cancer in this way.

Prayers for Mike are requested, no matter which conference you're in or school you root for.

Ginger Guttner, Director of Public Relations at the LSU School of  Veterinary Medicine provided the details in this report.