Oncologists at UC Irvine Medical Center are pairing robotic baby harp seals with women receiving chemotherapy to study whether the cuddly mechanical creatures can ease pain and stress. “Quality of life is a very important predictor of survival in ovarian cancer,” said Dr. Krishnansu Tewari, a gynecologic oncologist at UC Irvine and the study’s primary investigator. “The theory is that patients who have a good quality of life have a stronger immune system, and a stronger immune system lets you fight the cancer better.”
