A woman in Tampa, Florida spent £50,000 on chemotherapy after her pet parrot was diagnosed with cancer. The 42 year parrot, Areba, passed away on Tuesday at Tampa's Florida Veterinary Specialists, after fighting cancer for more than a year.

Anne Lowery, the owner, noticed a strange lesion on Areba's beak, back in October of 2008. It was in February 2009 that it was diagnosed with cancer.

Lowery said, "When the doctors at Tampa told me that Areba had cancer, they gave her only two months to live".

"Even though she was in middle age for a parrot, this seemed an aggressive time frame and I thought nothing of putting her into the care of the staff at the Florida Veterinary Specialists", said a teary Lowery.

Lowery revealed that her pet had been her companion for 30 years, and she did not think of the treatment costs for once.

Dr. Teresa Lightfoot, who supervised the parrot's treatment process, reminisced that the parrot was extremely well spoken, and had adapted to the rigorous treatment pretty well.

"We got an extra 11 months and the staff ended up loving her as much as we did", said the visibly moved owner.