Updated

North Carolina State University's cancer treatment program has gone to the dogs.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that the school is about to become the first in the country to offer bone marrow transplants for dogs suffering from lymphoma.

Dr. Steven Suter says the College of Veterinary Medicine plans to begin performing the $15,000 procedures in about a month.

The assistant oncology professor arranged for N.C. State to accept three donated leukophoresis machines from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The machines harvest healthy stem cells from canine patients and then reintroduce them into the bloodstream.

To be eligible for a bone marrow transplant, a dog must weigh 55 pounds or more.