Newsuk newsProton therapycancer

Ashya King's Parents Say Son's Brain Cancer Was Cured By Proton Therapy Which NHS Denied

Our Son's Cancer Was Cured By Proton Therapy, Ashya King's Parents Say
Jessica Elgot
|

Ashya King's life was saved because he was given treatment not available for him on the NHS, his parents have alleged.

The five-year-old's family have told of his "miracle" recovery, as the centre where he was treated declared him cancer-free, The Sun reported.

Ashya's mother Naghmeh, who alongside her husband Brett sparked an international manhunt last summer by removing the little boy from hospital in Southampton without medical consent, described the news as incredible.

Open Image Modal

Ashya King is transported to the Proton Therapy Centre where start his proton treatment

"If we had left Ashya with the NHS in Britain, he would not be with us today. He was too weak and would not have survived," she told the paper.

Ashya was finally allowed to undergo treatment at the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague for brain cancer after a long legal battle fought by his parents. The Sun quoted a report from the PTC which stated that the oncology department "could speculate that Proton Therapy received could be sufficient to sterilise sites of possible future relapses of the tumour and chemotherapy could deteriorate the quality of life of Ashya".

Open Image Modal

The Sun's front page

Ashya's father Brett said his son's condition now justifies their actions in taking him from Southampton General Hospital last August, to Spain where they have a holiday home.

He said: "We have saved his life", adding that they would do the same thing again if they felt they had to.

The Kings were arrested in Spain and spent several nights in prison away from their son, before being released.

A High Court judge approved the move to take Ashya to Prague for proton therapy, which the PTC said is more effective than the radiotherapy Ashya was being offered on the NHS.

It limits the collateral damage of radiation to other vital organs, such as the heart and liver in Ashya's case. This would lead to less severe long-term side-effects including heart and breathing problems.

The therapy was not available for him on the NHS, although the health service later agreed to fund Ashya's treatment.

The family, who have previously spoken of their apprehension over returning to the UK for fear social services would get involved, are staying in Marbella where Ashya will continue his recovery.

Ashya King
Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(01 of11)
Open Image Modal
Five-year-old British boy Ashya King arrives for pre-cancer treatment examinations at Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. Brett, left, and Naghemeh King, second left, arrive with their five-year-old son Ashya King for pre-cancer treatment examinations at Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. The British boy who caused an uproar after being taken to the Spanish city of Malaga by his parents from a U.K. hospital without doctors' consent landed in Prague on Monday to get treatment for his brain tumor at the hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(02 of11)
Open Image Modal
Ashya King, 5, arrives for pre-cancer treatment examinations at the Motol hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. A British boy who caused an uproar after being taken by his parents from a U.K. hospital without doctors' consent landed in Prague on Monday to get treatment for his brain tumor. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(03 of11)
Open Image Modal
Brett, left, and Naghemeh King, second left, arrive with their five-year-old son Ashya King for pre-cancer treatment examinations at Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. The British boy who caused an uproar after being taken to the Spanish city of Malaga by his parents from a U.K. hospital without doctors' consent landed in Prague on Monday to get treatment for his brain tumor at the hospital. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(04 of11)
Open Image Modal
Naghemeh King, right, accompanies her son Ashya King, 5, as he arrives for pre-cancer treatment examinations at the Motol hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. A British boy who caused an uproar after being taken by his parents from a U.K. hospital without doctors' consent landed in Prague on Monday to get treatment for his brain tumor. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(05 of11)
Open Image Modal
Brett King gestures as he answers questions from the media, after visiting Proton Treatment Center where his 5-year-old son Ashya King will receive treatment in Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. A British boy who has a severe brain tumor landed in Prague on Monday for treatment. The boy's parents, Brett and Naghmeh King, were initially arrested by Spanish police after they removed Ashya without medical consent from a hospital in the English city of Southampton and drove him to Malaga. They were later released after charges against them were dropped by British police. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
APTOPIX Spain Britain Boy Brain Tumor(06 of11)
Open Image Modal
Brett and Naghemeh King, parents of Ashya King, speak during a press conference in Sevilla, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The British parents are heading to see him at a hospital in southern Spain following release their from custody after United Kingdom authorities dropped accusations of child cruelty against them. Brett King, the father of 5-year-old Aysha, told reporters in the Spanish city of Seville that everything he and his wife did for their son was for the boyâs own good. The boy has a brain tumor and is hospitalized in Malaga, about a 2-hour drive from Seville. The parents were incarcerated near Madrid on Monday and released Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CORRECTION Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(07 of11)
Open Image Modal
CORRECTS NAME TO ASHYA - A woman pushes a baby carriage past a Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The parents of the five-year-old Ashya King, who has brain tumor, plan to sell a property to pay for proton beam radiation therapy in the Czech Republic or the U.S. The British parents Brett and Naghemeh King , who took their critically ill son for treatment abroad are heading to see him at a hospital in southern Spain following their release from custody after U.K. authorities dropped accusations of child cruelty against them. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CORRECTION Czech Republic Britain Boy Brain Tumor(08 of11)
Open Image Modal
CORRECTS NAME TO ASHYA Man enters the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The parents of the five-year-old Ashya King, who has brain tumor, plan to sell a property to pay for proton beam radiation therapy in the Czech Republic or the U.S. The British parents Brett and Naghemeh King , who took their critically ill son for treatment abroad are heading to see him at a hospital in southern Spain following their release from custody after U.K. authorities dropped accusations of child cruelty against them. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Spain Britain Boy Brain Tumor(09 of11)
Open Image Modal
Brett, right, and Naghemeh King, speaks during a press conference in Sevilla, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. British prosecutors are dropping the case against a couple who ended up in a Spanish jail after they tried to get treatment abroad for their son's severe brain tumor, authorities said Tuesday. Brett and Naghemeh King were pursued by police after they took 5-year-old Ashya out of a hospital in southern England against doctors' advice and traveled to Spain, where they planned to sell a property to pay for proton beam radiation therapy in the Czech Republic or the U.S. They were arrested on a British warrant on suspicion of cruelty to a person under 16 years of age, and were in custody in a jail near Madrid. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Spain Britain Missing Boy(10 of11)
Open Image Modal
Ashya King parents's lawyer, Juan Isidro Fernandez Diaz, arrives at the National court in Madrid, Spain, Monday, Sept. 1, 2014. A critically-ill 5-year-old boy driven to Spain by his parents, Brett and Naghemeh, against doctors' advice is receiving medical treatment for a brain tumor in a Spanish hospital as his parents await extradition to Britain, police said Sunday. Officers received a phone call late Saturday from a hotel east of Malaga advising that a vehicle fitting the description circulated by police was on its premises. Both parents were arrested and the boy, Ashya King, was taken to a hospital, a Spanish police spokesman said. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
France Britain Missing Boy(11 of11)
Open Image Modal
A copy of the photo released with a Yellow Notice issued by the international police force Interpol, Friday Aug. 29, 2014, asking for help to locate the missing five-year old boy Ashya King, who is believed to be in France. Police are searching for the five-year-old British boy who is suffering with a severe brain tumor whose parents, believed to be Jehovahâs Witnesses, took him out of a British hospital on Thursday and were last seen in France. The boy needs urgent medical treatment. (AP Photo/Interpol) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip