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Ashya King to finish proton beam therapy after ‘dramatic’ improvement Ashya King completes proton beam therapy after ‘dramatic’ improvement
(about 1 hour later)
Brain cancer patient Ashya King will receive his final dose of proton beam therapy as his condition continues to improve, the clinic treating him has said. Ashya King, whose parents triggered an international police hunt when they removed him from a British hospital and headed to Spain, has completed his proton beam therapy for a brain tumour, the clinic treating him has said.
The five-year-old’s story garnered global attention in August when his parents removed him from a Southampton hospital without medical consent, triggering an international manhunt. The five-year-old is due to leave the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in the Czech capital, Prague, where he is said to have responded well to his treatment.
Brett and Naghmeh King took Ashya to Spain, where they were later arrested and held in a prison in Madrid. They faced a protracted legal battle to get their son to the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague, with a high court judge approving the move only after the pair had been released from custody. His parents, Brett, 51, and Naghmeh King, 45, from Southsea, Portsmouth, were arrested after they removed Ashya from Southampton general hospital on 28 August without medical consent, and took him and his six siblings to Spain, where they had previously lived.
Iva Tatounova, director of the PTC in the Czech capital, said: “Ashya has been very well and we are expecting him today for his last day of proton therapy. I don’t know if you remember the pictures when he was transported here – just lying on his bed in the ambulance. The couple had rejected conventional radiotherapy offered in Britain, believing proton beam treatment was more effective in limiting the collateral damage to other organs, and would lead to less severe long-term side-effects for their son.
“Now he can sit on his own, he can play with the toys and his motorics improved dramatically. He can also react to his surroundings.” They were held in a Madrid prison for three days after a European arrest warrant was issued but later released without charge. They faced a protracted legal battle to get treatment in Prague as Ashya was made a ward of court.
She told the BBC that Ashya’s family were planning to leave at the weekend for Spain, where he will continue receiving treatment. On completion of his treatment he would have had 30 irradiation sessions to eradicate his rare tumour. A high court judge in London approved the treatment with the agreement of doctors who had been treating him in Southampton. Ashya is expected to undergo further treatment in Spain, possibly including chemotherapy.
The PTC says proton therapy is more effective than radiotherapy as 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. “Ashya does not have to stay in bed, he is able to sit and hold his own head, reacts with interest to his surroundings and faces the people around him,” said the clinic director Iva Taťounová.
The therapy is not available to him on the NHS, though the health service has since agreed to fund Ashya’s treatment. Doctors have said if chemotherapy and radiotherapy are combined there is a 70-80% chance of a cure for medulloblastoma.
This week the Kings released a video showing them taking Ashya to a park. Brett King said every parent should be aware that consent to treatment proposed by a doctor could influence the destiny of their child. “We should always ask ourselves whether we really have all the information and that we have done everything to ensure that our children receive the very best. The doctor may not know everything or can follow other interests, official, corporate or personal. I did my research, made my decision and I’m happy,” he said.