Found Alive UK - Ashya King, 5, Southampton, 28 Aug 2015

[ZaZara]

ASHYA'S TESTS WERE POSITIVE, BUT PARENTS FEAR HUGE LEGAL BILLS

The Telegraph reports:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...ls-may-eat-into-funds-for-sons-treatment.html


The parents of Ashya King have revealed they will struggle to pay their son's medical bills after racking up huge legal costs in their battle to get him potential lifesaving treatment.
The couple owe tens of thousands of pounds in legal bills from high court hearings to fight for their freedom and their son's return to their custody.


Brett King said: "My wife asked me how will we afford this, I don't know. We have huge legal bills to pay. We don't know how much it will be, but you know how much lawyers cost.
"We just hadn't thought about it until now. We just want to get our son here."

Medics at the Proton Therapy Centre in Prague said Ashya's brain tumour has not increased in size since he underwent surgery.

Initial scans at the Proton Therapy Centre in Prague, where he is due to start treatment on Monday, were positive.


BBM


Oh the Price of Priceless Justice.....!


:justice:

 

[Ellmau]

I thought they'd been given lots of donations and a charity had offered to pay the medical bills?

Also from that link:

Yesterday, however, a senior health official and one of the country's leading experts on proton therapy, warned that the treatment was not a "magic bullet".
Dr Adrian Crellin of NHS England declined to comment specifically on Ashya's case but said: "Dose for dose, proton beam therapy - the beam - is actually no more effective than conventional radiotherapy.
"It isn't a magic bullet in that sense, it's not a different treatment.
"I have had contact from individual patients over the last few years where there is a last desperate hope that protons will be that magic treatment that will suddenly transform a very sad situation into something wonderful."

I do hope it works for Ashya.

 

[Supernovae]

Hmm:

http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/...dlines-when-living-in-milton-keynes-1-6291991

 

[Little Jedi]

Hmm:

http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/...dlines-when-living-in-milton-keynes-1-6291991

:giggle: It's a quite common occurrence - You know that old saying about 'An Englishman & his Castle'

"A war of words involving lawyers, council official and even police erupted when the school chopped down a boundary hedge, which the Kings insisted was theirs."

 

[Little Jedi]

I think the longer term effects is the major difference , not the actual treatment itself.

"One problem with X-ray radiotherapy remains – once the beams have entered a person’s body, they keep going.
Although the radiation beams are focused on a tumour, so the dose to the surrounding tissues is minimised, there will inevitably be some potential damage, leading to short or long-term side effects.

While this is obviously not ideal for cancer patients at any age, it can be particularly harmful for children (especially those being treated for brain tumours) as their bodies are still developing and they’re more susceptible to the effects of radiation.
They’re also more at risk of developing a second cancer later in life, caused by their early exposure to radiation.

One way to avoid these problems is to zap tumours with a beam of protons, rather than X-rays. "

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk...to-the-uk-but-what-does-it-mean-for-patients/

 

[Ellmau]

But haven't they said that with Ashya's form of cancer they have to treat the whole of his brain and spine anyway, whether that's with protons or the other kind?

 

[Ellmau]

Anyway, treatment is now due to start in Prague on Monday.

Grandma says the poor little boy has been traumatised by the separation from his parents in Spain:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...m-parents-destroyed-him-says-grandmother.html

 

[ZaZara]

Anyway, treatment is now due to start in Prague on Monday.

Grandma says the poor little boy has been traumatised by the separation from his parents in Spain:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...m-parents-destroyed-him-says-grandmother.html

"He is a really scared little boy now. He was never like that before. He can't speak or communicate with anyone to tell them how he feels.

"It is really heart-breaking. It is not the same Ashya we knew before. He is now crying all the time - he never used to do that at all. They really have destroyed him. I am just so upset by what has happened.


:notgood:

 

[ZaZara]

LAWYER: 'AHSYA KING HAS A 80% CHANCE OF RECOVERY AND CURE'

Antena3 / Espejo Público speaks with the lawyer of the King family
http://www.antena3.com/programas/es...as-curacion-ashya-king-son_2014091100062.html

Translation:

After the hard legal battle the King family have arrived in Prague and their son Ashya is ready to undergo an experimental treatment. We get to know the latest news about his health from the lawyer of the family, Juan Isidro Fernandez.

The story of little Ashya King has gone round the world. The struggle of the King family to heal the illnes of their little boy made them decide to take him from the hospital where he was admitted, without medical consent. This prompted the issuing of an arrest warrant for the parents in order to be prosecuted and the case became known internationally .

Now, in Prague, the child's health status has improved at the moment when he is about to undergo an experimental treatment. His lawyer, Juan Isidro Fernandez has come Espejo Público to state the motivations of the family and to discuss the health and new treatment of Ashya.

Juan Isidro Férnandez ensures that the infant no longer has metastasized and is ready to undergo treatment in Prague with a probability of 80% cure. Also, he wants to denounce the forced separation from the parents, Fernandez calls this a "human rights violation" and defends the innocence of this family emphasizing that their religion should be separated from the actions of the parents. "It has nothing to do with religion in this case, Jehova Witness or not is irrelevant," he says.

Moreover, the parents of Ashya King have opened a case in court to investigate if they were really putting his life in danger when they took him out of the hospital, as British doctors say. In any event, their counsel considers the detention to be a disproportionate measure and advocated for policie supervision of the parents and a provisional detention. "They were looking for an alternative treatment for their child," says Fernandez and he doubts the claims of physicians: "If the child was in mortal danger, the British authorities should have decreed a warrant and not have taken so long."

"They have wronged these parents who only had eyes for the health of their young child," says the lawyer, adding that the parents are busy with processing his Spanish nationality.


BBM


There is a lot more info in the video at the link. For those of you who understand Spanish, the lawyer tells how Ashya has improved once he was reunited with his parents. The lawyer is also very much impressed with the facilties and the doctors at the Czech hospital, they have the most advanced technology and they are highly professional.


According to The Telegraph on September 5,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...owed-to-take-him-to-Prague-for-treatment.html

Their eldest son Danny King said his parents never want to return to the UK.
"They never want to go back after this," he added. "It's been a nightmare."

 

[Supernovae]

But haven't they said that with Ashya's form of cancer they have to treat the whole of his brain and spine anyway, whether that's with protons or the other kind?

This exactly although, in theory, it could still have benefits in terms of sparing organs and tissues outside of the central nervous system, which could have knock on benefits in reducing the long term risks of damage to the heart and secondary cancers, which is not to be sniffed at in a five year old who, if cured, could have many decades of life ahead.

See this blogpost and the comments:

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/ashya-king-and-proton-beam-therapy/

Note that the paper referenced is a computer simulation of different treatment protocols, there's still not much IRL evidence of benefit of proton beam therapy in medulloblastoma. There are also non-trivial disadvantages with sending patients abroad, in terms of creating delays in starting treatment, which could potentially be a big factor in outcomes for medulloblastoma, particularly a very malignant one, and breaking up continuity of care. This article is very useful:

http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/th...adiotherapy-hype-fiction-and-a-few-facts.aspx

Not mentioned is the cost issue, but that almost certainly has some role as well. When you're spending £100, 000+ to send a patient abroad you want to save it for the ones where the benefits are the largest and best established- the article states:

When the two NHS proton radiotherapy centres open in London and Manchester in 2018, the number of funded indications will expand. The national and local NHS infrastructure will be used to ensure that all aspects of the required care will be delivered in an optimum way, even though many patients will still be far from home. Childhood cancers like medulloblastoma will almost certainly be included in the agreed indications for treatment in the London and Manchester centres.

Once you have the facilities right there and the money already spent on building and maintaining them, and the clinical and logistic problems of sending patients to other countries removed, then you may as well use them even in cases where the benefits are only small or theoretical.

 

[Supernovae]

The figures of 70-80% correspond with what was said in the Southampton press releases and the court judgement.

 

[Supernovae]

Unfortunately, it's looking more and more likely that the Southampton doctors were right in their initial judgment (although obviously they and the police massively mishandled matters after Ashya's parents removed him from the hospital). I hope I'm wrong.

I think the response to his disappearance is the one thing that I can categorically state they didn't mishandle (what happened leading up to it there's no genuinely independent account of and conflicting claims). With him gone without immediate explanation, the parents non-contactable, no way of ascertaining for sure what sort of treatment he was getting, what their medium term plans for him were or on what time scale, and multiple risks to his wellbeing in the short, medium and long term, I think it was the only appropriate response. It's regrettable that they continued to be in custody for several days but with the gears set in motion across multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions you can't wind these things back instantaneously.

 

[ZaZara]

FATHER WILL ALLOW SON TO HAVE BLOODTRANSFUSION



The Mirror:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ashya-kings-father-says-hell-4256798

Ashya King's father says he'll go against religion and allow son to have blood transfusion

Despite Ashya's parents being devout Jehovah's witnesses, 51-year-old father Brett King says that when it comes to a straight choice, his son comes before his religion.


================


Ashya has started the proton treatment today.

 

[ZaZara]

ASHYA KING SHOWING A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT, CANCER HAS NOT SPREAD


The Mirror:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ashya-king-showing-a-lot-4265791


Brave Ashya King finally had his first bout of hi-tech laser therapy as it was revealed his brain cancer had not spread.

The five-year-old was said to be showing a “lot of improvement” and a top doctor said he had been “smiling and moving his hands and limbs”.

Tests were carried out to check whether traces of the disease had passed to other parts of his body, but the results came back negative.

A source at Prague’s Proton Therapy Centre, where Ashya is being treated, said: “He is showing a lot of improvement from when he first came here. He is moving more and more.

“The test results came back good, the cancer has not spread, so everything is positive.



:happydance:

 

[wendybtn]

I am late coming to this story, but I believed I had read elsewhere that his life expectancy was very short. Of course, I was not aware there was any proposed treatment the parents may have been declining.
A tube feeding can be done by gravity (manually) and actually mimics normal eating as opposed to the continuous drip of a tube feeding.
Good luck to this boy and his family!

 

[Supernovae]

Councillor resigns over disagreement with Chief Executive of Portsmouth Council over investigation into case:

https://twitter.com/BBCPeterH/status/511983925062017024/photo/1

 

[Little Jedi]

Councillor resigns over disagreement with Chief Executive of Portsmouth Council over investigation into case:

https://twitter.com/BBCPeterH/status/511983925062017024/photo/1

Is it just me ? But even after reading that 'tweet' & letter attached I still have no idea who the Councillor is lol.

But I did find this article which I seem to have missed:

Ashya King's father says he'll go against religion and allow son to have blood transfusion

I think that puts an end to all the 'Religious' aspects of this tale once & for all.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ashya-kings-father-says-hell-4256798

Again a Big Thank You to everyone for all the updates :wave:

 

[Supernovae]

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/sc...-council-blocks-to-ashya-king-probe-1-6303251

 

[wendybtn]

Does anyone know if this proton beam treatment is experimental or a new treatment for this particular type of cancer?

 

[wendybtn]

Parents do tube feedings at home all the time. Some older patients even do their own! You can even run on nightly home dialysis as long as there is one trained family member there to do it.