Ashya King's Parents Vindicated

[Gromit]

It turns out that Proton Beam Therapy is suitable to treat his condition.

// Dr Jiri Kubes, head of proton therapy at Proton Therapy Center Czech, said: "We have agreed that proton therapy is a suitable method of treatment for Ashya. //

So the parents were right.

// The Prague Proton Therapy Centre has said its clinicians have now received five-year-old Ashya King's medical notes from his doctors in Southampton as his parents are set to be reunited with their son.

A spokesman for the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in the Czech Republic said it had received additional information concerning the status of Asya's health.

He said Dr Gary Nicolin, a consultant paediatric oncologist and lead for paediatric neuro-oncology at the Department of Paediatric Oncology at University Hospital Southampton, had sent complete medical reports, including operation notes, histology reports and imaging reports.
He said the PTC medical board reviewed this documentation at 8am on Wednesday. //

Congratulations to the parents for fighting for the best for their sick child. And getting the right treatment which Southampton Hospital were denying him.

The disgraceful conduct of the hospital needs to be investigated, do you agree.

[Baby_Sham]

Yes, completely agree. It's horrendous what that poor family have been put through!

I read it costs £100,000 per patient for the treatment, so maybe this is why our beloved NHS didn't want to offer it as an alternative to the brain nuking radiotherapy he was set to receive.

[Zacs-Master]

Radio 2 interviewed someone earlier today who said the Czech facility wasn't the most advanced and that the USA had more advanced facilities.

[youngmafbog]

The Doctor from Southampton was just being interviewed. Appears to still be denying it works, also denying every other accusation. You can almost see his nose growing as he speaks and I reckon he has everything crossed.

Both the NHS and Police have shown what this country has become; a Dictatorial Police state.

[gness]

I agree, Gromit.....and I hope it is openly investigated....

[Baby_Sham]

A Dictatorial Police state which, apparently, has more say over our own children's welfare than we, as parents, do.

[cupid04]

I wish the Ashya King well...I only wish that all the other sick children had the same opportunity to receive this treatment to give them all a fighting chance too.

[gness]

Cupid....with luck this will have made others question the decisions of the medical profession a bit more.....and be a bit more inclined to stand up to them...x

[Baby_Sham]

I agree, but I think it's down to hospitals pushing 'the norm', radiotherapy.

Sadly, it seems it's down to the parents of these poor sick children to research the alternatives.

The whole thing has been utterly ridiculous.

[dunnitall]

Agree entirely and yes let's hope that the torment these poor parents and their child have been through because of the doctors and police here will at least help others to see that you need to challenge authority when you feel they are not doing the right job. Hope everything turns out for right Ashya and his long suffering parents.

[Sqad]

\\\\The disgraceful conduct of the hospital needs to be investigated, do you agree. \\\\

I don't know.

\\\\Czech, said: "We have agreed that proton therapy is a suitable method of treatment for Ashya. // \\\

I know that this will upset many ABers, but medical management is quite often a matter of "OPINION".

Clearly from what we know, Oncologists at Southampton do not agree with Oncologists in Czechoslovakia. That is not an uncommon situation.

"Suitable" for treatment with PBT? One means that this could improve the lot of the patient and may even cure him.......does it?

Well, so far the above statement is not substantiated by studies in children with brain tumours.

Would i want PBT for my child with the above information? Probably.

Every time that i have criticised the NHS I have been given some stick and described as "knocking it".........however, this time i am going to stick up for the NHS and it's consultants.

[vulcan42]

The questions I would like to ask are, is the treatment they want for their child available in Spain ? If not why did they go there?

[jno]

A Dictatorial Police state which, apparently, has more say over our own children's welfare than we, as parents, do

that idea has a lot of support, eg when cases like Baby P come up. There will always be doubts over exactly when official intervention is justified; it's a huge grey area.

Suppose they'd been refusing consent for a vital blood transfusion, as other Jehovah's Witnesses sometimes do?

[ummmm]

Vulcan...they have an apartment there.

[Sqad]

Vulcan..........I don't know.

[Daffy6543]

Vulcan, they have an apartment in Spain that they were attempting to sell so as to raise funds to pay for the private treatment in the Czech Republic.

[Sqad]

Believe me, in the state of Spanish economy, it could take them 2-3 years to sell their apartment.

Might be a bit late if that was their reasoning.

[Daffy6543]

I don't know if that is definitely the reason but I have read it in a couple of reports. I did think that maybe they were being optimistic that they could sell it that quickly.

[237SJ]

I read that it was already sold and it was just a matter of signing the papers which is what the father had gone there to do.

[Sqad]

237..;-)

[Sqad]

Vulcan....yes Spain does have Proton Beam Therapy....Madrid.

http://www.mdanderson.es/en/cancer/cancer-treatment/proton-therapy