UK cancer boy leaves Prague for Spain

Ashya King, whose parents snatched him from a British hospital, has left a Prague medical centre after proton treatment on his brain tumour.

British brain tumour patient Ashya King

Five-year-old British brain tumour patient Ashya King shows no sign of cancer after controversial treatment. (AAP)

Five-year-old British brain tumour patient Ashya King has left Prague for Spain, a spokeswoman for a Prague medical centre where he had received special proton therapy says.

"He left for Malaga on a regular flight. Everything went as planned," said Proton Therapy Centre spokeswoman Iva Tatounova.

Ashya King, whose case made headlines after his parents had snatched him from a British hospital against the doctors' will in August, spent almost 50 days in Prague.

He underwent 30 sessions of proton therapy with a beam targeting his brain tumour in the Czech capital, and doctors say he now has about a 70 per cent chance of recovery.

After being admitted to the proton centre in a frail state in early September, Ashya can now eat on his own, sit up, play and even walk a few steps.

He is due to undergo further treatment, possibly chemotherapy, in Spain where his family owns a house.

Ashya's parents snatched the boy from Southampton General Hospital in England in August, sparking an international manhunt.

The Kings feared that traditional radiotherapy would damage his brain and opted instead for the proton therapy, unavailable in Britain but touted as more precise as it targets only malignant cells.

The Kings were taken into custody in Spain on an international warrant, after British authorities suspected they were not acting in the best interests of the child.

But after the couple spent four days in a Spanish prison, a British court reunited them with their son in a Spanish hospital and allowed them to travel to Prague for the treatment.

The case received substantial coverage in the British media, with public opinion shifting from outrage to sympathy for the parents.

British prosecutors have dropped the case against them after acknowledging that Ashya had been properly cared for.

But Ashya's father Brett King has said it would take the family some time to pluck up the courage to return to England.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world