LONDON — The parents of a five-year-old British cancer patient — who sparked an international manhunt when they took him out of the hospital against doctors' advice — claim their son has been cured of a brain tumor.
Ashya King's parents were arrested in August after they removed him from a U.K. hospital against doctors’ wishes to pursue proton beam therapy — an alternative to radiotherapy — abroad in Prague. Proton beam therapy is is not covered by Britain's National Health Service (NHS).
Brett King and his wife Neghemeh told Britain's the Sun newspaper that scans now show their son is cancer-free.
"It’s incredible news. We are absolutely delighted," Brett King said in an interview published Monday. "It has justified everything we have gone through because things are working out for Ashya. If we had left Ashya with the NHS we don’t think he would have survived. We have saved his life."
The Kings' story made international headlines last year after the parents were tracked down and arrested in Spain. They said they were planning to sell their second home there to pay for the treatment in Prague.
IN-DEPTH
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- British Boy With Brain Tumor Ashya King Reunites With Freed Parents
