'I want to be a chef when I'm older': Ashya King speaks for first time since doctors said his cancer is unlikely to return three-and-a-half years after he underwent proton-beam therapy abroad

  • Doctors say there's no sign Ashya King's brain tumour will return anytime soon
  • Parents arrested in 2014 for taking him out of hospital against doctors' wishes
  • Eventually they were given court approval to take him to Prague for treatment
  • Ashya had aggressive, rare brain cancer but now he's back home in Southsea
  • Speaking for the first time since he got all clear, Ashya said he wants to be a chef 

By Anthony Joseph for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A boy, who miraculously recovered from an aggressive brain tumour after his parents took him abroad for lifesaving treatment, has revealed he wants to be a chef when he grows up.

Ashya King was refused proton-beam on the NHS when he was in Southampton General Hospital awaiting chemotherapy for his condition - called medulloblastoma. 

His parents Brett and Naghmeh sparked an international manhunt in August 2014 when they took their son, then aged five, out of hospital against doctors' wishes in an attempt to reach Prague where they could get the treatment for his rare cancer.

They fled to Spain and spent 72 hours in jail without their son, before an campaign was launched for their release and for Ashya to get the treatment.  

Eventually they were given court approval to take him to Prague for treatment and doctors now say his tumour has gone.  Today, appearing on Good Morning Britain, Ashya revealed what he loves doing and his hopes for the future. 

Ashya King was refused proton-beam on the NHS when he was in Southampton General Hospital awaiting chemotherapy for his condition - called medulloblastoma

Ashya King was refused proton-beam on the NHS when he was in Southampton General Hospital awaiting chemotherapy for his condition - called medulloblastoma

His parents Brett and Naghmeh sparked an international manhunt in August 2014 when they took their son, then aged five, out of hospital against doctors' wishes in an attempt to reach Prague where they could get the treatment for his rare cancer

His parents Brett and Naghmeh sparked an international manhunt in August 2014 when they took their son, then aged five, out of hospital against doctors' wishes in an attempt to reach Prague where they could get the treatment for his rare cancer

Mr King said: 'We firmly believe if he’d had the treatment the doctors wanted to give him he wouldn’t be around today'

Mr King said: 'We firmly believe if he'd had the treatment the doctors wanted to give him he wouldn't be around today'

When Brett King read the letter from a leading child cancer specialist at Southampton General Hospital after his eight-year-old son Ashya’s most recent brain scan, he sobbed

When Brett King read the letter from a leading child cancer specialist at Southampton General Hospital after his eight-year-old son Ashya's most recent brain scan, he sobbed

Ashya said: I like running, playing football. I support Spain. I want to be a chef when I'm older.'

When Brett King read the letter from a leading child cancer specialist at Southampton General Hospital after his eight-year-old son Ashya's most recent brain scan, he sobbed.

'Dear Mr King, it was good to talk to you yesterday,' it began. 'As we discussed, I have reviewed Ashya's MRI scans with our radiologists. 

'I am pleased to say there is no sign of any tumour recurrences and there is nothing that requires any urgent interventions.'

The letter ended with associate professor and consultant in paediatric oncology Dr Juliet Gray's best wishes that 'Ashya continues to make such good progress'.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Mr King and his wife Naghmeh triggered an international manhunt after they took Ashya, then aged five and suffering from a rare brain tumour, from Southampton General Hospital without doctors' consent in order to seek pioneering proton treatment in Europe.

They feared the chemotherapy and conventional radiotherapy he was about to receive in Britain for his particularly aggressive tumour, a medulloblastoma, would at best plunge him into a semi-vegetative state. At worst, they feared, it would kill him. 

After two days on the run, the Kings were arrested in Malaga, Spain, where they had an apartment, and thrown in jail in Madrid for 72 hours, accused of child cruelty. Ashya, one of seven children, was placed under armed guard in a Spanish hospital, where he howled with despair and confusion.

Following an international outcry, the Kings were finally released. On September 5, 2014, a High Court judge granted them the right to take Ashya to Prague, which had a world-renowned medical hospital specialising in proton therapy.  

Finally, after three tumultuous years, the Kings felt they had been vindicated. 

Mr King old the ITV show: 'We were hoping for the best but planning for the worst. We kept talking to the doctors to ask for help. But we weren't getting too far and asking for second opinions.

'When it came to the fact when they said 'no, we can't help you' we decided to put our plans in action.

'We felt Ashya was strong enough to endure what we were going to put him through.

'We went against the advice against Southampton, but we also had the advice from other doctors from other countries who said 'this treatment will help your son', so it wasn't like our decision and our decision alone. 

Full of life: Ashya, now eight, playing football after making an extraordinary recovery 

Full of life: Ashya, now eight, playing football after making an extraordinary recovery 

'We were influenced by a bigger picture of the world which has different treatments - perhaps more effective treatments.'

Today, Ashya attends a school near his family home in Southsea, Hampshire full-time. He plays football, rides a bike and chatters away 19 to the dozen.

In short, aside from a barely perceptible weakness in his right side — a side-effect of the brain surgery he underwent in Southampton before receiving his proton treatment — he is much like any other eight-year-old boy, albeit a particularly gentle-natured one. 

Mr King said after three tumultuous years, the family feel they've been vindicated. Pictured: Ashya with his father and brothers Matty (left), ten, Yusha (back, middle), 12 and sister Sion, five

Mr King said after three tumultuous years, the family feel they've been vindicated. Pictured: Ashya with his father and brothers Matty (left), ten, Yusha (back, middle), 12 and sister Sion, five

Ashya is now able to enjoy his childhood like any other eight-year-old. Pictured: The happy family smile at their home in Southsea, Hampshire

Ashya is now able to enjoy his childhood like any other eight-year-old. Pictured: The happy family smile at their home in Southsea, Hampshire

Mrs King said: 'What happened to him was very sad because he was a healthy child. I had never met anyone with a brain tumour so it was a great shock to me.

'I was with him at Southampton for five weeks, but when he went to the Czech Republic everything started getting better for him. It was a very difficult time, but we got through it.

'His mother Naghemeh said: 'After three and a half years his tumour hasn't come back sop basically he's got a good immune system. He doesn't get ill at all. He loves running and playing with his dogs as well. It's great.

'With the treatment he would have only survived six months. So his life has been greatly extended.'

A spokesman for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We have and always will dispute the King family's version of events and have described openly the facts of the case whenever these allegations have been made.'

What is Proton Beam Therapy, what is it used for and how does it work?

Proton beam therapy is a type of radiotherapy that aims proton beams at cancers.

While conventional radiotherapy uses high energy beams of radiation to destroy cancerous cells, often damaging surrounding tissue, proton beam therapy aims radiation directly at the tumour.

Because it is so highly targeted it means it can avoid healthy tissue, particularly tissues and organs behind the tumour.

Radiotherapy can lead to side effects such as nausea and can sometimes disrupt how some organs function, but proton beam therapy has a lower risk of side effects.

This means it is effective for treating cancer that affects critical areas, such as brain cancer.  

Ashya King, whose case sparked an international manhunt in 2014, underwent proton beam therapy.

Brett and Naghmeh King were arrested after they took their son, then five, for brain tumour treatment abroad as the NHS initially refused to offer proton beam therapy, which his parents felt was less harmful than conventional radiotherapy.

They took him from Southampton Hospital and travelled to the Czech Republic for treatment at the Proton Therapy Center.

Ashya was finally allowed to undergo treatment a Prague hospital after a long legal battle fought by his parents. Eventually, he was declared cancer-free in March 2016. 

Source: NHS 

CancerNHS

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