The Ashya King case concerns a boy with a brain tumour named Ashya King, whose parents, Brett and Naghemeh King, took their son out of Southampton General Hospital in August 2014 over a disagreement with doctors regarding his treatment.
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Background
King had a medulloblastoma, which was successfully removed through surgery on 24 July 2014. He received further neurosurgery on 22 August.
Disagreement over treatment
King's parents desired their son be treated with proton therapy, which they felt was less harmful than conventional radiotherapy. For this reason, on 28 August 2014, they and Ashya boarded a ferry to France. The National Health Service does not provide proton therapy in the United Kingdom, but after the Ashya King case it decided it will pay for children to travel abroad to receive it. A 2015 report stated that King's parents' decision to deny their child chemotherapy had reduced his chances of survival by 30 percentage points.
Manhunt
On 28 August 2014, an international manhunt for King and his parents commenced. On 30 August, King and his parents were found in Velez Malaga, Spain. King's parents were arrested and their son was sent to a local hospital for urgent treatment. They were held in prison for more than 24 hours, after which they were released when the request to extradite them to the United Kingdom was withdrawn.
Beginning of therapy
On 5 September 2014, a high court ruled that King could receive proton therapy in Prague. Doctors from Southampton General Hospital reacted to this news by saying that he would not get any additional benefit from this treatment because most of his brain and spine would still be irradiated. On 9 September, King arrived at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, where he underwent proton beam therapy.
Cancer-free announcement
In March 2015, Brett King told The Sun newspaper that a brain scan had showed no evidence that Ashya had a brain tumor.
Review of the case
Authorities have since conducted a review of the case and pointed out faults by both the staff and parents.