Ross given the all-clear after cancer treatment

Published on Tuesday 20 July 2010 08:00

A TODDLER who was taken to the US to receive treatment for a rare form of eye cancer has been given the all-clear by doctors.

Ross Anderton underwent eight weeks of cutting-edge Proton Therapy at a specialist hospital in Florida after being diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma.

His parents, Andy and Lesley, raised tens of thousands of pounds for their two-year-old son's treatment and, after the NHS agreed to pay 120,000, they flew out to the US in December to begin the therapy.

Now back at their home in Ormiston, East Lothian, Lesley, 38, said: "We are absolutely delighted. This means Ross has a future."

The couple were originally told by doctors in Scotland that Ross's condition, which affects just 60 children in the UK each year, would involve drastic radiotherapy that would leave him disfigured or brain damaged. However, Lesley found a new form of treatment on the internet that accurately targets cancer cells without damaging healthy cells.

Lesley and Andy, 44, a power station worker, flew Ross and his sister Katie, four, to the Florida Proton Therapy Institute following his diagnosis last August. An MRI scan three months on showed the results were inconclusive, but a second scan earlier this month showed the treatment had worked and the cancer had been forced into remission.

Lesley, a clinical data manager, said: "After everything we've been through, we're so chuffed. We've overcome a massive hurdle. Ross is great now."

Ross's treatment began with several chemotherapy sessions at the Sick Kids hospital but doctors suggested removing his eye or using radiotherapy, which could leave him with damaged facial bones.

Lesley said: "We faced such a battle to get Ross over to America for this treatment but we would have gone to the moon if we had to. We're happy that what we did has paved the way for other families.

"No child should be denied the opportunity to have this treatment if they need it and we would urge anyone going through what we did to talk to their oncologist about proton beam.

"The more people who are aware of this, the better. The NHS are now granting funding for cases like ours much quicker.

"There's a one in three chance the cancer could return but we have to be positive.

"Ross will be affected in some ways as he grows up, but he's here and that's the main thing."

Dad Andy added: "It's great news that the cancer is in remission.

"We just have to keep hoping for good news along the way. We're both really proud of Ross."