Therapy gap

Much is made of the fact that Brett King is a Jehovah’s Witness but his attempt to obtain proton beam therapy (PBT) for his son Ashya’s grade four brain tumour is perfectly rational.

PBT enables physicians to deliver higher, more conformed doses to the tumour while almost completely sparing the healthy tissue of the brain and is especially indicated for children.

That such treatment is not available on the NHS is a disgrace and I am reminded of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi outliving his three-month life expectancy by three years.

There was a huge fuss, with Kenny MacAskill accused of all sorts of shenanigans but the fact is Megrahi was treated in Libya with highly effective cancer drugs not available here.

(DR) John Cameron

Howard Place

St Andrews