Mother 'may agree to radiotherapy'

A woman who ran away with her seven-year-old son to stop him having cancer treatment said she will agree to radiotherapy if doctors find his brain tumour has returned.

Sally Roberts, 37, disappeared with Neon after a dispute with her estranged husband Ben over the boy's condition and treatment.

But doctors said Neon could die within months without radiotherapy and Ms Roberts has now backed down, saying her son will have to have the treatment if irregularities on a recent scan prove to be sinister.

"After Neon's operation six weeks ago, when the tumour was taken out, they had another operation booked in immediately because they thought there was something else there," Ms Roberts told The Times. "Thankfully they were wrong and I'm just hoping it's the same this time."

If doctors find Neon's medulloblastoma has returned, she will consent to radiotherapy despite fears that it will cause him long-term harm.

"I don't think I will have a choice," she said. "I was so hopeful that we could just get on with other less harmful treatments. But I will be backed into a corner."

Her apparent change of heart came after Neon's case was brought before the High Court in London where a judge was due to decide whether the child should be put through radiotherapy.

But Mr Justice Bodey told a hearing in the Family Division that he would not deliver a ruling because of "developments" in Neon's condition.

The case hit the headlines last week when New Zealander Ms Roberts, who was then living in Tiverton, Devon, disappeared with Neon. Both she and her son were found safe after a judge ordered a search. Ms Roberts, who now lives in Brighton, East Sussex, later apologised for vanishing and told Mr Justice Bodey that she had panicked.

Neon's father, who lives in London and is separated from Ms Roberts, has agreed to radiotherapy but is said to be "apprehensive" about the treatment. A further court hearing is scheduled for December 18.