Grandparents Rid Rare Cancer of 12-year-old boy Using Controversial Laser Treatment

Connah Broom, 12, was diagnosed with a rare cancer when he was five. He had 11 tumors with very low chances of survival. His grandparents, Debbie and Jim, using a controversial laser treatment SPDT (Sonic Photo Dynamic Therapy) and an organic diet, have miraculously rid him of 10 of the 11 tumors.

Broom was suffering from symptoms like heavy sweating and unexplained screaming before he turned four. Doctors took some blood samples and concluded that he was in the fourth stage of neuroblastoma (NB).

Debbie, aged 58 and Jim, 60, were asked to be prepared for the worst by the medics as the drugs were not able to curb his cancer and their grandson was expected to lose this battle with the disease, The Daily Mail reported.

Connah underwent two rounds of chemotherapy and his 11 tumors remained unaffected. Doctors could not perform a surgery as he had a tumor on his heart's main artery. They advised him to undergo a course of full-body radiation, but there were just 50 percent chances of survival and he would also be susceptible to kidney failure.

"Even if he didn't die, the doctor could not guarantee he wouldn't suffer kidney failure. Or have a stroke. Or have to be fed by a tube for the rest of his life," recollected Debbie.

The grandparents didn't lose hope and took the matter into their own hands. They spent £240,000 (above $386,000) on their grandson's treatment. They switched to SPDT, which is a controversial high-intensity laser treatment, and they made sure their grandson ate only fresh and healthy organic food.

"The oncologists were scornful, saying: 'Why are you wasting your money? It won't work,'" Debbie said.

In SPDT treatment a drug called a photosensitizing agent or photosensitizer, and a particular type of light is used. The drugs are exposed to a certain wavelength of light, this results in the production of a form of oxygen which destroys some nearby cells, according to National Cancer Institute.  

The grandparents continued treating Connah this way and cured 10 of his 11 tumors. He was treated with a photosensitizer, which consists of cancer-eating algae.

It's been six years since the doctors said the boy would die but he is still living like any healthy child of his age. He plays soccer, dances and participates in activities and competitions; it's the love and care of his grandparents which helped the 12-year-old survive.

"...when I'm in bed, when I have time to myself, that's when I think about the cancer. I feel lucky and unlucky. Lucky 'cos I'm alive and not dead. But unlucky 'cos sometimes I think: 'Am I going to make it to tomorrow?'," Connah Broom said when he was questioned about his cancer.

The story of the struggle of the Brooms is also published in a book called 'The Amazing Cancer Kid,' written by the Brooms and co-authored by Johnathan Chamberlain, author of 'The Cancer Survivor's Bible'.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer which affects children under the age of five. About a hundred children get diagnosed with NB every year in the U.K., according to Cancer Research U.K. and around 650 such cases are reported each year in the U.S.