A seven-year-old boy is heading to Boston for life-saving cancer treatment after an emergency appeal by his parents raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in just one week.
Alex Novakovic’s parents had to raise £255,000 in 11 days to pay for him to have specialist radiotherapy in America for a brain tumour.
His plight sparked an extraordinary outpouring of generosity from celebrities, companies and the public.
Alex, seven, is heading to Boston for life-saving treatment on his brain tumour after an emergency appeal by his parents raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in just one week
As a result, Alex was today packing his favourite teddy bears in a suitcase ahead of the family’s planned flight to Boston on Sunday.
He held up a homemade ‘Thank You’ sign that he has created for well wishers.
Celebrities lending support have included singers Joss Stone and Leona Lewis, comics John Bishop and Bobby Davro, ex-England rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio, tennis legend Martina Navratilova and TV presenters Fearne Cotton and Jeff Brazier.
More...
The mother and daughter who were diagnosed with breast cancer on the SAME DAY
Terminally-ill single mum, 23, who fulfilled her dream of having a fairytale wedding gets another wish granted by having a hen do at TOWIE nightclub
After Alex’s story went viral on Twitter and Facebook, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic also gave the family free flights to America.
At the last minute, some London Marathon runners also asked sponsors to donate to the emergency appeal and hurriedly arranged fundraising events took place across the country.
In the couple’s home town of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, one resident, John Emms, even agreed to spend 24 hours in a tree to raise money.
Alex was today packing his favourite teddy bears in a suitcase ahead of the family's planned flight to Boston on Sunday
And local football team, Aylesbury United, collected money at their recent home game.
Mrs Novakovic, 41, and Mr Novakovic, 53, said that they have been 'overwhelmed' by the public response.
Mrs Novakovic said: 'It’s absolutely fantastic. It gives me so much hope. It’s so exciting for us.
'Alex is delighted. It has really given us a boost.
'The texts and phone calls I’m getting are just too much. Everyone is just flat out.
'I’m so thankful to everybody who is helping my son.'
Alex complained of headaches and nausea for three months and his mother took him several times to her GP and for hospital tests.
Alex's parents launched the fundraising appeal when they discovered that proton bean therapy in America was his only chance of survival
But instead of diagnosing his brain tumour, doctors diagnosed a migraine and even suspected scarlet fever.
It was only when Alex collapsed suddenly at the dinner table on November 15 that he was correctly diagnosed by doctors at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.
But by then his malignant brain tumour was so far advanced that it was thought to be terminal.
Since then, Alex has had endless tests, scans, surgery and intensive chemotherapy for his stage 4 tumour.
At one stage, he was given only days to live but neurosurgeons managed to remove some of the tumour.
Doctors in the UK might have been able to treat Alex successfully if his brain tumour had been discovered early but it was repeatedly missed
Few hospitals worldwide offer the proton radiotherapy Alex needs to survive and nearly all have long waiting lists.
But Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said it can treat Alex for six weeks from April 30 and doctors there say there is every chance he will make a full recovery.
The expensive proton beam treatment is not available on the NHS and Alex's parents have to pay the hospital fees up front.
There are other conventional radiotherapy options in this country but there would be more side effects and his chances of survival would be slim.
Alex, who has three sisters - Kristina, 13, Victoria, 11 and Elizabeth, 3 - has been off school since November.
The use of the hospital’s state-of-the-art proton beam machine for six weeks will alone cost around $330,000 (£225,000).
Delay: Alex complained of headaches and nausea for three months. Despite repeated visits to doctors and hospital tests, his parents were told he just had a migraine
Alex will also require expensive care and monitoring from the hospital’s world renowned team of brain specialists.
The fund-raising appeal will remain open indefinitely while he receives treatment with all proceeds going on his medical bills.
Should any money be left over after Alex’s ongoing medical costs, it will be distributed by charity Kids n Cancer UK to help other children with the disease.
Mrs Novakovic said: 'Alex was complaining of headaches and feeling sick on and off for several months and taking a lot of time off school.
'I took him to the doctor on a few occasions but he only diagnosed a migraine and sent us away.
'He actually vomited in the doctor’s surgery on one occasion.
Treatment: Alex has had endless tests, scans, surgery and intensive chemotherapy for his stage 4 tumour
'I took him as an emergency case to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and they thought it might be scarlet fever and gave him antibiotics.
'Then one night at dinner he said he was feeling unwell and asked to leave the table. As he got up, he collapsed.'
Alex was rushed to Stoke Mandeville where he had an MRI scan before being taken to John Radcliffe Hospital.
His mother said: 'I feel devastated that his brain tumour could have been picked up much earlier.
'One of the John Radcliffe surgeons said that even a month sooner would have meant a better prognosis.
'I can’t describe how awful it has been since Alex collapsed. To be given the news that the tumour was terminal and there was nothing they could do was soul-destroying.
'They said that the tumour had progressed so rapidly that they had to try and take as much out as possible.
Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston say there is every chance he will make a full recovery when treated with proton beam therapy
'Alex recovered from that remarkably well and since then he has been having chemotherapy.
'He lost his hair but he is a strong, brave, mature boy. I have told him I am trying to get him better treatment in America and he understands that.
'Conventional radiotherapy targets not just the cancer but all the healthy organs and tissue and we have been told Alex would have a slim chance of survival. Proton radiotherapy only targets the cancer.
'We've been warned it was unlikely anyone would take Alex because of his prognosis.
'There are long waiting lists; so many people are turned away; and we would not have time to organise it anyway.'
Hope: The fundraising appeal has so far raised £270,000
But Mrs Novakovic’s brother Daniel O’Brien, 31, contacted Massachusetts General Hospital and persuaded them to review Alex’s scans.
His mother said: 'They e-mailed me and said that Alex would be a great candidate for proton radiotherapy and that they felt he had every chance of being cured.
'I have spoken to mothers of other English children who have had the treatment there and made a full recovery.
'The last few months have been like a bad dream in and out of hospitals. This has given me so much hope.'