LEUKAEMIA sufferer Daniel Berry was arriving home from America today after a revised diagnosis found he can be treated in this country.
Daniel, aged 17, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid -- a rare form of the disease -- in September and has since been through four unsuccessful courses of chemotherapy, resulting in British doctors telling the family that there was nothing more they could do for him.
The Atherton teenager and his parents, Elaine and Gary, left their Crosby Grove home and flew to Texas last Monday to embark on last resort life-saving treatment at the MD Anderson Clinic.
After a three-day consultation American doctors diagnosed Daniel's strain of cancer as Acute Lymphoblastic -- slightly less severe than his previous diagnosis and with treatment available in the UK.
Mrs Berry said: "We had very mixed feelings about this new diagnosis, on the one hand we were pleased that they felt confident that they could treat him but on the other, we felt we were back at the starting line."
A treatment plan was drawn up for Daniel with an estimated cost of £200,000. Although the family have been fund-raising since Daniel's diagnosis they have only managed to raise £40,000, enough to pay for one of five sessions of treatment.
The Berrys were faced with a difficult decision -- to stay in America and risk not being able to afford the complete treatment plan, or to fly home and start a new course of, possibly unsuccessful, treatment in Britain.
Mrs Berry said: "Having travelled thousands of miles and undergone very thorough tests we would have been happy for Daniel to receive the treatment in America, but unfortunately at the moment we only have enough funds for him to complete one course of treatment.
"We could pay for each course individually, but the doctor informed us that if we started the treatment in the USA then once it had commenced Daniel may not be well enough to fly home.
"We faced an agonising wait, trying to keep in touch with the UK to see if we could get any help and also agonising over what was in Daniel's best interests. We felt like the goal posts are continually being moved."
The family finally made the tough decision to travel home and commence treatment at Salford's Hope Hospital.
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