Leah still waiting to fly to US

Time is standing still for the parents of three-year-old cancer patient Leah Xuereb who, despite “scary test results”, has not yet been given the go-ahead by London doctors to fly out to the US for life-saving treatment. On Monday, her mother Zhana Xuereb said Leah’s cancer was tripling every week and if she was not flown out to a specialised Texas hospital quickly, she would not be eligible for treatment. Tests carried out on Leah yesterday showed she was getting worse, according to her 33-year-old mother. Ms Xuereb said she was “really worried about the scary test results” after a tumour marker had registered an increase. “The urgency is scary, but we understand everyone’s doing their best,” Ms Xuereb said, adding that the family had not been able to sleep throughout the night. Leah’s €245,000 treatment, sponsored by the Maltese Government, is due to be administered at the Anderson Cancer Centre in Texas. No other hospital in the world can provide the combination of localised chemotherapy and surgery that the little girl needs. The mother said although this procedure was usually carried out on adults, it had been successful on two-year-olds in the US and the family was...