Boy's family need therapy cash

Alex needs treatment for a brain tumour

The family of a four-year-old boy are hoping to raise £30,000 to pay for brain cancer treatment in the US.

Alex Barnes can undergo cancer surgery and radiation in Nottingham next week, but his family are convinced proton therapy in Florida is his best hope.

His family, from Fleckney in Leicestershire, say proton therapy is safer for children as it does not damage surrounding tissue.

The family may re-mortgage their home to fund the treatment.

Alex was scheduled to have an operation to remove a suspected cancerous tumour - which would be followed by radiotherapy - at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

The family have not yet made a final decision on where to have the treatment.

We need to move as quickly as we can for him Former footballer Muzzy Izzet

Alex has a condition known as anaplastic ependymoma.

"So far, from the research we have done, it seems the best thing for him", Alex's mother Roz Barnes said.

"The treatment goes straight for the tumour with a strong dose", she said.

The family are afraid there might be some side effects from the radiation treatment.

"It is my duty as a mother to make sure he has the best chance in life."

Former Leicester City footballer Muzzy Izzet, who is a patron of the Wishes for Kids charity, said: "I hope they can raise the money and get out to America and hopefully cure Alex.

"We need to move as quickly as we can for him."

Surgeons in Florida, where Mrs Barnes' brother and parents live, have told her they will waive their surgical fees for the operation.

Proton treatment uses a machine called a cyclotron which produces a beam of protons.

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Proton therapy in Florida may offer his best hope