FIGHTING Freddie Rowe-Crowder has completed the first round of pioneering antibody treatment in Germany.

Eight-year-old Freddie, a pupil at St Helen’s School, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in February last year and, although doctors initially told Freddie’s parents Tep Crowder and Tania Rowe that his condition was terminal, he fought back against all the odds and it is hoped that the latest set of treatment will give him a shot at survival.

Freddie, whose �60,000 medication was partly made possible by a Herts Advertiser fundraising campaign, spent 16 days undergoing relentless treatment in Germany and Tep said that it has had some peculiar side effects: “The treatment gave Freddie a fever and the constant morphine made him itch.

“Overall, though, he’s doing fantastically. The doctors are amazed at the way he copes with the treatment and the good grace and bravery with which he approaches it.”

Freddie, who according to Tep replies that he is “brilliant” when asked, landed in England on Tuesday night, but because doctors decided in June to also give him immunotherapy treatment between cycles, Tep said that Freddie has not yet had time to rest.

He added: “Freddie’s made lots of friends on the oncology ward and, though they can’t understand each other, they have the common language of Nintendo!”

The Rowe-Crowder family will return to Germany at the beginning of next month, when Freddie will undergo tests to see how successful the treatment has been. Tep said that after that, the family can look forward to a long weekend away in a cottage, courtesy of children’s cancer charity Adam’s Hats.