A CANCER-stricken boy has been taken from his parents’ care after they snubbed life-saving medical treatment for herbal remedies, authorities said last night.
Childcare officials took Joshua ‘Noah’ McAdams, three, into state custody on Monday nine days after doctors in Florida alerted cops that he had missed “necessary” chemotherapy last month.
Little Noah’s “natural health”-loving parents Joshua McAdams, 27, and Taylor Bland-Ball, 22, were also arrested after being tracked down to an address in Georgetown, Kentucky.
The family had allegedly fled their Tampa Bay home 850 miles away after child protective services obtained a court order to take the boy into custody.
Officials took Noah, who suffers from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, to hospital for a check-up before he was placed into care.
His parents have documented the toddler’s cancer battle on social media – where they have railed against medical science and promoted crackpot alternative therapy.
‘BUSTED OUT OF HOSPITAL’
Mum Taylor regularly wrote slamming the use of chemotherapy on children.
And she insisted that her son is recovering because of vitamins and a change in diet.
She wrote on April 16, 12 days after revealing her son’s cancer diagnosis: “We busted on out of that hospital – with no cancer cells left to spare.
“For those asking, we did two rounds of chemotherapy, specifically vincristine because they can get a medical court order to force you to do it anyways for a child with his diagnosis”.
Taylor added: “We also used rosemary, Vitamin B Complex, including B17, [and a] completely alkaline diet.”
‘BIOLOGICALLY SOUND TREATMENT’
Last night, Bland confirmed that her son had been taken into protective custody and thanked friends for their support.
But she insisted that her only crime is wanting “biologically sound” treatment for him.
She blasted: “We are okay. They are taking Noah.
“We are on our way back to Florida tonight. Thank you so much for your support.
“Our hearts our broken and all we want is for our boy to get HEALTHY BIOLOGICALLY SOUND TREATMENT.
“No neglect here considering his levels are the best they’ve ever been and still cancer free after two weeks without chemotherapy – shocker!
“Thank you for standing with us!”
Despite the parents going against doctors’ professional assessments and best interests for the boy, poor Noah’s case has been championed by individual freedoms groups.
BACKED BY ‘FREEDOM GROUPS’
The Florida Freedom Alliance said: “Noah’s mother is passionate about natural health and aware of the dangers of pharmaceutical interventions, especially if not necessary.
“Their desire to seek alternative care resulted in medical kidnapping orchestrated by Child Protective Services.”
A campaign has even been set up for the parents – which has so far raised more than $8,000 (£6,130).
And supporters have bombarded the Facebook page of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office – where news of the parents’ arrest was posted.
Among the thousands of comments, Chellie Anne wrote: “SET THEM FREE. They are not criminals.
“They are beautiful loving parents that have done nothing but take care of their son and respect the doctor’s wishes this entire time.”
But others were sceptical about the parents’ claims that Noah could be cancer free after just 12 days.
Amanda Roberts wrote: “Not seeing cancer on imaging does not mean someone is cancer free.
“Also, none of the people here are oncologists either.”
Police initially warned that dad Joshua may be armed and dangerous when the family first disappeared.
He is believed to own several rifles, cops said.
McAdams and Bland face charges of child neglect when they are charged later.
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