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HAMILTON - The parents of an 11-year-old Hamilton boy who was forced to undergo chemotherapy against his wishes have agreed to respect the medical decisions of his doctors - for now.

An agreement reached Tuesday between lawyers for the family and the Children's Aid Society will see the boy, who has leukemia, returned to his parents' custody after he's released from hospital.

The boy's father and stepmother lost custody to the aid society when they tried to refuse any further painful chemotherapy, a decision that went against the diagnosis of medical officials who said the boy would die within six months without treatment.

The boy and his parents will now heed any decisions made by doctors, but the agreement also gives them access to a world-class expert - withtou charge - to research if there are any treatment alternatives to chemo.

The father, who cannot be named to protect the boy's identity, said he's relieved that he can now pass some good news on to his son, who had grown increasingly despondent and run down in recent days and just wanted to go home.

"Right now we had to play by their fiddle and that's fine," said the boy's father, who vowed to continue his fight against more chemotherapy, which he said could go on for 22 months, pending the meetings with an expert.

"I feel very happy. I'm very excited that I'm going to be able to go visit my son whenever I please, and when this treatment is over I'm going to be able to hold him and maybe even sleep with him and comfort him."

The boy's family had worried that he was giving up hope and would only get more sick if he gave up fighting.

The agreement, which states that all sides believe the "best interests of the child are paramount," was endorsed with "no hesitation whatsoever" by Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz.