Youngster from Broughton Astley diagnosed with aggressive brain tumour which led him to lose ability to walk, talk or eat

A six-year-old boy has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour after he started getting headaches after playing football.

Taylan Kurtul from Broughton Astley was found to have medulloblastoma after parents Laura and Toygun also noticed he was wobbly on his feet.

A GP referred Taylan to the Leicester Royal Infirmary after scans revealed the tumour.

Taylan, then five, had a seven-hour operation to remove some of the mass, and is currently undergoing proton beam therapy with chemotherapy to follow.

His aunt, Beckie Chamberlain set up a fundraising page to allow his parents to take time off work to spend with their son and to fund future potential treatments abroad. So far the page has raised more than £72,000.

Beckie lives in New South Wales, Australia. She said: “Laura rang me out of the blue one evening, and said ‘we’ve got really bad news, Taylan’s got a tumour on his brain’. It was an absolute shock and utterly devastating.

''I dropped everything, got on a plane and managed to see Taylan before his operation.”

The surgeons were able to remove the majority of the tumour but when Taylan came round they discovered he was suffering with a collection of side effects from the surgery which left him with serious mobility issues. He was unable to sit, walk, or eat. He also had vision problems and lost his ability to speak.

Results from analysing Taylan’s tumour then confirmed it was the most aggressive type, group 3.

Beckie, 40, added: “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare to hear the words ‘your son has brain cancer’, but to hear the type also has a terrible prognosis is just life-shattering. It’s simply a living nightmare.

“It’s all so much for a little boy to take. Laura and Toygun have told Taylan he has a ‘naughty lump’ in his head the doctors are trying to get rid of.

''He knows the treatment is there to make him strong again and to stop it coming back.

''There’s no point frightening him with any more information than that; it’s more important to stay as positive as possible around him while he is fighting so hard.”

Taylan has had to re-learn to sit, walk, drink and eat. After months of physiotherapy sessions his mobility, vision and speech gradually started improving. He is now able to walk unaided, and talk.

Beckie added: “Taylan is such a brave and resilient little boy. It just makes you realise, nothing else matters in life except the people you love.

''I set up a fundraising page, because we don’t know what the future holds. We are praying Taylan responds well to the radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but want to be ready to start funding any private treatments here or abroad, which Taylan may need to beat this.”

On the fundraising page, Beckie added: “It’s a long road ahead for Taylan, Laura and Toygun and with this comes huge financial difficulty.

''I set up a fundraising page, because we don’t know what the future holds. We are praying Taylan responds well to the radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but want to be ready to start funding any private treatments here or abroad, which Taylan may need to beat this.”

Visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-taylan-beat-brain-cancer to donate or find out more.