A SCHOOLBOY who is being treated for a rare brain tumour is starting his final round of chemotherapy.

Twelve-year-old Bailey Yates, from County Durham, has already undergone three six-day sessions of the gruelling treatment and hopes this stint at the RVI in Newcastle will be his last.

His condition, a non-germinomalous germ cell tumour, is so rare only three to four people in Britain are diagnosed each year.

Bailey suffered with headaches and vomiting for two weeks and was initially told it was a migraine or a stomach bug before tests revealed how serious it was on October 31.

Bailey, who has since had two lumps measuring four by three centimetres removed from his brain, said: “The first chemo session was the hardest. They are tiring and wear me out.

“I feel sick when I have it so it will be far better to be back to normal.”

Bailey, who is in year eight at North Durham Academy, enjoys art and drama at school, as well as playing with Lego and computer games such as Minecraft.

He said the support he has received from friends, family and strangers has helped him through the treatment.

Bailey said: “It means a lot because without people texting and asking after me it would not be the same.

“With everyone supporting me it is getting me through it.”

He will still have to undergo a course of radiotherapy once he has had further assessments by doctors.

Bailey lives in Woodside Gardens, in Craghead, near Stanley, with his mother, Cherie, stepfather, Jordan Nicholson, and his sister Chloe, 14, and brothers, Caiden, nine and four-year-old Riley.

Cherie Yates, 33, said: “When I was first told it was like my worst nightmare. I collapsed in the corridor and was a total mess.

“It has been so hard trying to juggle the hospital visits and three other kids.”

Over £1,000 has been raised by wellwishers to give Bailey the chance to experience his first flight in an aeroplane for a family holiday to Majorca after his treatment.

On Sunday, February 26, from 10am-3pm, Beamish Community Football Club is holding a football tournament at North Durham Academy for Under Eight teams from across the region to raise money.

To support Bailey click here