A teenager has revealed what his experience was like battling a brain tumour and learning how to walk again.

James Stone, 18, from Carpenders Park, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 16.

James had just started college alongside his first job and hoped to join the Army or the Air Force.

James said: “Everything was slotting into place. Then in early September 2016, I started to develop headaches. I put it down to the stress of having a new job, but in the coming weeks, my mum also saw that I was walking slightly off balance.”

After numerous visits to A&E, James was diagnosed with a brain tumour on October 8, 2016.

He said: “I was oblivious at first as to what was happening. My dad was taken aside and told that I had a tumour in the back of my head.

“He came back over to me and told me in a quite light-hearted way, that I had a small lump in my head.”

James had to undergo surgery to remove the main tumour. After waking from the operation, he had to learn to walk and balance again.

He recalls: “It was only when I got home two weeks after surgery that I found a letter about cancer; it all kicked in at once and I realised how serious it was.”

Following surgery, James also had to endure both radiotherapy and chemotherapy to kill off any remaining cancerous cells.

He added: “Radiotherapy was so inhumane, I was strapped to a table by a mask so they could administer the radiation accurately. It made my throat sore to the point I couldn’t eat for weeks.

“Chemotherapy physically and mentally drained me.”

It was during this time that he joined the charity Teens Unite to help keep him company.

Speaking of the charity, James said: “I cannot explain how much Teens Unite have done for me. I have made so many amazing friends and they have given me some of the best memories I have.”

James is now in remission and is looking to become a plumber.