A SCHOOLBOY who suffered a brain tumour the size of a golf ball has been recognised with a special prize.

Joseph Parker was just three years old when he was diagnosed with cancer at the end of the summer holidays in August 2016.

Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens honoured Joseph, now five, for his tremendous bravery with a Star Award.

He was diagnosed after suffering from headaches, which left him pale and wanting to sleep all the time.

Steph, his mother, said: “The headaches were so severe they were literally stopping him in his tracks.

"We went to the doctors after one of these strange episodes and they were not sure what it was.

"The very next morning he woke up and it was back again and he was so pale, we knew something was not right.

“My husband and I took him to A&E and while we were there Joseph was sick.

"They started doing tests and that is when an MRI scan later that same day found he had a golf ball-sized tumour on the back of his head.”

He was treated with a course of high-dose chemotherapy and now has regular MRI scans to monitor his progress.

Steph, 39 and husband Chris, 41, nominated Joseph for the award, having been astounded by his bravery and determination to get on with whatever was thrown at him.

She added: “He has been amazing. As soon as he wasn’t feeling rotten he was up and in the hospital playroom and running around as much as anyone can when you are attached to a drip.

“We got to the end of the six months of treatment and his scan confirmed there was still no sign of the tumour.

"Joseph started school at Charvil Piggott Primary in September, exactly a year to the day after being diagnosed."

Young Joseph also received a £50 TK Maxx gift card, t-shirt and a certificate signed by the likes of Emma Thompson, Una Healy and Peter Andre.

Jenny Makin, from Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens in Berkshire, said: “Joseph is a real star. It has been an absolute privilege to be able to recognise his courage.

“Cancer can have a devastating impact on children and young people and many of those who survive may live with serious long-term side effects from their treatment.”