A father says he would have been burying his teenage son this week, had it not been for a huge donation to help pay for revolutionary cancer treatment.

Jayden Powell’s brain tumour left him at death’s door, but a whip round at his dad’s workplace helped finance the first stages of immunotherapy in Germany which costs a staggering £200,000.

The 17-year-old was driven from his home in West Malling, on an 11-hour trip through France and Belgium, en route to the Hallwang clinic where he is now receiving life-saving treatment not available on the NHS.

Steve Powell said Jayden had become so poorly on Friday, February 23, that he felt his son would not have kept fighting much longer.

But despite generous donations totalling almost £70,000, the Powell family has now run out of money to pay for the treatment, which costs around £12,000 per week.

The film set construction worker said: “On the Friday Jayden got very ill. I phoned the clinic to see if they would accept a deposit because he wasn’t going to make the weekend.

“The bosses at each of the studios I work at had a whip round and the workers there put £100 or £200 in each.”

The former Aylesford School pupil was diagnosed with the tumour last year. Despite efforts to remove it, it returned twice.

The deposit for immunotherapy was paid after bosses and co-workers at several studios donated and Jayden was picked up at 10.30am the following day.

Following an 11-hour trip the Powell family arrived in Germany and Jayden’s treatment began.

Mr Powell said: “We would have buried him this week, there is no doubt about it.

“His right side stopped working and that was when we knew we were in trouble. He is saying a few words but it is going to be a long process getting him walking again.

“This week he started the second phase and he is much better. We have had blood tests through and a lot of the cells are dying.

“He had swelling on the side of his face and that has gone already. We wouldn’t have got here if it wasn’t for all the bosses and workers that were putting money in.”

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