The family of a Renton teenager who has a very rare form of throat cancer had a successful trip to Germany at the beginning of the month to be fitted with a mask which will be used when he receives potentially life-saving treatment there.

Arin Kirilmaz’s devoted mum and dad, Eileen and Hakki, as well as his twin brother Leon, all flew there together so the family didn’t need to be separated over the festive break when Arin attended a hospital appointment in Dusseldorf on January 2.

Arin, 14, was measured and fitted with a mask which will protect the rest of his body when he receives a specialist type of radiation there called proton beam therapy, in February.

He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in October last year after he complained of severe headaches.

It is so rare that it only affects 250 people each year and is most common in older men, aged 30 to 50, from south east Asia, so it’s very unusual for a teenager to have it.

Initially, his mum thought his headaches were being caused by him spending too long on his Xbox and staring at his phone screen.

But when an optician said his eyesight was fine Eileen grew more concerned and took Arin back to the GP for further investigation.

Since his diagnosis Arin’s been undergoing gruelling chemotherapy treatment 24 hours a day for six days at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, followed by a two week break to try to beat the illness.

However, doctors said from the beginning that he would be more suitable for proton beam therapy than traditional radiotherapy.

Proton therapy, which has less severe side-effects because it targets the cancer more precisely, isn’t available in the UK and a family friend, Jade Anderson, 32, set up a Just Giving page, affectionately calling themselves ‘Arin’s Army’ to raise the money for his treatment.

The whole community has since rallied round and raised a phenomenal £9,478 to enable Arin to travel abroad with his family for the innovative therapy.

Arin, a Vale of Leven Academy pupil, was very unwell just seven days before Christmas and had to be rushed to hospital, but the brave teen fought the illness and managed to get home for Christmas to enjoy the festivities with his family and friends.

He even managed to tuck into a small portion of Christmas dinner, turkey and all the trimmings, and lots of Quality Street chocolates.

Eileen, 51, from Tontine Park, said: “We were all very worried about him before Christmas, he was so ill and lifeless, and it was touch and go whether he’d make it home for the holiday.

“He’d lost a lot of weight due to constant sickness and nausea, so he was fed through a tube in his stomach in the hospital for a while to build up his strength.

“We were thrilled when he was well enough to come home, and felt much better over Christmas. His headaches have gone away completely, and I think that’s a very good sign.”

She added: "The fitting for the mask went well and it's ready for him."

Arin returned to the UK on Monday, January 7 for his third course of chemotherapy to begin and he's due to go back to Germany on February 4 for his first proton beam therapy treatment.

Eileen added: “I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support and donations, everyone has been amazingly kind.

“We hope that we have caught this early enough and that Arin can be one of the lucky ones.”