An eight-year-old boy who began snoring in his sleep was found to have a fast-growing form of throat cancer.
When Charlie Miller started snoring , his mum Julie checked his throat and saw a large lump which she thought was a swollen tonsil.
Over Christmas, Charlie was unable to eat or drink so he was taken to A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool Echo reports.
Julie, from Belle Vale , said: "In November Charlie has been snoring for a week and when I looked in his mouth I found a large mass which we thought was a swollen tonsil.
"He saw an on-call ear nose and throat doctor who arranged for him to be brought into clinic at Alder Hey on December 30.
"We arrived at 3pm, he was in the MRI scanner at 4.30pm and then in surgery at 6pm."
Surgeons removed half the mass in Charlie's throat and sent it away to be checked, which revealed the young footballer had Burkitt's lymphoma.
Julie is now constantly at her son's bedside as he battles the condition.
Meanwhile a fundraising drive has been launched to help out the single mum-of-three.
It is being organised by AFC Warner Colts, the Liverpool-based grassroots football club for which both Charlie and his older brother Reece play.
Coach Peter Lanes explained: "Julie is a single parent and will be struggling because of Charlie being in hospital having his chemo.
"I can't believe the response we've had from all the football teams around Merseyside."
So far the Gofundme page has raised over £4,000.
