FIVE-YEAR-OLD Alfie Smith needs to go to America for treatment for his rare brain tumour – and his family are asking readers for their help.

Tina Smith, 40, from Weymouth, experienced every mum’s worst nightmare, when she was told that her son’s swollen eye was in fact a brain tumour.

After months of hospital appointments, seeing doctors and opticians, she finally got the fateful diagnosis last June.

Little Alfie had first experienced a swollen eye at Christmas in 2014, but when it still hadn’t healed in February, Tina took him to the doctors.

In June, he received an MRI scan and the family were told the news, mum Tina said: “They found the tumour in his eye. My whole world just crashed.”

The tumour, meningioma, is a common tumour in adults but it’s very rare in children.

Tina said: “They thought it was an eye tumour, but it is a brain tumour. It came from the brain lining and grew down into his eye.”

Alfie has since had several operations and needs one final operation before he will fly out to America for proton therapy, a radiation treatment.

Tina said: “They can’t cure it. All they can do is treat it. It involves too much bone, they will never remove it all. But hopefully the protons will stop it growing.”

The family are looking to spend around eight weeks in Florida or Oklahoma at a hospital while Alfie receives the treatment.

Alfie has been referred overseas by the NHS, who will cover the cost of the treatment and give the basic costs to cover two people going out with Alfie and basic costs to cover somewhere to stay and food.

Tina started a fundraising page to help the family with additional living costs while they are out there and to help keep their family house running in Westham while they are away.

The family are also hoping to fundraise to take one of Alfie’s older brothers, Jordan, 17, with them.

Proton therapy is 94 per cent effective on adult tumours, but Tina said they don’t know how effective it will be for Alfie, as it’s so rare in children.

She said: “I’m scared. I’m not shocked anymore. I don’t know the outcome. I also think, am I going to outlive my child? No-ones got the answers.”

But through it all, Alfie, who also has Asperger’s Spectrum Disorder, has been really resilient and is always thinking of his family. Tina said: “He takes it all in his stride. Nothing phases him.”

To support the family and donate to the fund to get Jordan out to America and help towards food and living costs, just click on this link.