A teenager diagnosed with an eating disorder after going off his food and losing a huge amount of weight actually had four tumours in his brain.

Chris Mullins, now 15, was even assigned a psychologist when the problem worsened, and had to pull out of school following bouts of severe dizziness and fatigue.

But after his parents repeatedly refused to accept the illness was mental, he was sent for a CT scan which revealed the cancerous lumps.

His mum Samantha, 47, says the catastrophic misdiagnosis could have cost her boy’s life.

She has urged parents ‘not to be intimidated by a health professional’s status when your most precious loved ones are suffering’ and to ‘trust your instincts and insist on scans’ if unsure about the medical advice they receive.

A keen karate competitor and dancer, Chris was no different to most other boys his age.

But his parents began to notice a change in him by February 2018, when he started drinking large amounts of water – often taking up to three litres to bed each night.

When a diabetes test came back negative his parents kept a close eye on him.

By May his drinking had increased even more and in September they could see he was struggling to even finish a meal.

The family posed for a selfie at a rugby match the following month, and Samantha recalls being hit by complete shock when she looked at little closer at Chris’ appearance.

‘He was just grey,’ she said. ‘That was really a trigger moment for us.’

Chris somehow managed to get his black belt in December, despite there being ‘no fight in him at all’, according to his mother.

‘He just had this hollow, sunken look around his eyes,’ she added.

Further blood tests over Christmas and New Year failed to shed light on what was causing Chris’ ailing health.

Meanwhile, he had such little energy he was falling asleep in class amid battles with severe dizzy spells and double vision.

When hypnotherapy sessions similarly failed Chris was referred to a clinic in Bridgend specialising in eating disorders.

Samantha says she always felt at the back of her mind that her son’s illness was not psychological and felt patronised by medics who made her feel like a neurotic mum.

But one day, after Chris’ weight had plunged to just six stone, a nurse at the Princess of Wales Hospital asked whether he’d undergone any scans.

Samantha added: ‘When I said “no”, this look of disbelief came across his face. The scans were arranged for early the following week.’

They revealed the teenager had two large cancerous tumours in his brain and he was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure in his skull and take a biopsy.

‘One of the tumours was wrapped around his pituitary gland. That was the cause of his poor eating,’ Samantha said.

‘When he came around from the operation he took the biggest spoonful of jelly ever. It was amazing.’

Two weeks after the biopsy, Chris was diagnosed with cancerous Germinoma tumours, along with two smaller lumps, and his chemotherapy started soon after.

After four sessions his family was told they would need to travel to Germany as nowhere in the UK is currently equipped to carry out the spinal radiotherapy he needed.

Over six weeks in Essen Chris received 25 rounds of proton beam therapy, which targets tumours more precisely and causes less damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Samantha says she is grateful to her ‘marvellous’ family and friends and Chris’ ‘fantastic’ school, adding that she is also ‘indebted’ to the Latch Welsh Children’s Cancer Charity who funded their travel to Germany as well as their living expenses.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said it could not comment on individual patient cases.

Director Dr Warren Lloyd said anyone concerned about the treatment or service they receive can contact the patient support team at [email protected] or by phoning 0300 0200 159.

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