Mikayla Beames, 14, finally finds a cancer therapy that works

At 14 years old, Mikayla Beames has been fighting cancer for most of her life.

The teenager, who lives in Childrey near Wantage, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour at the age of just four and has since been through a number of rounds of chemotherapy as well as several other forms of difficult treatment.

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Despite that, she set up a charity called Team Mikayla which has helped to grant the wishes of hundreds of other children also fighting cancer.

For that work, she has won several awards and met Prince Harry twice.

Mikayla Beames meeting Prince Harry when she received a National WellChild Award in October 2016.

However, in November, Mikayla got her own wish granted when she was put on a new treatment for her cancer called 'inhibitors', which help the body recognise and attack cancer cells.

The latest scans of Mikayla's brain, shared by her mother Natasha, show that the tumour has shrunk by a half.

The teenager's family are now thrilled after her turnaround and, in an emotional interview with this paper, her mother said she has been waiting for these results for ten years.

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Ms Beames said: "Mikayla was diagnosed with a large tumour in her brain when she was very young.

"She was very quickly started on to chemotherapy and we have had to do six different rounds of it because the tumour just kept growing.

"Now she is 14, so it has been a very long-winded, hard and draining battle.

Mikayla Beams and mum Natasha present Prince Harry with a handmade plate during tour of Oxford Children's Hospital

"We ran out of ideas of what we can do with the tumour – but there is a new treatment called inhibitors and Mikayla was granted it on the NHS."

Ms Beames said Mikayla was the first child to try the inhibitors treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

She went on: "We have waited ten years to get those answers, it has been a long road.

Mikalya (centre), aged 10, was nominated for a bravery award by Barry Hopkins (left) from The Funky Teapot cafe in Wantage in 2016. Also pictured is Mikayla's mum Natasha, right. Picture: Andrew Walmsley

"We just kept getting bad news after more bad news, so it is so overwhelming and exciting that the tumour has shrunk by a half.

"My girl really deserves a break and at the moment it feels like she has received the miracle cure."

Mikayla lost most of her vision because of the tumour and is now registered blind.

But, after starting this new treatment, she has regained some of her sight and is finally able to read and write on her own.

: Eleven-year-old Mikayla Beames, who has run a charity to help cancer sufferers like herself for the past three years, holding an awards ceremony at Wantage Comrades Club to celebrate and congratulate 60 of her top fundraisers and supporters..Sweatbox

The 14-year-old said that one of her favourite authors is JK Rowling, and she is currently reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Commenting on what it felt like to finally see improvement, Mikayla said: "The past ten years I have been going to the hospital for numerous treatments and I've been kept stable, but we have never had any shrinkage.

"We have only ever had bad news and, for once, I am so happy we have something good to tell our family and friends."

Mikayla Beames, 14, who has battled cancer for a decade, has seen her tumour shrunk in half after trying a new treatment. Pictured with mum Natasha. Picture: Ed Nix

The treatment, however, comes with a number of side-effects including damage to her kidneys, liver and heart, so Mikayla has to have a scan every few months to check for damage.

It also causes rashes, so the girl's face has been covered since she began the treatment, but the family are all confident that the risk is worth taking.

Mikayla has another scan scheduled at the JR in a few weeks' time but her mother is hopeful that things will continue going 'in the right direction'.

Mikayla took Easter eggs to patients at Oxford Children's Hospital in 2015.