Surprise health boost for cancer hero Stephen Sutton

The 19-year-old, whose story has captured the hearts of the nation, posted on his Facebook page that he was feeling much better after apparently coughing up a tumour on Saturday night.

The Burntwood teenager said he began coughing violently after he had some visitors before forcing out a red oval object.

He wrote on his page: "After a lying there for a bit longer the coughing increased and then suddenly the shortness of breath became incredibly severe.

"Amongst frantic hand pointing and panicking I felt like I was like suffocating.

"Then I forced out an oval red stained solid object through my mouth.

"My breathing and airway straight away felt clearer, but I spent the next hour violently coughing and choking, but then eventually my breathing once again stabilised." He said his breathing has improved and he now feels better than he did when he was first admitted to hospital last weekend.

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He added: "Since then, my breathing has dramatically improved. I'm really stuck for the words of how to describe it.

"The doctors have discussed what's happened and the only plausible conclusion is that I've literally coughed up a tumour that was blocking my airway."

He added: "My lungs are still pretty messy with other tumours, clots and potential infections/inflammations/etc affecting my overall condition but, for now at least, I am in a good stable state.

"I have no immediate problems and in fact feel better than I did when I first came into hospital last Sunday.

"The general oncologist and team I've been seeing will discuss the events with my professor in the morning and we will see where we go from there.

"It's still a case of taking each day as it comes, but at the moment the days just keep on coming."