The St Peter's, Maitland student who had 3000 tumours removed from his abdomen during a marathon 20-hour surgery in the United States, will have his final post operative check up on Thursday and fly home on Friday, December 20.

He is looking forward to the simple things in life like sleeping in his own bed and a home cooked meal.

His mum Emma said Johey is healing well - still very much in a recovery phase needing pain management and rest. "His appetite is returning but we continue to supplement with formula," she said. "He is going well, all things considered. We have another, hopefully final, check up with Dr Andrea Hayes-Jordan on Thursday."

Johey will have radiation therapy during January targeting tumours around the base of the liver that could not be surgically removed. He now also takes prophylactic Penicillin each day until he is at least 18 to compensate for no longer having a spleen.

Professor Hayes-Jordan will stay in close contact and continue to communicate with Johey's oncologist at John Hunter Children's Hospital, Dr Frank Alvaro, to determine the best ongoing treatment since his is such a rare cancer which is difficult to eradicate and control.

"We would like to send a hearfelt thank you to everyone who has supported recent fundraising events for us. Your generosity meant we were able to hire a car instead of relying on buses," Emma said.