JAMES Mann, who “was the picture of health” until he started struggling with vertigo, died just three months after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The 21-year-old police officer returned from a holiday in Greece in June 2025 feeling “imbalanced”.

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James Mann with his mum DianneCredit: PA Real Life
 

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James felt dizzy after coming back from holiday in GreeceCredit: PA Real Life
 

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He was diagnosed with vertigo but his symptoms kept getting worseCredit: PA Real Life
But he was reassured by his GP it was caused by crystals in his ear getting dislodged during the flight.

He was diagnosed with vertigo in August after his symptoms failed to improve.

In October, his mum Dianne pushed for an urgent MRI scan.

When the results came through, the family’s “world just collapsed” – as doctors discovered a mass on James’ brain, an aggressive, stage four tumour.

Doctors told me I had anxiety – I’d unknowingly had a brain tumour for 20 YEARS

James underwent multiple surgeries but the tumour rapidly regrew, and he tragically died in January 2026.

Dianne, 53, who works in child protection, said: “If love alone could have saved James, he would have lived forever.

“It was just hell on earth for him.

“From the moment he realised the horrors of what was coming for him, he supported his brother and sister because he knew they were going to lose him.”

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After James returned home from a holiday at the end of June 2025, he complained of feeling “imbalanced” and thought his ears had not “quite cleared and settled” following the flight.

Around two days later, James visited his GP who said the crystals in his ear had been dislodged and gave him exercises to do.

Over the following weeks, he began experiencing additional symptoms including dizziness and vomiting.

James returned to his GP a further four times over the next few months, and in August he was diagnosed with vertigo and signed off work.

He returned again in September, complaining of worsening symptoms, but was given the same diagnosis.

At the end of October 2025, Dianne spoke to James’ GP herself, expressing her “grave concerns”.

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Doctors discovered a mass on James’ brain in November 2025 – he’s pictured here as a kidCredit: PA Real Life
 

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James had multiple surgeries and was on life supportCredit: PA Real Life
 

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James was a police officer with Hertfordshire ConstabularyCredit: PA Real Life
Dianne explained: “It was an acceleration of the same symptoms – his dizziness was affected, and he was struggling to walk without touching either the walls or furniture to steady himself.

“He also had to stop driving. He was a busy, driven, 21-year-old who loved his work and was having the best life so he was really frustrated.

“None of us could understand how someone who was the picture of health, a qualified personal trainer, who loved his sport and was the epitome of strength, could suddenly be like this.

“It seemed a bit crazy that nothing seemed to be able to be done for something that is extraordinarily debilitating for him, out of thin air.”

What is a glioma?

Gliomas are cancerous brain tumours that start in glial cells.

These are the supporting cells of the brain and the spinal cord.

There are different types of gliomas, some of which grow faster than others.

Common signs and symptoms of gliomas include:

Headache, particularly one that hurts the most in the morning.
Nausea and vomiting.
Confusion or a decline in brain function, such as problems with thinking and understanding information.
Memory loss.
Personality changes or irritability.
Vision problems, such as blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision.
Speech difficulties.
Seizures, especially in someone who hasn’t had seizures before.

Source: Mayo Clinic

Dianne pushed for James to have another appointment with his GP the following day and for him to be referred for an urgent MRI scan.

She managed to secure James an appointment on November 10, 2025.

Dianne said: “This is when our world just collapsed.”

Immediately after the scan, the radiographer spoke to James and Dianne, informing them that a mass had been found on his brain.

He was urgently referred to the neurology team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and underwent emergency surgery there on November 13 to relieve pressure inside his skull, which had become “life threatening”.

On December 17, he had surgery to remove 70 per cent of the tumour – no more could be removed due to its position.

Following the operation, James developed an infection and his brain was not draining correctly, meaning he did not recover as quickly as doctors had initially hoped.

He and his family were then told he had a high-grade, progressive tumour, which they now know was H3K27 midline glioma.

According to The Brain Tumour Charity, it is an aggressive grade 4 brain tumour that is situated in the midline structures of the brain and central nervous system – typically the brainstem, thalamus, midbrain or spinal cord.

He later underwent further surgery to repair a wound on his head, followed by another procedure in the first week of December to insert a shunt.

On the same day, he suffered a seizure and was placed into a medically induced coma.

After five days on life support, James woke up.

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James and his siblings as childrenCredit: PA Real Life
 

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Dianne, James, Ben and KateCredit: PA Real Life
“In true James style – he decided ‘Right, I’ve had enough of this, I’m coming off this’ and he tried to sit up and pull the tube out of his mouth,” Dianne recalled.

He spent just under six weeks in hospital, returning home on December 16.

“We didn’t leave each other – I was with him everyday either sleeping on the chair or on the floor,” Dianne added.

James had a scan in mid-January to help plan radiotherapy to shrink the remaining tumour, but the family received “devastating” news.

Dianne recalled: “The oncologist said ‘I’m really sorry, the tumour has grown back in its entirety from where 70 per cent was taken away’.

“In the space of three and a half to four weeks, the tumour had completely grown back and looked like it had travelled to other places in the brain.

“It was at that point that he was given a handful of weeks to three months to live.”

When James returned home, he immediately turned to his loved ones, including his siblings Ben, 26, and Kate, 24.

“He spent every moment just loving everyone and laughing and sharing every moment with us,” Dianne said.

James’ condition “quickly declined” and “all of a sudden” they were told he had less than 24 hours to live.

He died nine hours later, passing away on January 30 2026.

“We did what we’ve done as a family forever – we were together the whole time, and he died at home with us,” Dianne said.

Dianne and her family are now focusing on organising memorial events in James’ honour and raising money for the Brain Tumour Charity, as they know “that’s what James would do” if anyone he knew passed away in similar circumstances.

“We want to help fund vital research and clinical trials into aggressive brain tumours – so that one day, families facing this nightmare are given real options, real hope and real chances,” Dianne explained.

“A saying my mum had that I passed down to my children was ‘Things are always going to go wrong in life, but we have to always try and get some good out of the bad’.

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“So that’s what we’re doing, we’re honouring that family belief in the best way possible, which is to try and keep James alive in the only way we can now.”

You can donate to the family’s fundraiser here.