James Mann, from Bedfordshire, tragically died of a brain tumour after worsening symptoms
James was a police officer with Hertfordshire Constabulary. (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
A mum who lost her young son to an aggressive brain tumour in January has spoken about her grief and stressed the importance of early diagnosis.
James Mann, a 21-year-old police officer, began experiencing a persistent sense of imbalance that he initially attributed to the flight home from a holiday in Greece in June 2025.
Despite visiting his GP five times over the following months, the previously healthy personal trainer’s worsening symptoms—which eventually included vomiting, severe dizziness, and an inability to walk without support—were repeatedly dismissed as inner-ear crystal displacement or vertigo.
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It was only after his mother, Dianne Mann, intervened in late October to demand an urgent MRI that the gravity of the situation was revealed.
The scan in November 2025 uncovered a life-threatening mass on James’ brain. He was rushed into emergency surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge to relieve intracranial pressure.
Medical teams eventually identified the growth as an H3K27 midline glioma, an exceptionally aggressive Grade 4 tumour located in the central structures of the brain.
Though surgeons successfully removed 70% of the mass in December, the recovery was fraught with complications. A brain infection which brought about a seizure left James in a medically induced coma for five days.
Proving his resilience, James eventually woke up and was able to return home to spend his final weeks surrounded by his loved ones.
Dianne and the rest of her family are now honouring his memory through fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity. (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
However, the reprieve was tragically short-lived. A follow-up scan in mid-January 2026 revealed the tumour had completely regrown to its original size and spread to other areas of the brain in less than a month.
Given only weeks to live, James, from Bedfordshire, spent his remaining time “crafting a blueprint” for his siblings to help them navigate a future without him, demonstrating remarkable selflessness despite his declining health.
James passed away at home on January 30, 2026, just three months after his initial diagnosis. His funeral in March was attended by 150 people, including many of his colleagues from the Hertfordshire Constabulary – a reflection of the profound impact he had made during his short life.
James was a police officer with Hertfordshire Constabulary. (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
Today, Dianne and her family are dedicated to turning their “hell on earth” into a legacy of hope by fundraising for The Brain Tumour Charity.
By sharing James’ story and raising money for vital research and clinical trials, they hope to ensure that future families facing similar diagnoses are provided with better medical options and a genuine chance at survival.
Dianne told PA news agency: “If love alone could have saved James, he would have lived forever. It was just hell on earth for him.”
Dianne and James . (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
She added: “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.”
Dianne remains guided by a long-standing family belief. “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’,” she said.
“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.