Fit and Healthy 21-Year-Old Man’s Symptoms Were Dismissed as Vertigo. Months Later, He Died from a Brain Tumor

NEED TO KNOW

• James Mann, 21, from England, was told he was likely suffering from vertigo after going to the doctors feeling unwell and “unbalanced”

• He was eventually diagnosed with “a rare and aggressive” brain tumor in November 2025, and died three months later

• “He was our everything,” his family said on a fundraising page while raising money to help fund important research

A 21-year-old man in England’s symptoms were reportedly dismissed by medics as vertigo, before he received a devastating diagnosis, and died three months later.

James Mann was diagnosed with “a rare and aggressive” brain tumor in November 2025, his family revealed in a JustGiving fundraising page. He then died on Jan. 30 of this year, after undergoing five brain surgeries.

James’ family said their “world was shattered” after learning of the diagnosis, per the fundraiser.

They wrote, “He was extraordinary, a phenomenal rugby player, golfer, an all-round sports nut, a personal trainer and a police officer. He was an adored little brother, a treasured son, a loyal friend, a cherished nephew. He was our everything.”

James had first mentioned that he felt “imbalanced” after returning home from a vacation to Greece in June of last year, according to the Daily Mail. Thinking his ears might not have cleared after the flight back, he waited two days before going to see a doctor, per the outlet.

In the months that followed, James — from the U.K. county of Bedfordshire —  visited his general practitioner multiple times amid his worsening symptoms, which included severe dizziness, not being able to walk without support and vomiting, the Manchester Evening News reported. However, his symptoms were dismissed as vertigo or inner-ear crystal displacement, the outlet stated.

James’ mother, Dianne, eventually pushed for an urgent MRI scan in October, before her son was told a mass had been discovered on his brain in November, per U.K. newspaper The Mirror.

Dianne said, “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,” according to the Daily Mail.

“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,” she added. “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,” Dianne continued, according to the paper.

Medics managed to remove around 70 percent of the tumor; however, his brain was not draining correctly, and he ended up developing an infection, setting his recovery back, per the Daily Mail.

James underwent a procedure in the first week of December to insert a shunt after undergoing surgery to repair a wound on his head, the paper noted. But, he ended up being placed in a medically induced coma for five days after suffering a seizure.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

After being sent home that month, James’ family was eventually told that the 70 percent of the tumor that had been removed had grown back, the Daily Mail reported, citing Dianne.

“In the space of three and a half to four weeks, the [tumor] had completely grown back and looked like it had [traveled] to other places in the brain,” she said, per the outlet. “It was at that point that he was given a handful of weeks to three months to live.”

“There was no warning, no time to prepare, no gentle easing into the reality of what was coming. From that moment on, everything moved terrifyingly fast,” James’ family wrote on the JustGiving fundraiser of his mid-November diagnosis.

They said James faced the multiple surgeries “with courage, determination and the quiet strength that defined him. But the truth we were forced to confront is that bravery alone is not enough when there are no effective options left to offer.”

James’ family has been raising money for the U.K.’s Brain Tumour Charity in the wake of his death.

They wrote on the fundraiser, “He didn’t stand a chance. And that is the part that hurts the most, because he should have.”

“There should have been something available to give James hope. A treatment. A clinical trial. A breakthrough. Something. But there wasn’t. Not for his type of [tumor]. Not in time. Not at all,” the family added.

“Additional funding for research can save lives,” the family’s message noted. “James should still be alive.”

“We are raising money in James’ name for The Brain Tumour Charity, to 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,” they continued.

The message added, “Every donation, no matter how small, is a step towards a future where another young life is not brutally cut short, and another family is not robbed of their child.”

“Please support us, in James’ name and give as much or as little as you can afford. Help us prevent James’ story becoming someone else’s too,” James’ family concluded. “If love alone could have saved James, he would have lived forever.”

Read the original article on People