Like a lot of people in their early 40s, Jamie Brunt was struggling with extreme tiredness, often finding it hard to keep his eyes open.
The 42-year-old father-of-two, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, asked his GP for help and, after blood tests came back normal, was told he likely had low testosterone – but in reality, he had a brain tumour.
He said: ‘I just couldn’t stay awake. I would sleep all night, wake up, have a coffee and a cigarette, and then I would be asleep again within about 20 minutes.
‘It felt like I had weights clipped to my eyelids. I had never experienced anything like it before.
‘I spoke to my GP during COVID and thought it might be low testosterone.
‘They did blood tests and told me everything was fine. A dietitian rang me and said it was probably my diet. After that, there was no follow-up and it was just forgotten about.’
After his tiredness in summer 2020 was dismissed, two years later Mr Brunt suffered a seizure while driving and woke up in a wrecked van, covered in blood.
He said: ‘I had driven from Chesterfield to Nottingham to pick up some patio furniture and I was a bit tired, but nothing unusual.
Jamie Brunt was diagnosed with a brain tumour after being told tiredness was due to hormones
‘I remember passing Junction 28 and thinking I was nearly home when a seizure hit. The next thing I knew, someone was opening my passenger door because I’d crashed.
‘I’d bitten my tongue and there was blood everywhere. The police asked me to do a breathalyser, which was clear.
‘They took me home and told my ex-partner that I needed to go to hospital.’
Mr Brunt was taken to Chesterfield Royal Hospital where doctors carried out CT scans which revealed a glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer.
Initially doctors expected to see evidence of a bleed caused by the impact of his crash but further investigation revealed something more serious.
Mr Brunt was referred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, where he met with a surgeon who identified a mass on his brain that required urgent surgery.
He underwent a craniotomy to remove all the visible tumour but the operation left Mr Brunt relearning how to walk and talk.
At the time, Mr Brunt was given seven months to live but after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, he has outlived his prognosis.
Mr Brunt’s head after undergoing brain surgery in 2022
A CT scan revealed a glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer
Mr Brunt went on to have 30 sessions of radiotherapy in October and November 2023, followed by six cycles of chemotherapy tablets, which finished in summer 2024.
He experienced fatigue and hair thinning but was otherwise able to tolerate treatment well.
In November 2025, Mr Brunt had a scan that showed no signs of cancer cells, but glioblastoma nearly always recurs and when it does, treatment options are extremely limited.
Mr Brunt, owner of Big Dog Custom Campers, from said: ‘One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was telling my daughters, Millie and Rosie.
‘Trying to explain to them that I was going to die was awful. I hadn’t always been around as much as I should have been, and I was trying to rebuild those relationships while facing the idea that my time was limited.
‘I knew I needed more time for them.’
For now, Mr Brunt is taking each day as it comes.
He said: ‘It’s strange hearing good news when you’ve spent so long preparing yourself to die.
With his daughters Millie and Rosie
‘I still prepare for the worst every time the phone rings but physically, I feel good.
‘Emotionally, I have lost a bit of the fizz for life I used to have even though I know how lucky I am.
‘Glioblastoma doesn’t usually give people this much time.’
Now, Mr Brunt is taking part in the 10,000 Steps a Day in February challenge to fundraise for the new Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Nottingham.
The centre, which focuses on research into glioblastoma, will use modern techniques to progress towards improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
Mr Brunt said: ‘Before my scans came back clear, I had been looking into other options, including genetic treatments and personalised therapies abroad.
‘I was researching places in Germany and anywhere else that might offer something different, because when you are told there is no cure, you look at everything.
‘That’s why knowing this kind of research is being developed closer to home makes a difference.
‘I can’t give back in many ways, but I can walk this challenge. If raising awareness or supporting research helps even one person, then it’s worth it.’
Ashley McWilliams, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: ‘Jamie’s story highlights the reality that brain tumour symptoms are often dismissed or misattributed, leading to diagnosis in emergency situations.
‘Glioblastoma remains one of the most aggressive and challenging cancers to treat, and it is only through sustained investment in research that outcomes can improve.
‘We are incredibly grateful to Jamie for sharing his experience and for supporting our new Nottingham Centre of Excellence, which will focus on driving forward much-needed research into glioblastoma.’
Cancerous brain tumours are the deadliest form of the disease for children and adults under 40 in Britain — claiming 5,300 lives every year, about 15 every day.
Even benign brain tumours, which unlike cancerous ones don’t spread to other parts of the body, can still be deadly as they grow within the sensitive tissue of the organ.
Both can cause a set of worrying symptoms which can be easily shrugged off, which can lead to later diagnosis and reduced treatment options.
Dr Romina Dibra, from healthtech company myTomorrows, previously told the Daily Mail that many brain tumour symptoms are caused by the growth increasing pressure inside the skull.
‘As the skull is made of bone, a growing tumour will increase the pressure inside the skull – this is known as intracranial pressure,’ she said.
This pressure can lead to issues like headaches, drowsiness, vomiting and vision problems.
While Dr Dibra said not every incidence of these problems will be a sign of a brain tumour, she added that people should pay attention to how and when they occur.
She warned that anyone experiencing a headache combined with vomiting or nausea or with blind spots or flashes of light, a headache so painful it wakes them up at night or headaches that are getting worse over a few weeks, should see their GP.
Over 12,000 patients in Britain are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year, with about half of these cases being cancerous.
Glioblastomas, one of the deadliest types of brain tumour, have been highlighted in recent years after killing a number of famous faces.
The disease, which is the most common type of cancerous brain tumour in adults, killed author Sophie Kinsella in December 2025 and Labour politician Dame Tessa Jowell in 2018.
And in March 2022, The Wanted singer Tom Parker died following an 18-month battle with the cancer.
