Telford man changed career after brother's tumour battle

John Payne, right, said he changed careers after caring for his brother through his brain tumour fight

A man who changed careers after caring for his brother through a battle with a brain tumour is going to fundraise for more research into the disease.

Matt Payne, 38, from Telford, Shropshire, died in November, 15 months after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumour.

His older brother, John Payne, retrained as a care assistant after helping him in his final months.

The 40-year-old is now aiming to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

"My family commented how supportive I was with Matt," Mr Payne said, after he switched careers from being a kitchen porter.

He now works for a care firm in Shropshire, adding it had "been very rewarding so far".

His brother, Matt, started to act unusually in August 2020 and it was initially put down to work-related stress, Mr Payne said.

Matt Payne's wife Zoe said she knew something was wrong with her husband when he started thinking every day was Friday

Colleagues noticed his poor memory as he often forgot he had eaten lunch and his wife, Zoe, said he began to think every day was Friday.

"He used to forget parts of our son's specific night-time routine which had been in place for almost 12 years. I knew something wasn't right," she said.

An initial CT scan showed no cause for concern, but as his symptoms persisted a further MRI scan revealed a tumour.

Mr Payne underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy but doctors stopped treatment after it became too aggressive.

The father-of-two died at home surrounded by family, including his two children, aged nine and 12.

His brother said he followed the story of The Wanted singer Tom Parker, who revealed he had an inoperable brain tumour in October 2020.

The star died on 30 March at the age of 33 and Mr Payne said "following Tom's journey was comforting to know that we weren't alone".

He plans to take part in Brain Tumour Research's Jog 26.2 Miles in May and raise at least £650 for the charity.