Football fan diagnosed with brain tumour after forgetting the names of players
Jamie Acaster, 48, found it increasingly difficult to follow conversations and began struggling to recall the names of footballers from his beloved club.
Despite visiting his GP several times, he was initially diagnosed with depression but strongly believed he didn’t have it.
As the father-of-two’s symptoms worsened and he began suffering from difficulty remembering words and making sense of conversations, his sister, Donna Sayle, 52, a nurse, urged him to go to A&E.
Following an MRI scan at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in April 2023, Jamie was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a highly aggressive brain tumour – and had surgery which removed 95 per cent of the mass.
He underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but suffered serious side effects, including liver and kidney issues.
Just 17 months after his diagnosis, Jamie, from Eckington in Derbyshire, died on September 1, 2024, at Chesterfield Royal Infirmary, after suffering a fatal blood clot in his lungs.
His sister, Donna, from Sheffield, said: “Jamie was a massive Sheffield Wednesday fan, but he started forgetting the names of players he’d known all his life.
“Even the really well-known ones wouldn’t come to him. He told me, ‘things just don’t match,’ and that’s when I knew something wasn’t right – it was so unlike him.
“At his funeral, we asked everyone to wear blue and white or their SWFC shirts. It was a sea of Sheffield Wednesday tops. That’s how much the club meant to him.”
After initially being told he had depression, Jamie’s symptoms continued to worsen. He continued to forget names, struggled to recall familiar words and struggled to make sense of conversations.
Donna was worried about her brother’s worsening condition and urged him to go to A&E.
Donna said: “When he started calling me to say things didn’t make sense or he couldn’t remember people’s names, I knew something wasn’t right. He visited his GP several times, but they said he was depressed – Jamie knew he wasn’t.
“I was at work when he finally phoned and said they’d found a shadow on a scan. He said ‘they think it’s a brain tumour’. I left work immediately – it was crushing.”
In April 2023, Jamie was diagnosed with a glioblastoma – a highly aggressive brain tumour – and given a prognosis of just 12 to 18 months.
He underwent two surgeries in May, which removed 95 per cent of the tumour, and began radiotherapy and chemotherapy soon after.
However, treatment proved extremely difficult. Jamie suffered serious side effects, including liver and kidney issues, swelling caused by steroids, and had to take up to 50 medications a day.
He also developed pulmonary embolisms, which further limited treatment options.
Donna said: “He went through so much and his treatments were relentless. Every time we thought we were past one hurdle, another one appeared.
“His body reacted badly to nearly everything – the medications, the chemotherapy, even the steroids. But despite it all, his personality never left him. He was still cracking jokes in his final days.
“Even the night before he died, he was laughing with us. It was incredibly hard to watch him go through all of that, but he never stopped being Jamie.”
Just 17 months after his diagnosis, Jamie died on September 1, 2024, in hospital after suffering a fatal blood clot in his lungs. He is survived by his wife, Donna, daughter Ava, 15, and son, Harry, 12.
Donna said: “Jamie was the kind of person who lit up every room he walked into. He had a way of bringing people together, whether it was family or friends.
“He absolutely loved socialising and was always getting people round to the house. One of his proudest roles was running his son’s football team.
“He coached them from a very young age right through to their teenage years, and you could see how much he loved being part of that.”
Determined to do something positive in Jamie’s memory, Donna organised a 14-mile fundraising walk titled A Jaunt For Jamie on 10 March 2025, what would have been his 49th birthday.
The route traced Jamie’s journey through life, beginning at his childhood home in Sheffield and ending at his adult home in Eckington.
Ten people joined the walk, including friends, family members and Donna’s colleagues from the hospital. Jamie’s parents and sister joined for the final kilometre.
The group raised almost £2,000 in support of Brain Tumour Research – the only national charity dedicated to finding a cure for all types of brain tumours.
Donna said: “It felt like the only thing I could do for him. Only one per cent of national cancer research spending goes to brain tumours, and that is not good enough.
“We need more awareness and more funding to help the thousands of patients and families who are affected by this horrible disease.
“Jamie’s entire journey felt like we were hitting a brick wall. Every treatment we tried failed. I walked to mark his birthday, but also to fight back against that frustration. I felt like he was with us the whole way.”
Ashley McWilliams, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Jamie’s story highlights the urgent need for more funding and awareness.
“Donna’s walk was a powerful tribute and an important step toward the change we so desperately need. We are incredibly grateful for her and her family’s support.”
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