“Sister’s heartfelt tribute to brother as she prepares to mark

another birthday without him”

A woman from Stoke-on-Trent is preparing to mark what should have been her younger brother’s 32nd birthday in November by raising money to help find a cure for the disease which killed him.

 Kimberlei Brown is launching a Fundraising Group called Fighting for a Cure under the umbrella of national charity Brain Tumour Research after her brother Josh Brown passed away from a brain tumour in March 2019.She is hoping to have raised enough to sponsor a day of research in his memory – the equivalent of £2,740 – by the date of his birthday, 15 November.

Josh, a massive Port Vale and Chelsea supporter and a huge fan of wrestling and theme parks, especially Alton Towers, was diagnosed four years before his death in 2019, aged 29, with a pilocytic astrocytoma. He had been experiencing bad headaches and nausea and then problems with balance and coordination. It was only after repeated trips to the GP and A&E that Mum Amanda Fitzer, a ward sister and palliative nurse specialist, managed to convince doctors to check him out properly and give him an MRI scan which revealed that Josh had a brain tumour.

 Despite surgery, the brain tumour recurred and Josh underwent Gamma Knife surgery, a specialist form of radiotherapy, and later chemotherapy when it was found that the radiotherapy hadn’t helped. But nothing could save Josh. He spent his last days at Douglas Macmillan hospice, where Amanda works, with his family around him.

 Known as Kim to her friends. Kimberlei, 34, business development manager for Avon Cosmetics Ltd said: “I miss my little brother terribly, but I am comforted he fitted such a lot into his short years of life. He’s still top of my phone’s speed dial and every day I see his name it’s a reminder to live life to the max, be bold, strong and beautiful in mind, body and spirit, just as Josh did.”

Not a natural runner, Kim will be running a 10K around Alton Towers. She added: “Fitness was a huge part of Josh’s life. He’d always push me to spin a little faster or lift a little harder, so to be able to take on such a big challenge in one of Josh’s most treasured places at Alton Towers feels like the most perfect challenge to honour what would have been his 32nd birthday. I have been doing my best to get into shape and have beenputting myself through my paces around Trentham Gardens, another of Josh’s favourite places to visit.”

The run will take place on 13 November, along with Pro Wrestling 4 U’s second annual Joshy Brown Memorial Battle Royale on the same day as Now that’s What I call Wrestling, with proceeds going to Brain Tumour Research. Kim set up Pro Wrestling 4 U with her best friend Phil Woodvine. Josh, whose day job was being a chat host for online gaming firm Mice and Dice in Newcastle-under-Lyme, was also very involved and used to be DJ, providing the music at wrestling events.

Phil said: “Ten years after setting up Pro Wrestling 4 U, we are honouring our brother Josh every year with a big match named after him to show how much we loved him and to do something for the charity that meant so much to Josh.”

Kim added: “It would be amazing to raise enough to sponsor at least one day of research and would be such a fitting tribute to Josh on his birthday just two days later on 15 November.” 

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just 1% of the national cancer spend has been allocated to researching the disease.​

Melanie Tiley, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Kim for setting up Fighting for A Cure. Josh’s tragic story is a stark reminder that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any time – it’s the reason we remain so focused on finding a cure.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Fighting for a Cure go to www.justgiving.com/Fighting-For-A-Cure

Tickets available at £6 each for the Joshy Brown Memorial Battle Royale from www.PW4U.co.uk  and for all the latest news about Fighting for a Cure, join www.facebook.com/groups/2904256409892031/