Top chef who worked for Raymond Blanc and Gordon Ramsay left unable to make a cup of tea

A world-renowned chef who worked for Raymond Blanc, Gordon Ramsay and was also a private chef for the Beckhams is now "unable to make a cup of tea" after a tumour-induced stroke left him paralysed on the left side of his body.

John Lawson, 40, began to experience blackouts and dizziness in December 2014, after 18 months of running his own restaurant 'No.8' in Melbourne, Australia. Assuming it was just bouts of normal headaches for six months, he one day woke up having a seizure - leaving him unable to speak or use the left-hand side of his body.

The chef is now calling on people to back a petition by Brain Tumour Research asking the Government to raise funding for research into the condition. John, from Wickford, Essex, said: "I had assumed the headaches and mid-conversation blackouts I was getting were due to stress and never considered having them investigated.

"I thought they were the reality of my life and just got on with it until I woke having a seizure about six months later. I remember being confused over hearing lots of voices and was rushed to hospital where I was given the shock news I had an ‘abnormal growth’ in my brain. I assumed having a brain tumour meant I was going to die and wondered how long I had left to live."

John was diagnosed with a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, which caused his stroke. Oligodendroglioma is a primary central nervous system (CNS) tumour and is a rare type of tumour. About 3 out of every 100 primary brain tumours (3%) diagnosed in England between 1995 and 2017 were oligodendrogliomas, according to Cancer Research UK.

The stroke left him unable to perform basic tasks - giving him brain damage that affected his memory and left the left side of his body paralysed. Amazingly though, thanks to months of intensive rehabilitation, he has since recovered his speech and movement.

He later had a craniotomy, during which more than 90% of his tumour was removed. Thankfully since the surgery, none of his scans have shown any signs of recurrence of the tumour. He said: "I had to complete a taste test and make a cup of tea, neither of which I could do at first.

"I'd gone from running a kitchen with 60 chefs to failing a taste test and not being able to coordinate the steps needed to make a cup of tea." Having lost his lifelong career to stroke, John now works as a food coach. He is supporting Brain Tumour Research in their effort to force a Parliamentary debate on funding for research into brain tumours by securing 100,000 signatures for their petition.

John said: "I'm a big advocate of the need for greater investment in brain tumour research. We need to bring the survival rates for brain tumour patients in line with that of other cancers, like breast cancer, which has received a much higher level of investment to get it to where it is today. I would urge everyone to sign this petition. It only takes a minute and could save the life of someone you love."

The charity is also calling on the Government to ring-fence £110 million of current and new funding to kick-start an increase in the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year by 2028. Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "John's story is a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of brain tumours, which can affect anyone at any time.

"We're really grateful to him for supporting our petition and for helping us to raise awareness. For too long governments have put brain tumours on the ‘too difficult to think about’ pile. Five years after the Government announced £40 million for brain cancer research, less than £11 million has been spent. Patients and families continue to be let down by a funding system that is built in silos and not fit for purpose.

"If everyone can spare just a few minutes to sign and share, we will soon hit the 100,000 signatures we need and help find a cure, bringing hope to families whose loved ones have been affected by brain tumours." You can sign the charity's petition here.