Meet Noah

Each day is a gift and another opportunity to try the impossible.

Noah was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor when he was 15, during the summer between his sophomore and junior years of high school.

“This tumor caused my pituitary to produce over 100 times the normal growth hormone levels for teens my age,” says Noah. “To give you a picture of my size, I am 9 inches taller and over 100 pounds heavier than my father.”

At first, Noah’s pediatrician told him that growing was normal for boys his age and said his frequent headaches and blackouts were likely due to dehydration. But then his face started to swell, his cheeks and eyes growing puffy. When he had yet another blackout, his parents knew it wasn’t just dehydration. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball.

“My first surgery removed half of the tumor but the doctors couldn’t preserve all my pituitary functions. I started taking medications to replace my pituitary function and a monthly injection to stop my body from producing excess growth hormone,” he said.

The surgery also left Noah with short-term memory loss and he required regular speech therapy.

He also continued to grow.

Less than a year after his first brain surgery, he needed another.

“I was one of the first three patients to visit Scottish Rite Hospital after the first surge of COVID-19,” he said. “My neurosurgery team successfully removed most of the remaining tumor. Unfortunately, they also had to remove most of my pituitary gland. I am now on full hormone replacement for the rest of my life.”

Noah spent the summer of 2020 receiving daily proton radiation treatments, and he continues to recover.

The amount of time it took to get a diagnosis frustrates Noah - and motivates him.

“My tumor would not have been as large or damaged my hormone systems as much if it had been diagnosed much earlier. I started exhibiting symptoms of my tumor as an eighth grader but it took at least three years to get a diagnosis of a brain tumor,” said Noah. “My journey living with a brain tumor makes me an advocate for increased access to imaging technologies. The more patients that doctors can diagnose earlier means fewer people will have to live with permanent disabilities like mine.”

Improved access to MRI images could have drastically changed my current condition, which is why I hope to prevent future patients from suffering due to a delayed diagnosis.

Noah is a Children’s Cancer Cause 2021 Honorable Mention Scholar. Learn more about our College Scholars Program.