"In the month leading up to it, I had noticed he wasn’t as active,” says Noah’s mom, Stephanie. “I had a maternal instinct that something was really wrong.” When Noah began to seem slightly off-balance, stumbling occasionally, she thought perhaps it was his eyesight. Though her son had recently undergone an eye exam, Stephanie decided she needed to get him reevaluated. “Now I know it would’ve gotten so much worse over time,” she says.

Noah’s second eye exam revealed abnormal swelling of the optic nerve. The optometrist recommended he receive a brain scan to rule out pressure on his brain. 

The family lives in London, where medical care is provided only by the state-funded National Health Service. Resources are very limited and some services aren’t always readily available. “They didn’t want to scan him,” says Stephanie. “He passed the neurological markers, and they said he was okay. But I told them, ‘I’m not leaving until you scan him, so please find my son a bed.’” 

After waiting more than 12 hours in the emergency room, Noah underwent a CT scan which confirmed Stephanie’s fear: her little boy had a tumor the size of a golf ball pressing on his brain. He would need surgery to remove it as soon as possible. 

The world’s best care for pediatric cancer

Noah was transferred to a different hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and began proton radiation therapy, which uses high-energy, precise proton beams to attack cancer cells while minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue and vital organs. Unfortunately, the only proton therapy machine available to Noah broke down temporarily, just two sessions into his 30-session treatment.  

“We felt helpless,” says Stephanie. “This is our child’s life. That’s when we got on the phone to the U.S.” 

Through contacts at Penn, the family was connected to the Cancer Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), known worldwide as a pediatric cancer treatment and research leader. With some of the top childhood cancer doctors in the world, CHOP offers the widest ranges of treatment options, including specialized, comprehensive care plans and cutting-edge services that aren't available anywhere else.  

The family consulted with Jane Minturn, MD, PhD, an attending oncologist who specializes in treating children with brain tumors. “She assured me they were going to attack Noah’s cancer with the best treatment available in the world,” says Stephanie. “This was our chance, and we were going to take it with Dr. Minturn by our side.” 

Once Noah had completed proton therapy, the family worked with Global Patient Services to transfer Noah’s care to CHOP. 

“When we landed in Philadelphia, I just started crying,” says Stephanie. “I knew they had this.”  

‘There is life after cancer’

In Feb. 2024, Noah began a specialized treatment protocol at CHOP, which included six rounds of chemotherapy. Though he experienced some side effects expected with chemotherapy, including brief episodes of nausea and vomiting, Noah ultimately felt well enough to attend school in Philadelphia while undergoing treatment. 

“CHOP held our hands through all of it,” says Stephanie. “Even when I could barely remember my own name. There’s nothing they won’t do for your child, and they won’t stop until children get better.” 

Now back in London, Noah’s cancer is in remission. He receives scans every three months at CHOP and will continue to be followed by CHOP’s Neuro-oncology team.  

“What differentiates CHOP so much from other hospitals,” says Stephanie, “is they want to ensure that children have the same quality of life after treatment. It woke me up that there is life after this.” 

Almost 7, Noah is “an incredibly kind and sensitive boy,” who loves Transformers, reading and watching movies. The grateful family even returned to CHOP in September, so Noah could participate in CHOP’s Parkway Run as an ambassador, representing thousands of children like him who are diagnosed with pediatric cancer every year. The event raises funds for cancer research and care at CHOP, which, according to Stephanie, “is truly the best in the world.”