MICHELLE Noakes married the love of her life, Simon, in August 2019.
It was their dream wedding. And, like most brides, she felt a mix of nervousness and excitement.
But along with the seemingly normal buzz of the big day, she also noticed a tingling sensation in her face and hands.
At the time, she put it down to the excitement of getting married, but when Michelle’s symptoms rapidly progressed, she sought advice from her GP.
A few months later, he was diagnosed with an aggressive, inoperable brain tumor.
Michelle, who grew up near Honiton in Devon, received NHS and private treatment, but by the start of 2021 she had lost almost all of her speech, vision and mobility.
She died in June of that year, 19 months after her diagnosis and just before her 40th birthday.
Michelle, who worked in public relations, is survived by her husband Simon and children Otto and Poppy.
His family has since raised more than £7,000 for brain tumor research in his memory.
Michelle’s sister, Sam Williams, described her as “the most beautiful, kind, caring and fun person, loved by everyone who knew her.”
She said Michelle lived happily and healthy until her ordeal began five years ago.
“On the morning of her wedding to the love of her life, Simon, Michelle mentioned feeling a tingling sensation in her face, a bit like pins and needles,” Sam said.
“I remember Mum encouraging him not to worry and advising him to see a GP once the marriage was over.
“Their wedding was such a happy occasion, full of love.
“We are grateful we didn’t know about Michelle’s brain tumor before.”
A few days later, Michelle went to the doctor for blood tests, which “revealed nothing to worry about.”
But her symptoms kept getting worse, and in addition to the tingling sensation in her face and hands, she began to feel incredibly dizzy.
After several more visits to the GP, she was referred for an MRI and sent to the emergency room.
A surgeon revealed that he had found a brain tumor and, due to its location deep in the brainstem, he could not operate on it.
The only treatments available were radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
She said she dreamed of cuddling her children but physically couldn’t do it.
Sam Williams
“Michelle was very health conscious, so finding out she had cancer seemed so unfair, but we soon realized how indiscriminate brain tumors are. It seemed so unfair,” Sam said.
A week later, Michelle was confirmed to have a brainstem glioma, a growth of cancer cells in the area that connects the base of the brain to the spinal cord.
She began radiotherapy, but the family was “gutted” when they received the results of the post-treatment ultrasound.
“They showed the tumor had grown. It was devastating,” Sam said.
She tried two types of chemotherapy, but neither was successful in shrinking her tumor.
At the start of 2021, Michelle was still able to take short walks, but she was very unstable and her eyesight was beginning to decline.
“Our entire family has scoured the internet for cutting-edge medical trials or treatments that might offer just a glimmer of hope after countless dead ends, all at enormous cost,” she said.
“She managed a series of immunotherapies, which cost tens of thousands of pounds that people so generously donated to us.
“Even if it just gave him a little more time with his family, it was worth it.”
Unfortunately, Michelle’s condition continued to deteriorate and in June 2021, Simon took time off from his busy financial job to care for his wife at home.
The rest of her family also rallied behind her because they all knew she didn’t have long left.
“She knew she was dying,” Sam said.
“I asked her if she wanted to talk about anything and she told me how unfair the situation was; she said she dreamed of hugging her children but physically couldn’t.
“I told her to try not to be afraid of dying. She said no, but she didn’t want to go.
“She fought until her last breath, but ultimately, there was no fight left in her and she passed away peacefully on June 26, 2021 with mom and Simon in the room with her.
“The children were three and six when Michelle died. She hadn’t yet reached Poppy’s fourth birthday or her start at school.
“I think the reality that their mother was never coming back really set in later. It was a delayed reaction.
“Luckily Simon has been great, as have their friends and the school. The school has provided guidance to the children and the teachers continue to monitor them.”
The most common symptoms of a brain tumor
More than 12,000 Britons are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor each year – around half of whom are cancerous – and 5,300 lose their lives.
The disease is the deadliest cancer among children and adults under the age of 40, according to Brain Tumor Charity.
Brain tumors reduce life expectancy by 27 years on average, with only 12 percent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with benign, non-cancerous tumors growing more slowly and being less likely to come back after treatment.
Cancerous malignant brain tumors can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to recur.
Brain tumors can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.
They can also cause changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
- Headache
- Seizures
- Feeling sick
- Be sick
- Memory problems
- Personality change
- Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- Vision problems
- Speech problems
If you suffer from any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that is different from what you usually experience, you should see your GP.
Source: ENM
Sam added: “She had always wanted to be a mum and she was the happiest she had ever been in the years she was with Simon and the kids.
“Even in her last weeks and days, she was a good mother, always asking what the children had for dinner, telling me what books Poppy liked, and listening to us as we read their report cards to her.
“She loved them unconditionally and that love will stay with them forever.”
Sam hopes that by sharing her sister’s story, she can save other families from having to experience such heartbreak.
“Michelle became passionate about raising awareness of brain tumors after her own diagnosis, so I feel privileged to be able to contribute to this work in memory of her and others facing this terrible disease,” she said. declared.
“As a family, we believe it is absolutely essential that there is more funding for research into brain tumor treatments, so that ultimately the NHS can do more to help people facing this difficult diagnosis, and that families do not find themselves forced to desperately seek private or alternative treatments for brain tumors.
Louise Aubrey, Community Development Manager at Brain Tumor Research, said: “We are truly grateful to Michelle’s family for their incredible support and generosity in her memory.
“Only 12 percent of people diagnosed with a brain tumor survive beyond five years, compared to an average of 54 percent for all cancers. And yet only 1 percent of national spending on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002. This must change.
Glioma in the brainstem is very rare, especially in adults, according to Cancer Research UK.