Body & Fitness

Auckland dad who had nine brain operations opens up about his cancer battle

In and out of hospital, Noah’s battling a rare and unpredictable brain cancer.

There’s a tattoo on Noah Telfer’s right hand that he often runs his fingers across. In Arabic, it says Khalil – it’s the name of his son and means “friend”.

For Noah, 40, it’s a daily reminder of how rich his life is. “My children are happy,” says the Auckland dad. “I wake up every day thinking how lucky I am.”

Noah’s incredible outlook flies in the face of what he’s been through – in 14 years, he’s had nine neurosurgeries to combat a rare cancer attacking the lining of his brain. He’s tried everything from radiotherapy to alternative treatments and special diets, but the insidious cancer has returned four times.

Yet despite it all, Noah and his wife Pauline Sanders-Telfer say they wake up every day with light hearts and smiles on their faces.

“We’re thankful for what we’ve got,” says Pauline, 41, a registered nurse who has spent more than a decade being Noah’s caregiver and the family’s sole income earner.

Taking each day as it comes, Noah and Pauline are staying strong for the kids (from left) Aryi, Khalil and Deijha.

The couple is talking to Woman’s Day from Pauline’s parents’ home in South Auckland, which they moved into last year to save money for Noah’s recovery and rehabilitation. They have three children, Deijha, 20, Khalil, 12, and Aryi, 10.

Just over the back fence is Papatoetoe High School, where the couple first met. “Pauline was my high school crush,” laughs Noah. “After leaving school, we lost contact, so I went through every number in the phone book to find her.”

It’s Pauline and Noah’s commitment to each other, the support of their family and a shared spirituality that has helped them through more than a decade of challenges. “We have always loved Bruce Lee’s quote, ‘Do not pray for an easy life – pray for the strength to endure a difficult one,'” says Noah.

Before they settled down, Noah and Pauline spent two years circumnavigating Australia. Meeting travellers from around the world opened their eyes to a wealth of religions, including Buddhism.

Noah says he had an “epiphany” after reading the bestselling book Conversations with God.

In and out of hospital, Noah’s battling a rare and unpredictable brain cancer.

“Something in me changed on the inside,” he explains.

“I started to understand the universe and how we were just a tiny part of it.”

Back in Auckland and working as a postie, the first inkling something was wrong was when he began to fall off his bike.

Noah was a fit, non-smoking and non-drinking vegan when he was diagnosed at 27 with an ependymoma, a cancer that attacks the ependymal cells in the brain and spinal cord. Yet instead of feeling devastated, he simply felt it was part of his journey. “I saw it as the next step to help me learn about myself and help other people.”

Chemotherapy isn’t usually effective on his type of tumour, so Noah had surgery and opted for the diet of German biochemist Johanna Budwig, made up largely of organic flaxseed oil, quark and ground seeds.

“Three months after surgery, I was back at work and feeling good,” says Noah. The doctors told him to go away and live his life – the cancer was unlikely to return for at least 10 years. A year later, it was back.

After the second tumour, Noah enjoyed a five-year period of good health, but the tumour would reappear twice more – most recently last year.

“We were like, ‘Are you kidding?'” tells Pauline. “Noah’s cancer is not following the usual path, so doctors have given up any predictions of time and treatment.”

During his first two operations, doctors managed to save Noah’s shoulder-length dreadlocks by lifting them up and shaving his head underneath to operate.

The third time his cancer reappeared, it was at the top of his brain, so the dreads had to go. “A small price to pay,” Noah smiles. “I’ve got the dreadlocks somewhere in a cupboard.”

The upbeat father-of-three insists, “I wake up every day thinking how lucky I am.”

His surgery last year was the trickiest to date – this time, the tumour reappeared at the top of the brain stem and doctors were at first reluctant to operate because of the risk. As the tumour grew, surgeons went ahead, but Noah’s brain compressed and he needed five further operations to re-channel his brain fluid.

“That was scary and the only time I worried we might lose him,” recalls Pauline. Noah spent four months in Auckland and Middlemore hospitals, and had to learn to walk again after suffering weakness on his left side. With his last two operations, he opted for radiation, which has impaired his hearing, eyesight and balance. More recently, his short-term memory has been affected.

As Noah’s body can’t cope with any more radiation, the family is fundraising on Givealittle for vitamin C treatments, which cost $600 a week.

Meanwhile, Noah and Pauline are taking things day by day, and enjoying time as a family. They’ve been honest with the kids from the start and say they’ve coped well with their dad’s illness.

“We try not to look too far ahead or you miss the good stuff that is going on all around you,” says Pauline, smiling at Noah. He adds,

“I just want to wake up and know that my kids are OK. If they’re happy, I’m happy.”

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