When nine-year-old Noah Leeb, an avid BYU fan and Star Flag football player, developed severe migraines last December, his mother knew something was wrong.
“He’s a healthy, active kid and doesn’t get sick often, so it was unusual for him to actually have such intense migraines,” said Jacque Leeb.
A child neurologist said the frequent headaches were likely caused by hormones.
“There’s this thing in mothers that tells you when something just isn’t quite right, and I know Noah best – we know Noah best – so we kept pushing for an MRI just to rule out bigger things,” said Leeb.
In February, the family learned that Noah had a brain tumor.
“It’s like an out of body experience. I think it’s one of those moments that you think about as a parent and hope it never happens, it’s like having one of your worst nightmares, “Leeb said.
The family knew their life would change quickly.
“You always think you don’t have time for things until something like this happens, and then that’s all you do. You take the time for that. He’s had two brain surgeries since February, we’ve been away from the hospital several times, chemotherapy started in March and ended just a few weeks ago, and now it’s time for the radiation, ”said Leeb.
Although the family hoped this would never happen, they said it was “as beautiful as cancer can be,” because of the love the family experienced.
Among the blessings Noah’s parents described, the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City first began offering a different type of radiation therapy at the new Sen. Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center, where the young athlete began treatment last week started.
And Noah, his two sisters, and his parents are grateful that they were able to stay close to their home throughout his treatment.
“We were all very happy that we didn’t have to part with our dogs, family and friends,” said Noah.
A first for the Intermountain region
“Proton radiation is another tool that we as radiation oncologists have for treating cancer. It is a therapy that is not suitable for all patients, but for the right patient – both the right age, the right tumor type, the right location – it provides an effective treatment with fewer long-term side effects than the current treatments we have. that we had before, “said Dr. Matthew Poppe, pediatric radiation oncologist and clinical director of the new facility.
While doctors began treating patients there a few weeks ago, the center was officially opened on Wednesday with a festive opening ceremony. The $ 31 million, 7,450 square foot expansion was funded by the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Huntsman Cancer Hospital, and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Over the past eight to ten years, Poppe said he had sent more and more proton radiation patients to other centers. There are a limited number of proton facilities in the country, he noted. Previously, the closest centers were in Seattle, San Diego, and Phoenix.
“I don’t have to pick up these patients that I treat for four to six weeks of their lives and let their families move away for 12 hours. We’ll be able to keep her care here. This is not only more convenient for them, but also means that the multidisciplinary care of surgery and medical oncology as well as radiation oncology can stay together over the entire course of treatment, ”said Poppe.
Family members from across the country rushed to the Leeb family’s side when Noah was diagnosed, said Jacque Leeb, describing it as a “wave” of support.
“I think that’s what got us through this,” she said. “I would say most of it is because Noah’s attitude is so positive, but I think it reflects and let’s say, ‘He’s going to do it because he wants it, he’s a fighter and he’s not getting fired too long.’ But everyone else around us just reached out and kept shaking hands, ”she said.
James Leeb, Noah’s father, said the family knew they would involve their relatives and “call upon our faith and go to God we believe in and just say, ‘Look, OK, this is next for us. and how should we best handle that? And here’s what we want and help us figure out how that fits with what you want. ‘”
Leeb said the medical specialists were also “so dedicated” to helping Noah.
Some of the things that got him through the process include “probably soccer and maybe some Legos,” Noah said. “When my count is down, I’ll probably make Legos. When they get up, I’ll go outside and probably play with my boyfriend. “
“He went from being a very simple Lego builder to being a second mortgage for Legos. It’s at the expert level where they say it’s 18 years or older or they show adults in the picture that puts it together, ”said Jacque Leeb.
A surgically inserted port – nicknamed “Dave” by Noah – evaluates his blood count after chemotherapy, his father said.
Grid view
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Instead of a soccer ball, Noah Leeb tosses a water bottle with his father James while his mother Jacque watches at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City on June 21, 2021. Due to an expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, proton therapy, previously not available in Utah, is available for the first time at Mountain West.
Annie Barker, Desert News
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Noah Leeb, left, and his parents Jacque and James pose for a photo at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City on June 21, 2021. Due to an expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, proton therapy, previously unavailable in Utah, is available for the first time at Mountain West.
Annie Barker, Desert News
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Dr. Matthew Poppe, a radiation oncologist, poses for a photo on June 21, 2021 at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. Due to an expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, proton therapy, previously unavailable in Utah, is available for the first time at Mountain West.
Annie Barker, Desert News
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Instead of a soccer ball, Noah Leeb tosses a water bottle with his father James while his mother Jacque watches at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City on June 21, 2021. Due to an expansion of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, proton therapy, previously not available in Utah, is available for the first time at Mountain West.
Annie Barker, Desert News
Noah said he would advise other children who are going through great challenges to “just stay positive at all times. And don’t think about the bad, always think about the good. “
“I had a lot of faith, we prayed, and I just did everything my mother told me,” Noah explained.
“I guess you don’t know what families are doing until you get to this point. Little did we know you would have to travel somewhere for the rest of the treatment. But when the family is here and friends are here and this support system is here to have to uproot, my heart goes to these families because you have reached a milestone, maybe when you are done with the first few treatments … and actually have to, how Noah said split, I can’t imagine doing that so it was huge, ”said Jacque Leeb.
“If we caught that even a month earlier, we would probably still have been sent away, and we are grateful, we are happy that we can represent the first patients to come through Utah and do this, and I think that is going to be monumental, ”she said.
“I think a thousand little miracles have happened … the way things are coordinated, the timing, the treatments,” added James Leeb. “There have been so many coincidences and it just tells us that you are never really alone.”
How does proton therapy work?
Proton radiation therapy is most commonly used in pediatric patients, but it is sometimes recommended for adults depending on the type and location of their tumor. Poppe said about 5 to 10% of the patients treated in his clinic would benefit from proton radiation instead of the normally recommended photon radiation.
In radiation treatment, “energy packets” in the form of electrons, photons or protons are generated and accelerated to high energies, according to Poppe, and then directed specifically at dividing cells. The packets of energy interact with the DNA of rapidly dividing cells to break the DNA and cause DNA damage, resulting in the death of the tumor cell, he said.
The difference between a proton and a photon is that a photon has no charge. In photon therapy, an uncharged particle enters the body and then leaves the body, depositing energy as it travels through the body. But because a proton carries a charge and more mass, it migrates in the body up to a certain distance – to the tumor – and then stops, said Poppe. This means that all of his energy is deposited without leaving the body, so that less of the body’s normal tissue has to see this radiation, the doctor said.
“Therefore, it reduces the risk of both second cancers and potential organ dysfunction that can develop later in life,” he said.
The ability to use protons therapeutically has been around for many years, he said, but the technology has become difficult to make a proton economically and to precisely target the proton.
“This has been done in certain select centers across the country for the past 20 years. Because of the costs involved, very large centers were required that would normally serve a population many times larger than that of Salt Lake. It was only recently designed with a smaller footprint so that, given the economies of scale, we could install a facility that would be suitable for the people of Salt Lake and the surrounding area, ”said Poppe.
He noted that the Huntsman Cancer Institute served most of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, some western Colorado, and Nevada, and the new treatment facility could extend that coverage to other states. Poppe estimates that the new institute will treat 200 to 250 new patients per year
The doctor urges patients who believe they may be a candidate for proton therapy to discuss this with their current care team.
“It is a multidisciplinary discussion about the treatment of cancer, so we get inspiration from surgery, medical oncology and radiation oncology on how best to treat an individual patient’s cancer,” he said.
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