Ivan Noble
Encyclopedia
Ivan Noble was a British journalist who worked for BBC News Online
and became well known for his diary documenting his fight against cancer
.
Born in Leeds
, he lived in East Germany working as a translator between 1988 and 1990. He then joined the BBC, originally working for them as a translator, then as a sub-editor in Nairobi
, before working in the Science
and Technology
section of the BBC News website, where he was known for his love of complicated gadgetry.
He was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme
on 29 August 2002, and wrote about his battle against the cancer on the BBC News website in a series entitled Tumour Diary. Noble continued to write stories for the series until 30 January 2005, the day before he died. The tumour left him with serious visual impairment
s on the right side. In December 2004, having completed several courses of chemotherapy
, and after a brief remission, his tumour started to grow again. Noble enjoyed a huge amount of public support during this period.
His final comment before his death ended with the statement "I will end with a plea. I still have no idea why I ended up with a cancer, but plenty of other cancer patients know what made them ill...If two or three people stop smoking as a result of anything I have ever written then the one of them who would have got cancer will live and all my scribblings will have been worthwhile."
Noble died in a London
hospice aged 37. He was survived by his wife, Almut, and two children (a son and daughter).
was established by the BBC
in Noble's memory; it will provide annual funding for a newly-qualified journalist to work at the science and technology desk of the BBC News website for six months. The first recipient of this bursary was Rebecca Morelle.
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
and became well known for his diary documenting his fight against cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Born in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, he lived in East Germany working as a translator between 1988 and 1990. He then joined the BBC, originally working for them as a translator, then as a sub-editor in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, before working in the Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
section of the BBC News website, where he was known for his love of complicated gadgetry.
He was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all functional tissue brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs...
on 29 August 2002, and wrote about his battle against the cancer on the BBC News website in a series entitled Tumour Diary. Noble continued to write stories for the series until 30 January 2005, the day before he died. The tumour left him with serious visual impairment
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
s on the right side. In December 2004, having completed several courses of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, and after a brief remission, his tumour started to grow again. Noble enjoyed a huge amount of public support during this period.
His final comment before his death ended with the statement "I will end with a plea. I still have no idea why I ended up with a cancer, but plenty of other cancer patients know what made them ill...If two or three people stop smoking as a result of anything I have ever written then the one of them who would have got cancer will live and all my scribblings will have been worthwhile."
Noble died in a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
hospice aged 37. He was survived by his wife, Almut, and two children (a son and daughter).
Legacy
A book entitled Like a Hole in the Head (ISBN 0-340-86428-1), which chronicles Noble's fight with cancer, was released in May 2005. A bursaryBursary
A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...
was established by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in Noble's memory; it will provide annual funding for a newly-qualified journalist to work at the science and technology desk of the BBC News website for six months. The first recipient of this bursary was Rebecca Morelle.
Quotes
- "Painfully I learned not to mourn the future I might have lost. No-one has their future until it becomes their present."
- "It delights me that I am part of a species so far apparently unique in its ability to create culture and preserve memory. Our marks endure and what ever happens to me, a tiny part will be mine."
- "Cancer succumbs all the time both to the incremental improvements of science and the determination of those of us living and surviving the disease day by day. Cancer will lose and people will win."