Ivan Noble (June 1967–January 31, 2005) was a British journalist who worked for
BBC News OnlineBBC 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
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
.
Born in
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, 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
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
, before working in the
ScienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
and
TechnologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
section of the BBC News website, where he was known for his love of complicated gadgetry.
He was diagnosed with
glioblastoma multiformeGlioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all parenchymal brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs occur in...
on August 29, 2002, and wrote about his battle against the cancer on the BBC News website until January 2005.
Ivan Noble (June 1967–January 31, 2005) was a British journalist who worked for
BBC News OnlineBBC 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
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
.
Born in
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, 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
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
, before working in the
ScienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
and
TechnologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
section of the BBC News website, where he was known for his love of complicated gadgetry.
He was diagnosed with
glioblastoma multiformeGlioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all parenchymal brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs occur in...
on August 29, 2002, and wrote about his battle against the cancer on the BBC News website until January 2005. The series was entitled "Tumour Diary." The tumour left him with serious
visual impairmentVisual impairment or vision impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as a handicap 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...
s on the right side. In December 2004, having completed several courses of
chemotherapyChemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen...
, and after a brief
remissionRemission may refer to:*Remission , the reflection or scattering of light by a material*Remission *Remission *Re-Mission, a video game for young people with cancer...
, 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 is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
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
bursaryA 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
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
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."
External links