Dr Who: Brain tumour patient Noah, 17, makes bucket list

Noah Herniman describes himself as a "compassionate Whovian"

A 17-year-old who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour has written a bucket list which includes getting his own Dalek.

Dr Who fanatic Noah Herniman was told about the tumour in 2021 and has since gone through months of chemotherapy.

Throughout treatment, he raised thousands of pounds to pay for "Noah's Retreat", a holiday lodge for young people in the same position as him.

He has now written a bucket list of five things he wants to do.

Noah, from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, was diagnosed in June 2021, and mum Shelly said her "world fell apart".

"We've since learned that Noah's tumour is growing, it hasn't stopped growing. He's done 74 weeks of chemotherapy which were absolutely brutal," she said.

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"We're now having to start another chemotherapy which has been very difficult for Noah to come to terms with because it is life changing.

"Without the treatment, Noah doesn't have any other option. He isn't viable for any trials because unfortunately the tumour is so inaccessible they can't get tissue samples.

"So short of a miracle, there's not much we can do. His chemotherapy is basically management."

About to go through another round of treatment, Noah described chemotherapy as "like prison".

Noah is "kind, caring empathetic, compassionate, and never speaks ill of people", said his mum Shelly

"It's hospital, it's home. There's not really anything else, pretty much everything is related to chemo," he said.

"You can have terrible side effects from the chemo, even to the point where I can barely use my legs so I'm now most of the time in a wheelchair.

"It's devastating, there's not really any words I can think of apart from horrible, evil and a few I probably can't use pre-watershed."

Noah decided to raise money for a holiday retreat for other young people who "just want to get away from it for a while".

"When I started my first treatment, mum was saying 'why don't we try and find trials?' I said 'I don't want to raise money to send me abroad for treatment that doesn't exist'," he said.

"I'd rather raise it to help others, so I started Noah's Retreat from that.

"People need to make memories, they need to escape because being on chemo is like prison where you've got home and hospital - nothing else."

Despite rarely being able to go into school, Noah achieved GCSEs in history, maths, English language and literature

Noah's bucket list

As well as his fundraising work, Noah has developed a five-point bucket list.

In terms of its name, Shelly said: "Let's just say he doesn't call it his bucket list, he calls it something that sounds very similar."

1. Meet David Tennant

"Noah's ultimate dream is to meet David Tennant," said Shelly.

"I want to properly meet him, speak to him and be able to have a conversation with him," said Noah.

2. Get a Dalek

"He's always said he always wanted a Dalek, and I had always talked him out of it," said Shelly.

"Where are we going to put a Dalek?"

"The idea that mum's not too thrilled about is keeping it in the dining room," Noah replied.

3. Learn to drive

"Because of the chemo and all of the side affects, I can't drive," said Noah.

"They've said to wait until I'm a year clear of chemo and that's not going to be until I'm at least 21, the way this is going."

Shelly described passing his driving test as the "biggest thing" for Noah.

"Now he just says 'its alright I'll just get a Dalek and drive it to college and go up the M4 in it'."

4. Be invited to a red carpet event

"Every year Dr Who always do red carpet events with the cast and crew," said Noah.

"I've been desperate to get to one, but I've not been able to, because they don't really open it to the public."

5. Be on the big screen

"I want to pursue a career in acting and eventually be in Dr Who and be the next Doctor," he said.