Young man inspires others while battling cancer

Nolan Thomas stands at Brown Canyon in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Photos submitted

By Tom Victoria

Nolan Thomas inspires others to not give up no matter how bad it gets. He's not letting stage 4 colon cancer stop him from fighting for his life and helping other cancer patients.

Nolan, 21, of Arizona wants to inspire others, especially young cancer patients.

"One thing I want to give them is hope," he said. "They're not alone. There's people going through things, more serious, not as serious, but what they're going through is still a valid thing, and there's still hope."

Nolan creates social media content, including a YouTube channel, to reach as many people as possible.

"But the thing that I want for my content, I just want to save someone, at least one life,” he said. “So I want to make sure that people know that there's still hope in the world and that you're not alone. And the goal for myself is to save someone, just one life."

However, it hasn't been easy for Nolan of Arizona to keep the faith figuratively and literally. 

"When I was stage 3 about, gosh, I'd say eight months ago now, going on a year now, I gave up," he said. "I was going through my chemotherapy and it was whooping my butt and I gave up. I was ready to die. I accepted death. I would wake up in my bed and I was just not looking forward to the next day because it would just repeat. I'd wake up in my bed. I would have food and I wouldn't eat it because I just couldn't eat. I couldn't drink because the chemotherapy gave me a cold sensitivity and it would hurt. I just kept going day by day. I was super depressed."

“Once I got through the chemotherapy for the last regimen, I told  myself one more day. I just kept saying one more day. It could be worse. Just one more day. So I kept going and going and going.”

Nolan hosts a podcast that airs on YouTube.

But Nolan was more resilient than he first thought.

"Once I got through the chemotherapy for the last regimen, I told myself one more day. I just kept saying one more day. It could be worse. Just one more day. So I kept going and going and going."

Nolan received the shock of his life a little over a year ago when he sought medical treatment for symptoms such as blood in his stool and unfamiliar pain. The athlete was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.

"Signet ring cell carcinoma is actually most commonly found in older men in their 50s to 60s, in either the stomach or the stomach lining," he said. "And mine ended up being in the colon, which is really weird. I was diagnosed February 27. I had emergency surgery on February 28."

Nolan, whose cancer eventually advanced to stage 4 metastatic carcinoma, found religion before the cancer diagnosis.

"I Was getting religious and then I got cancer," he said. "So then I resented God a little bit. Then I became cancer free and then I started getting religious again. And then literally within a month or two, I got cancer again. It turned into stage 4 and I resented God again and I felt betrayed. I pushed him out of my life. But now where I'm at, I've gotten closer to him more than ever. The thing that pushed me was really like one more day. Just one more day."

“The reason why I want to help people is because I've always wanted to do something bigger than myself.”

Nolan, who was recently was given a 4-year prognosis for life expectancy, updates his social media followers on his battle.

Nolan, who was baptized at a nondenominational Christian church in February, explained his motivation for helping others deal with the trauma of cancer.

"The reason why I want to help people is because I've always wanted to do something bigger than myself," he said. "I was gonna be a wildland firefighter. I was basically hired. I was in the crew. They were just like wait till it was either August or October because I missed the hiring stage. I found out about the job too late. I got a recommendation from the captain because I was building his house. I was gonna be a wildland firefighter and then I got diagnosed and I missed out on that chance. So the fact that I couldn't help and be bigger than myself in that way, I figured why not do something that can make a difference now? My main goal at the end of this is to start a nonprofit. I have an Instagram page that I just started a month or two ago. But I'm not focused on that too much. I'm more focused on this podcast to build up a little following and then I'll start the nonprofit."

In addition to Nolan's faith, he relies on support from his loved ones.

"Nonreligious-wise, the thing that kept me going in that aspect was my family," he said. "My dad and mom, I have a 23-year-old older brother and going on 10-year-old sister. My brother's working and my sister just goes to school so she doesn't understand what's going on. But my dad, he owns his own company and he's been successful. We're not super rich but we're not dirt poor. He works his butt off to help us financially. It's crazy because I used to help him and he was swamped all the time. Now that I'm not there, he's still kicking harder than ever. So I can't make that go to waste. And my mom, she's a stay-at-home mom. She's disabled from some job injury. She's been my number one supporter. She's been with me for every appointment and she's taken me to everything. She's helped with so much so I know I'm not alone. So my family's really been there for me. And then my grandparents, they've been coming from Virginia to here to help out with things during my battle."

“They even gave me ketamine just to occupy my mind from the pain. And I could still feel the pain while I was hallucinating, seeing things.”

Nolan attends a private practice of the professional hockey team, the Tucson Roadrunners.

Nolan is in a pain-free period.

"Back in December, actually my 21st birthday, I was in the hospital due to a new tumor that's growing on my aorta," he said. "It's located in the spine area. It was super close to it and they couldn't perform surgery, so I was in the most pain of my life. And the weird thing was only ibuprofen would help, not oxy(codone). Just no medication. They even gave me ketamine just to occupy my mind from the pain. And I could still feel the pain while I was hallucinating, seeing things. But I've been on chemo for a little bit and I think this chemo is actually working this time. And I'm not on any pain stuff anymore for two months. I've been pain-free. I think the key is the chemo's shrunk the tumor."

Nolan recounted the progression of the most recent bout of pain.

"The pain would be on my left kidney area," he said. "I thought it was muscle pain because I hauled out an elk. We're hunters. And literally that next day, I started getting pain, and then it just started getting worse and worse and worse. I started going to real estate school just to occupy the time because I didn't know what to do. And the pain just kept getting worse. Then once I got to the ER and it would travel from my kidney down to my hip, and then it would shoot to my groin area. And I was like, whoa, this is the worst it's ever been. And that's why they gave me the ketamine."

The medical staff struggled to find a drug that worked for Nolan.

"At first, they couldn't find anything that worked because they wanted me to stay off of ibuprofen because that can make your stomach bleed," he said. "I have colon cancer, and I'm already bleeding in my stool. So they didn't want to make it worse, so they wanted me to stay off ibuprofen and Advil. They tried giving me a Tylenol. That didn't help. They gave me oxy. That didn't help. Back in World War II, when someone gets shot, they'd give them morphine. They give me morphine. Morphine wouldn't even work on me. No meds were working. They finally found a medicine called Dilaudid. It's similar to ibuprofen, but they're giving it to me in IV form so it didn't go through my stomach. That was the only thing that would help. The morphine would work for literally five minutes, and then it would go back to just straight pain. So Dilaudid was really the only thing that would help. And it would work for, I'd say, three to six hours, and I'd have to wait eight hours in between. Once it was my birthday that they found out that that medication worked. So I was in the hospital for a week already, and I wasn't getting any sleep at all until that medication was given to me."

"I'll go see doctors, I'll get my blood tested and then I'll start the chemo. I'm there that day probably for five to six hours. And then I get to take that chemo pump with me, which is the 46-hour drip. And then Tuesday, I'm free.”

Nolan and sister Katlin take a ride.

Nolan's life revolves around his treatment.

"Every two weeks, I have chemo," he said. "On that week I have chemo, it's a three-day long chemo period. I have a port now. I'm on three types of chemo. The full thing is called FOLFIRI (Leucovorin Calcium, Fluorouracil and Irinotecan). I get injected and I get a pump to go with me that injects chemo for 46 hours and then I'll leave that city and go home which is a two-hour drive. And then for the first two to three days after the chemo, I'm just puking a bunch, no appetite. But it's a lot better than what it could be. The days after that it's just me trying to find time to record the podcast. I also have a new puppy (a Bernese mountain dog named Moses). We got the dog to be my companion through this. I've been taking care of him. It's literally just podcasts, the puppy and whenever a friend invites me or comes to see me, that's my day to day."

Nolan's treatment weeks start Monday morning.

"The first day is probably the busiest," he said. "I'll go see doctors, I'll get my blood tested and then I'll start the chemo. I'm there that day probably for five to six hours. And then I get to take that chemo pump with me, which is the 46-hour drip. And then Tuesday I'm free. I just have that chemo pump with me. So we'll find something to do. And then Wednesday, that morning it gets taken off, which is usually around afternoon time roughly. So I try to find something to do, but I don't schedule anything with anyone because it's not a promise. I'll probably head to the mall with my mom, which is actually why we got the dog. We were going around to pet stores. I was just like, let's just fill the time. And I saw the dog and I was like, I need a companion. I need him. That's crazy because I didn't even think of a dog."

Nolan chills with a festive Deadpool at Disneyland.

Nolan misses being able to do things he could do before cancer, including playing sports.

"I'm not saying I was the best soccer player there was, but I was pretty good," he said. "I was decent. I miss soccer so much. I can't even go to the soccer field and do a rainbow, which is you get it between your feet and you kick it from behind your head over. I can't even do that without getting out of breath. So soccer is a huge one because that was my escape from work, and so I can't do that anymore. The gym. I was going through a bad breakup before I was diagnosed and I was really dedicated to the gym. I gained 30 to 40 pounds of muscle in three months. I was 160, super lean. I missed the gym so much. I never got to experience this because I wasn't 21 that time. I wanted to go clubbing and I can't go clubbing. I can't can't do anything a 21-year-old can do physically and have fun. I never really got to go to college because of it. I did a year of community college. I was thinking about going to university after a year, but the cancer ruined my plans. I just miss being that average person. No one wanted to be average. Now that I have cancer, I want to be average more than ever. I just want to be that level at least."

Having cancer led Nolan to start projects he never would have done and appreciate things he may have taken for granted before.

"There's actually a lot of things that I do now that I wouldn't have done," he said. "The podcast is the biggest thing right so far or trying to start this new nonprofit. The things that I took for granted, being able to have ice cream with friends or conversations with family members, little gifts from family and people. I get these cards in the mail from churches or from people throughout the world. I get postcards. On my birthday, my grandma would send me 20 bucks, and I took that for granted. But now, it's like, wow, that means a lot to me. So whenever I get a card from some random stranger, I read it, and I actually have a wall of cards. I need to make a new wall of cards. A lot of things I took for granted. And now, just the little things where it's heartwarming or things that I might not be able to do in the future that's what means a lot to me now."

“I've learned how to get more patient because of the sickness. I get along with my sister a lot more now. You know, that huge age gap."

Nolan takes a selfie with little sister Presley.

Nolan finds it easier to deal with other people now.

"I've learned how to get more patient because of the sickness," he said. "I get along with my sister a lot more now. You know, that huge age gap. I'm so much more patient. I enjoy time with her a lot now. I don't get to work with my dad anymore. He was my best friend because I worked with him 40 hours a week. And now it's like just going out to dinner with him is super nice. My best friend, he's a real estate agent. I was going to be his partner, which is why I went to a real estate school. Whenever I get to just hang out with him, those things mean a lot more to me than what others can think. I didn't realize how much it really meant until now."

Interaction with others keeps Nolan motivated.

"All the comments I've read, every single comment," he said. "I'm at over a couple thousand in and I get tired of reading it, but I force myself to read it because people are putting in that time to watch my video so I can put in time to read the comment. And all the hope and the advice and the way that I reach people, that really helps me or, or those cards I get in the mail, that really motivates me. But recently, what's been motivating me the most, I've actually gotten a couple hate comments already. And I don't understand how I could get hate comments for telling my story. But reading those and that, that's what makes me want to do more. I'm trying to put good into the world and I'm receiving hate for it. So the way I'm looking at it is I have to be doing something right to receive that kind of criticism."

Nolan has to move a little slower now.

"I had an ablation to block the pain, so they throw some nerves," he said. "So if I get up too fast or if I'm standing for too long, everything goes black and blurry and I gotta get down, and I feel like I'm gonna pass out. So when I'm taking a shower, even for five, 10 minutes, I have to sit down because it's just like, whoa. I'm not able to walk as much as I used to. I can't run. My healing is slower. It's been four weeks since I bit my lip, and it still looks like I bit it two days ago because of the chemo. So a lot of things have slowed down or a lot of things that make me feel older than what I am. I take a lot more restroom breaks. I had a foot of my large intestine to 6 inches of my small intestine removed. And the certain part of my intestine that was removed was the one that settles things for a little bit. And since that was gone now a new part of my intestine needs to learn to take that job over."

“And 2025 hit. Cancer and then getting dumped and losing the gym and losing soccer and then getting cancer again. It was like a roller coaster, up and down, false hope. It was rough."

Nolan stands in another part of Brown Canyon.

Nolan noticed the first symptoms a little over a year ago.

"I was 20 years old, my birthday's in December, and when I was diagnosed, it was in February," he said. "The symptoms that I did notice were within a month. So I'd say it was the start of February. I was using the restroom a lot and a lot was coming out and the consistency of it. So a sign of colon cancer is you use the restroom a lot. There's blood in your stool. Once the blood started, that's when I went to the hospital. And then I also had stomach pains as well. That started shortly after that. But I'd say my symptoms didn't start until within a month of my diagnosis. And when I was diagnosed, I was stage 3. I don't know if my stages jumped that fast or if it was slow. But it was definitely within a month of my diagnosis."

Nolan experienced a number of peaks and valleys during the course of that year.

"I told myself this is my year," he said. "I was going to the gym and I was working. I was what every American wanted to be back in the day, because it seems like no one wants to work anymore. But I was working my butt off. I was jamming and I was active and I had girlfriends and I had a life. And 2025 hit and cancer and then getting dumped and losing the gym and losing soccer and then getting cancer again. It was like a roller coaster, up and down, false hope. It was rough."

As a testament to Nolan's fortitude, he still hunts.

"I've gotten, man, I think one deer and I've gotten three elk maybe," he said. "I went and hunted in New Mexico for Barbary sheep, which is basically a ram. I've never missed. Every single time, every hunt I've gone on, I've never missed."

Nolan offered advice to newly diagnosed cancer patients.

"I'll tell my story," he said. "They walked in. They just started talking about cancer. From my understanding, what they told me was it could have been Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome or irritable bowel disease. And so they were talking about cancer, and I was confused and everything was muffled. And I was trying to understand, and I just couldn't. So when they were done talking, I was like, so I have cancer? And they're like, yeah. Everything they said was in one ear, out the other. Even now, when they talk about my cancer, it's still kind of muffled. It's so traumatizing that I just can't focus when it's happening. So my advice would be try to listen the best you can, but if possible, have someone in that room. I had my mom in there, and it was super emotional. And I think it's okay to let those emotions out. But because of what I was going through, I didn't cry. I was just trying to process. I'd say definitely have someone there with you, try your best to focus and have someone to lean on at least once you find out. Everyone talks about how they don't want to talk about their feelings because they don't want to be a burden or something. But you're not a burden, you need someone to lean on. You need that stability. So I would say try to have some sort of support."

“The main purpose about this is to help others. So I'd rather embarrass myself and help one person than embarrass myself and not do it at all. Because then I'll look at myself differently because I didn't do it.”

Nolan manages a smile through a hospital stay.

Nolan also dispensed advice for aspiring YouTubers.

"I'd say go for it," he said. "You only live once. Personally, I find it kind of embarrassing because my friends see it and the people that I grew up with see it. But at the same time, there's a bigger purpose. The main purpose about this is to help others. So I'd rather embarrass myself and help one person than embarrass myself and not do it at all. Because then I'll look at myself differently because I didn't do it. Just go for it. Shoot in the dark. You don't know what's going to happen. I've started this maybe about two weeks ago, and I've already had a thousand followers on YouTube. I've gotten quite a lot of views. And like I said, all those comments are worth the videos. It helps a lot. Plus, I mean, if you have all this time on your hands, might as well do something. Like for me, for example, I'm 21 years old, and it's like I'm retired right now. I have so much time on my hands, so I might as well do videos."

Nolan’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cancer_Boy

Nolan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidxnolan/