Taite's Story - Taite Boomer Memorial Brain Tumor Foundation

Taite Boomer's battle with brain cancer

On Sunday September 2, 2012, Taite Boomer passed away after a short, but courageous battle with a brain tumor. He was only 20 years old. An amazing young man with the wisest of souls, Taite left behind a legend most people will never achieve in their lifetime. Honest, smart, loving and strong are a few of the many positive traits that have been consistently used to describe Taite. Yet it was his unwavering strength, both physical and mental, that allowed him to fight the aggressively advanced cancer for as long as he did. Taite neither complained nor allowed himself to be a portrait of self-pity. Instead, he exuded hope. Hope that he spread to his friends, family and girlfriend, telling them that everything would be okay.

First diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma on June 8, 2012, Taite died less than three months later. For those of you who may not know, an anaplastic astrocytoma is an advanced form of brain cancer that grows very quickly. Over the course of those three months, Taite lost his ability to speak and almost all function in the right side of his body, leaving him dependent on others for the simplest of everyday tasks. Although brain cancer is not as publicized or, more importantly, as well researched as other types of cancer, it is becoming more pervasive in society and many people who suffer from deadly brain tumors don’t stand much of a fighting chance. For this reason, we would like to utilize Taite Boomer’s brave story to help raise awareness of brain cancer, promote further research and ultimately, find a cure. We encourage you to read and share Taite’s story with as many people as you can.

Taite Boomer was born on November 15, 1991, in Edmonton, Alberta. Being the youngest of three energetic and athletic boys, Taite led a very active life. He played both hockey and lacrosse, and went to the gym daily. Taite was extremely intelligent and achieved honors throughout junior and senior high school. Continuing this trend into university, he received early acceptance into the prestigious Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta. Despite being on two athletic teams, Taite achieved some of the top grades in his classes, exercised daily, and he still found valuable time for his family, friends, and girlfriend. He was in every sense of the phrase a well-rounded individual with a very bright future ahead of him.

January 2, 2012, was the first time that symptoms of the tumor were displayed. Taite collapsed at the gym during a workout. Once at the hospital, doctors told him it was simply dehydration, but four days later he collapsed again. All cardiology and neurological tests came back with normal results and the doctors told Taite to keep his electrolyte levels up by drinking sports drinks during workouts.

On February 3, 2012, Taite had a grand mal seizure while sleeping and once again found himself back at hospital. Finally doctors referred Taite to a neurologist. Querying epilepsy, he was placed on an anti-seizure medication called Tegretol and a CT scan, EEG, and MRI were ordered to determine the cause of the seizures. Within the month Taite went in for his CT scan and EEG and neither of these procedures showed any abnormalities.

Five months after his first seizure, Taite went in for his scheduled MRI on June 7, 2012. This time, results revealed that he had a brain tumor on his left frontal cortex. Soon after, a week later to be precise, a contrast MRI was performed. This procedure would allow the doctors to see whether the tumor was benign or in fact, cancerous. The dye used in the contrast MRI did not augment, in turn leading the doctors to believe that the tumor was benign, or at the most low-grade. Looking at these results, they told Taite that the tumor was not serious and he should come back in three months for another MRI to monitor the tumor.

Over the next few weeks, Taite began to develop more severe symptoms of the brain tumor. His right arm became increasingly weaker and his speech became slurred. Taite went back to see the doctor and a second contrast MRI was performed. After receiving these results, the decision was made to do a biopsy. During the two-week long wait for the biopsy, Taite’s right leg also began to get weak and his speaking became so difficult that he could only manage to get out a few comprehensible words at a time.

On July 25, 2012, Taite entered the hospital for his biopsy. After surgery, Taite was extremely nauseated and unable to sit up or even eat for several days. When he was released on July 30, he was unable to walk without a cane and assistance. As we waited for results, Taite’s condition only worsened. On August 9 he experienced a minor seizure and was admitted back into the hospital. The next day we finally received the biopsy results declaring that Taite’s tumor was a grade III anaplastic astrocytoma with features consistent to that of a small cell variant. Beyond the diagnosis of a hostile and rapidly moving form of cancer, the doctors were unsure of a prognosis.

Released from the hospital on August 13, Taite’s doctors referred him to the Cross Cancer Institute (CCI). On August 16, at his first appointment at the CCI, Taite met with his treatment team to discuss the treatment protocol. Treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiation, was scheduled to start on September 6.

On September 1, 2012, Taite went to bed earlier than usual and couldn’t be roused for his evening medication. After monitoring his condition for several hours, his parents decided to call an ambulance. A CT scan was done upon arrival at the hospital and a serious brain bleed was discovered.

There was nothing the doctors could do to save Taite’s life. The Boomer family made the brave and selfless decision to donate his viable organs, so Taite was put on a ventilator and his vitals were monitored. At 6:27 p.m. on September 2, Taite was declared deceased. He was placed on life support, and over the following 25 agonizing hours, organ recipients were found.

While Taite lay unresponsive and unconscious, at least 40 members of his friends and family lined the hospital hallways to say goodbye. We hope that Taite heard all of our kind words, memories, and prayers and knew how greatly he was loved. More than 500 people came to his memorial on September 15, 2012 and we can only hope that Taite saw how many lives he touched in the short time he was alive.

Taite Boomer saved two lives on the day he died. His liver went to one man, while his heart and lungs went to another man who would have died had he not received a heart and lungs from the same donor. We hope that these two people will go on to inspire others to consider organ donation and Taite may indirectly save even more lives.

Taite suffered from a very aggressive and rare brain tumor. This tumor was not a textbook case. Anaplastic astrocytomas are more common in men than in women and they tend to occur in patients who are in their forties. For Taite to have one at the young age of 20 was strange. On the initial MRI, the tumor appeared to be of a less aggressive grade, but in actuality it behaved more like an extremely aggressive tumor. Due to the limited amount of research on the brain and brain tumors, the doctors were unable to anticipate the rapid progress of Taite’s tumor.

We need YOUR help to fight brain cancer. In order to promote and fund further research on brain tumors, in turn helping us to find better treatments, we need to bring more awareness to brain cancer and its many forms. So please help us share Taite Boomer’s story. We urge you to learn more about brain cancer and find ways to get involved with the search for the cure.

Please explore www.taiteboomer.com to learn more about brain tumors and what you can you to help us fight them.

Written by Katelyn Pretzlaff and The Boomers

Edited by Chrissy Panet-Raymond

Learn about brain cancer

Find out how to get involved