- Luke Poga was just 6 when his weight doubled — something his mother, Sam, initially thought was due to lack of exercise during the Covid lockdown
- Luke was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and died several years later at 9 years old
- He was one of two students at his elementary school with the fatal cancer
An elementary school student’s sudden weight gain was initially chalked up to lack of exercise, but it turned out to be an early symptom of an aggressive, fatal brain tumor. After a schoolmate also died from a brain tumor, the family joined forces with the school to raise money for brain cancer research.
Luke Poga was always “slight,” his mother Sam tells South West News Service, via The Daily Mail. However, his weight doubled in 2020 — which his mom attributed to a lack of exercise during the Covid pandemic lockdown.
When Luke, then 6, returned to school in July 2021, he was wearing clothing sized for 11- and 12-year-olds. Poga, who hails from the English town of Borehamwood, says, “Parents commented that Luke looked different. He was always so slight, so it was a noticeable change for everyone who knew him.”
Concerned about her son’s weight gain, the mom of two — she also has a daughter, Daisy, 12 — contacted a nutritionist to work on Luke’s diet. But Luke’s symptoms didn’t stop there, she says, sharing that her son began to complain about his vision.
“He had problems with his eyes and rubbed them saying they were sore,” Poga, 42, says. “And I knew there was something wrong.”
Poga took her son to the eye doctor, who referred the family to the ophthalmology department at their local hospital, where an MRI scan uncovered the devastating diagnosis: Luke had an aggressive glioma, a type of brain tumor.
“I felt numb and couldn’t take in the information presented to me during the appointment,” Poga says. “Doctors said the tumor was large but because it was diffused, they couldn’t operate.” As the National Cancer Institute explains, a “diffuse” glioma is fast-growing and spreads. All diffuse midline gliomas are categorized as Stage 4.
“I remember feeling shocked,” Poga shares. Luke underwent chemotherapy and radiation but “his eyesight remained intact,” Poga says. “For some time we enjoyed life as a family, whilst still navigating medical appointments.” But at the beginning of 2024, the family was told Luke’s cancer was terminal.
On August 26, 2024, Luke, then 9 years old, died. Four months after his death, a 10-year-old girl who also attended Luke’s school, Summerswood Primary School, died from a brain tumor.
Staff and children from the school have committed to walking 10,000 steps a day in February to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
“In the past few months, our Summerswood family has experienced the unimaginable loss of two beautiful students,” the school said on its JustGiving page. “We stand together as a community to honour their memory and show our unwavering support for their families.”
“We will be walking, running, hopping, skipping and jumping our way to 10,000 steps every day for a month.”
As Poga told SWNS, “Walking is something I enjoy doing and so far, this challenge has been a great way to combine my daily walk whilst raising money to help find vital research to find kinder treatments and eventually a cure for this disease.”
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