STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — When Noah Mummert was three and diagnosed with cancer he didn’t want to shave his head so instead, he went with a mohawk.
Now, it’s been a tradition a group at Penn State has continued every THON.
In 2011, 3 year-old Noah Mummert from Windsor, PA was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his kidney.
His kidney and tumor were removed, then had chemotherapy.
“We didn’t know what to expect day by day,” Noah’s Father, Edward, said.
Edward and his wife Kathy, say the Apollo group at Penn State sent texts, visited Noah and paid for his medical bills.
“They helped us with family moral support and financially, Edward, said.
“The biggest thing is financially, because we didn’t receive any bills throughout his treatment, Kathy, said.
Apollo is a student organization that raises money throughout the year to support Four Diamonds families, they’re Pennsylvania families with a child with cancer.
“It’s really beautiful to see the relationships that these students and families are making,” Allison Linton, THON Dancer and Apollo Member, said. “It can be a like a really dark time to go through something like cancer, but to have student organizations that are willing to put in the effort and the love that they do, it kind of gives a sense of light and hope.”
Thursday night, the Mummerts and three other families the group supports met and carried on a tradition that started from Noah in 2011, shaving heads and dying hair. They’re mohawks or as they call them “Noah Hawks”.
“It’s hard to put into words, it honestly is, what Apollo does for us and does for Noah,” Kathy said.
“We’ve always made it the Thursday before THON.”
“Instead of completely bald, we just went with the mohawk, right in the center,” Edward, said.
Noah has been in remission for 8 years and continues to keep in touch Apollo .