Published: August 13, 2026
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Richie Heil thought he was simply coming down with something.
In March 2026, after routine blood work at his primary care physician’s office, he felt a little nauseous. It wasn’t alarming at first, but the feeling lingered throughout the week. By that Thursday morning, April 2, Richie left work early to bring his wife, Diane, to the doctor for her own appointment.
What happened next changed everything.
“From the time I pulled in the driveway and put the truck in park to get out, I don’t remember much after that,” Richie said. “I fell, collapsed in a driveway. My wife and a neighbor had to help me.”
Concerned, his daughter Kara took him back to his primary care physician. During the exam, Richie could tell something wasn’t right. The tone of the conversation was just … off.
“He was checking my vision and some other different things,” he said. “And I could see the look on his face. He didn’t look really comfortable. He was telling me I had a slight droop in my face, slurring a little bit and was worried about that. He knew it was more than a stroke.”
A few hours later, imaging revealed a mass on Richie’s brain.
The diagnosis was glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
“The emergency room doctor said it was three fingers wide and over three fingers long,” Richie said. “It just kept escalating, you know? I went from one doctor telling me [I had] a mass to another saying I had the most aggressive form of brain cancer. And now, the worst part is I had to turn around and tell my wife and my daughter and the rest of my family that I don’t know if I’m going to see them again.”
A week later, Dimitri Laurent, M.D., neurosurgeon with Norton Neuroscience Institute, performed a right-side craniotomy, removing a piece of bone from the right side of Richie’s skull to access and remove the tumor on his brain.
The nearly four-hour surgery removed all visible tumor tissue. After two days in recovery, Richie was discharged home to prepare for the next phase of treatment — radiation and chemotherapy.
But before he left, he asked Dr. Laurent for an unusual souvenir.
A signed scrub top.
“That was one of those things, an idea that popped in my head,” Richie said. “It was a random thing, but it really took on a life of its own.”
The shirt gained signatures seemingly by the day.
Every member of Richie’s care team was invited to sign it — surgeons, nurses, radiation therapists, oncologists, receptionists and countless others who played a role in his treatment. It accompanied him to every postoperative appointment, from basic follow-ups to radiation treatments, from April to June.
Everywhere he went, Richie looked for another signature.
“For me, it’s become a game of, ‘Who’s helped me? Who’s on my team,’” he said. “That’s how it got started. It is kind of funny to me now that something I didn’t think was a very big deal — it was just a shirt — has taken on such a life. Now when I ask people to sign it, they’re like, ‘Really, you want me to sign it?’ And I say, ‘Oh yeah, you’re on my team.’”
Today, dozens of names cover the shirt.
“I think it’s a testament to Richie and his character,” Dr. Laurent said. “He’s got this huge fight, and here he is trying to recognize everybody who’s had a piece — one way or another — in his recovery. I also think there’s a community aspect to it. This shirt shows he’s not going through this alone and has a lot of people who support him and want him to do well.”
Following surgery, Richie met with Kaylyn D. Sinicrope, M.D., neuro-oncologist with Norton Cancer Institute, to develop his treatment plan, which included 30 radiation treatments and a daily oral chemotherapy.
“From the beginning, Richie approached treatment with remarkable determination,” Dr. Sinicrope said. “A diagnosis like glioblastoma can feel overwhelming, but he remained focused on what needed to happen next. Our goal was to develop a treatment plan that would give him the best possible outcome while helping him maintain hope and purpose throughout the process.”
On June 16, Richie rang the bell at Norton Cancer Institute – Brownsboro, marking the completion of radiation.
His journey, however, was far from over.
Dr. Sinicrope presented him with the opportunity to participate in the EF-41/KEYNOTE D58 clinical trial, which studies the effectiveness of immunotherapy combined with Optune, a wearable device that delivers low-intensity electrical fields known as tumor treating fields through adhesive arrays placed on the scalp.
For Richie, the decision was about more than his own future.
“Somehow, it just clicked that this fight isn’t about me anymore,” Richie said. “I’ve told [my doctors] if they can save me for another eight, 10, 15, 20 years … 50, I hope, then that’s great. But if what they’re learning from my experience helps them save the next person, then it’s worth it. Because I’ve met people from 6 to 95 years old in those waiting rooms. I don’t want to see anybody else go through this.”
“That mindset is what makes Richie so special,” Dr. Sinicrope said. “He is committed not only to his own treatment, but also to helping advance our understanding of this disease. Clinical trials allow us to explore promising new therapies, and patients like Richie play an important role in moving cancer care forward for future generations.”
As Richie looks toward the months ahead, he continues to carry the signed scrub top with him.
Each new signature represents another person who has joined his team and another milestone in a fight he refuses to give up. He also remains committed to the clinical trial, hopeful his participation will create a lasting impact for future patients.
“I’m not a super religious person by any means,” he said. “But I really believe if God was going to take me, he would have taken me somewhere before or during that surgery. And he didn’t. I’m still here. I’ve got more to give. And so now I’ve got goals that I need to achieve — walking my daughter down the aisle, holding my first grandbaby. These are things I feel like I deserve, especially after what I’ve gone through and am still fighting through. I’m still here, and I’m still fighting. I’m no quitter.”
Currently, Norton Research Institute is participating in more than 750 total active studies in more than 30 specialties and employs a team of nearly 300 clinical research professionals. To see if there is a clinical trial that can be a part of your cancer journey, use this link.
Reviewed by Kaylyn D. Sinicrope, M.D., and Dimitri Laurent, M.D.