Beloved Brighton, Hobart resident Nathan ‘Noofa’ Phillips loses cancer fight as tributes flow

The big brother of a much-loved Brighton man who tragically lost his battle with cancer says “life won’t be the same” without his “best mate” and “that one person in life I could turn to”.

THE big brother of a much-loved Brighton man who tragically lost his battle with cancer says “life won’t be the same” without his “best mate” and “that one person in life I could turn to”.

Nathan ‘Noofa’ Phillips, 39, sadly passed away on May 15 after a long and fraught battle with cancer.

He was initially diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2018 before the disease spread to his lymphatic system. In early May last year, he was dealt another cruel blow after being told by specialists he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Tributes are flowing for much-loved Brighton, Hobart man Nathan 'Noofa' Phillips, 39 (left), who lost his battle with cancer last week. Pictured here with his brotther Damien Phillips. Picture: Facebook

It comes as tributes have poured in for the man people affectionately dubbed a “big teddy bear”, with loving messages from family and friends flooding social media.

His older brother Damien Phillips, shared a heartbreaking post on his Facebook page.

“Where do I start, everyone has that one person in their life, their best mate/brother the one person they turn to and trust with their lives, you were that to me noofa and a million times better person than anyone else walking this earth,” he wrote.

“I don’t have that person anymore but I will still talk to you, I’m gonna miss our daily messages, our competitive af (sic) fishing days, talking footy, our being there to get each other through hard days.”

Nathan with wife Nicole Phillips. Picture: Facebook.

Mr Phillips said despite Nathan being his little brother, he still looked up to him as “the person I wanted to be like”.

“I love you mate and miss you so much it hurts. I promise I’ll come find you when it’s my time little brother, until then rest easy mate.”

Friend Matthew Wilkinson said he was “lost for words” and that Nathan was his “best mate for a very long time.”

Nathan and Damien when they were young boys. Picture: Facebook

“I just can’t believe you’re gone. You will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace brother until we meet again,” he wrote.

Mr Wilkinson commemorated Nathan by getting a tattoo of his name with angel wings above it, along with his birth and death dates.

“You’ll always be with me brother love and miss you,” he captioned the post.

Andrew Tomlin wrote: “Genuinely a top bloke will be dearly missed by many”.

Nicole and Nathan Phillips. Picture: Facebook.

Jackie Free said Nathan was “one truly amazing person with a heart of gold”.

Rosina Engler called Nathan “one of the best people in the world” and “he will be missed so much”.

Nathan is survived by wife Nicole, brothers Damien, Michael Kiri-Lee, Brenton and Kayla and parents Mark and Louise.

His funeral was held on Monday at Phillips Stephens Funerals at Rosny.

A GoFundMe page set up last year to support the family during Nathan’s cancer battle raised over $10,000.