My life was on the line

Ideally, the 23-year-old graduate would love to work in womens or childrenswear. Her CV has been sent to various fashion companies giving Nichola something to focus on other than her health.

Talking with the bright brunette at the terraced home in Shelf she shares with her fiance, Stephen Smith, it's hard to comprehend that four months ago she was undergoing a six-hour operation to remove a rare brain tumour.

Her positive attitude and the love and support from her family and Stephen, who she met seven years ago, are playing an important part in her recovery.

Nichola tells how they were the ones weeping while she was trying to hold it together. "I was in shock but I only cried twice through the whole thing. I took it rather well. My family and Stephen took it the worst.

"But when you know it's yourself you know you have no choice but to get on with it," she says bravely.

In February she received treatment for suspected sinusitis after persistent headaches prompted her to seek medical advice. When that didn't work she was given anti-inflammatories.

While the headaches appeared to subside slightly, Nichola remained conscious of a pain behind her left eye.

Seeing double was the first telling sign something was wrong. She recalls ringing Stephen to collect her from the local pub where she'd been working part-time in between studies.

"He wanted to take me straight to hospital but I refused," she says.

That evening they rang NHS Direct for advice, but when Nichola's condition worsened Stephen wasn't taking any chances and insisted they go straight to Bradford Royal Infirmary's accident and emergency department.

"I was sick, the pain was that bad," recalls Nichola.

A CT scan discovered a lesion between Nichola's brain and skull. At that stage doctors couldn't tell the couple anything more about what type of lesion it was. Nichola needed an in-depth MRI scan which she underwent within days of the discovery. "It was the worst time of our lives," says Stephen.

When led into a side room the couple prepared for the worst. Nichola was told the lesion was actually a three-and-a-half centimetre tumour shaped like a light bulb.

It wasn't until she underwent the operation at Leeds General Infirmary a few weeks later, performed by the surgeon who cared for Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond following his high-speed crash, that they discovered the tumour was actually a very rare form of bone cancer known as a chondrosarcoma.

Nichola explains its location was such it was stretching the motor nerves which control the eye, resulting in the pain she was suffering.

Amazingly, within five days of the operation Nichola was back home with Stephen and her beloved pet lhasa apso Maggie May. "I didn't expect her to come back from a six-hour brain operation talking and being as she was," says Stephen. "Her energy was zapped but she was walking around."

Nichola recalls: "It didn't feel like it was really happening."

By her appearance you wouldn't know Nichola had undergone brain surgery. The neat scar, running up the left side of her head, is camouflaged by her hair.

However, she still has slight blurry vision in her left eye when she looks down, and that's something she may have to come to terms with.

As part of her long-term treatment, Nichola hopes to undergo proton radiotherapy at a clinic in Switzerland.

The advantage of proton radiotherapy is it provides a dose distribution with a sharp cut-off outside the target volume and therefore avoids excessive irradiation of critical structures, ie critical areas of the brain.

Proton therapy with sufficient energy to treat the type of tumour Nichola has in the area it is in are not yet available in the UK.

"You have to take one day at a time," says Stephen.

He and Nichola's family have been by her side throughout. Nichola recalls him taking weeks off work at a local joinery firm to care for her.

Next month, he and 11 friends and workmates will embark on a mammoth cycle ride to raise funds for a charity which has become close to both their hearts.

Stephen recalls seeing posters for the local charity, Andrea's Gift, dotted around the hospital walls while Nichola was undergoing her treatment.

The charity was set up in memory of Andrea Key who died from an aggressive brain tumour in May, 2002. The mother-of-two was just 42 when she died but the legacy she's left is fulfilling her wish for vital research to be carried out as well as providing patient support for brain tumour sufferers.

"Going to the hospital every day we saw the posters about Andrea's Gift. We looked into it and thought it was a good cause," says Stephen.

"I wanted to do something because I wanted to give something back now that this has happened."

From August 24 to 26 Stephen and his pals will be cycling from Halifax to Gretna Green. "I was thinking of a bike ride and Gretna was suggested. I wanted something a bit tough," says Stephen.

He's already had help and support from Cycle Yorkshire who are loaning some of the bikes. They've also produced a route map for the group. Stephen has also been grateful for sponsorship from firms including H20 who have kick-started the fund. Stephen's aim is to top £2,000.

He's also considering making it an annual fundraiser. "It's only a weekend out of your life and you can give to such a good cause," he says.

Says Nichola: "It's also thinking about something positive rather than looking back."

• For more information or to pledge your support visit www.justgiving.com/ halifaxtogretna