A woman who survived treatment for an aggressive brain tumour is taking part in Trek Sahara 2025 this month in aid of Brain Tumour Research.
Keen adventurer Nicola Shaw, 38, had returned from her dream trip to Antarctica in October 2022 when she began experiencing severe pain in her nose, eyes and head. A teacher, then living in Chicago, Nicola’s symptoms became so intense that her doctor recommended a neurology exam.
Nicola visited a specialist who found a meningioma brain tumour growing near her brain stem and left optic nerve. She recalled: “Luckily, the dad of a student in my class was a neurosurgeon at the hospital I had been referred to, and he helped fast-track my request. He explained that my tumour was a nine out of ten in terms of difficulty to remove, and only 2% of cases are found in this location. It didn’t fill me with much hope.”
Nicola underwent surgery that April but it regrew a horrifying 17 millimetres in just six months. With the typical growth rate for low-grade tumours being two millimetres per year, Gamma Knife Therapy was recommended (pictured below).
Nicola recalled: “The procedure was the worst day of my life. They had to insert four screws into my head. The pain was excruciating and I screamed and begged them to stop. They had to avoid my titanium plate and clipped my eyelid, giving me a scar.”
Nicola had to return to the UK to focus on her physical and mental recovery, spending nine months in specialist therapy for cancer patients. Hoping to improve treatment options for brain tumour patients, Nicola is now preparing to take part in a charity trek across the Sahara. Already, she has raised enough to fund more than three days of research at our Centres of Excellence.
Along with 15 others, Nicola will travel the desert for six days in temperatures above 30°C. Returning to her passion for travel, she concluded: “It can’t be worse than what I’ve already been through.
“I feel like unless you or someone you know has gone through it, no one is aware of how dangerous brain tumours are. I’m so proud of how much I’ve raised so far, because we desperately need a cure for the thousands who won’t be as fortunate as I have been.”
Support Nicola and boost her fundraising total by donating to us via her Brain Tumour Research JustGiving page.
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