WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES: Nicola Shaw, 38, from Manchester, has shared the symptoms she experienced before she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. She initially brushed off her symptoms
A teacher who thought she was just stressed was diagnosed with a terrifying brain tumour after returning from Antarctica.
Nicola Shaw, originally from Manchester, had just returned from a dream trip to Antarctica when she started getting a “tingling” in her left cheek. She brushed off the feeling until it began to spread to her nose, eye, and head.
The 38-year-old alerted a doctor who advised her to get an MRI. But again, she assumed it was an “overreaction.” Sadly, the testing detected a meningioma – a tumour close to the brain stem and left optic nerve. Nicola underwent a gruelling operation which removed 95% of the tumour.
However, just as Nicola thought she was on the path to recovery, the tumour returned and had grew back by 17 millimetres in just six months. Nicola then had to undergo Gamma Knife Radiotherapy, which she described as “excruciating” and said she “screamed and begged them to stop.”
The radiotherapy precisely targets radiation to destroy tumours while sparing healthy cells – which took a huge toll on her. Nicola, an early years teacher in the US, said: “I started experiencing tingling in my left cheek. At first, I thought it was just stress, but by January 2023, the pain had spread to my nose, eye, and head. It was so intense it would stop me in my tracks, leaving me keeled over, clutching my head in agony.
“A friend urged me to see a doctor, so I went for a consultation and was referred to a neurologist. At the time, I thought this was an overreaction, but I went along with it and saw a specialist at a private hospital in Chicago. When the neurologist suggested I needed an MRI, I hesitated, thinking it was unnecessary and over the top. Eventually, I gave in, never expecting what was to come. The scan revealed a meningioma, a tumour in a rare and dangerous location near my brain stem and left optic nerve. I was in denial and insisted they had the wrong person, but the truth was evident in the scans, and I had to see a neurosurgeon as soon as possible.”
Nicola had returned to her teaching job in October 2022 when she started to experience pain. After her diagnosis in January 2023 she was told she would need a surgery to remove the tumour. She said: “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, but after a second opinion, we decided to operate.”
She underwent a 10-hour surgery in April 2023 at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, one of the country’s leading brain tumour institutes. The operation was successful but Nicola struggled with double vision, memory loss and jaw pain and tried botox to try and heal it. At her three month scan she was told her tumour had grown back by six millimetres and by October it had grown by 17 millimetres in six months.
Her surgeon had no explanation for the growth but recommended Gamma Knife Radiotherapy – despite concerns about using it for a patient under 50. Nicola said: “The Gamma Knife procedure was the worst day of my life. I requested as many painkillers as the staff would allow and waited to have my fears of needles and tight spaces tested to their limits.
“They had to insert four screws into my head, numbing each area with three injections per screw. The pain was excruciating and I screamed and begged them to stop. When they reached the fourth screw, they had to avoid my titanium plate and in doing so, clipped my eyelid, causing it to bleed and giving me a black eye and scar.
“Once the frame was on, I had two hours of being completely immobilised, with my head screwed to the table, as the radiation went to work. The relief when they finished was immense, but the pain was unbearable. My head throbbed where the screws had been, and the pressure felt relentless.”
The experience took a huge toll on Nicola, forcing her to leave her job and return to the UK to focus on her physical and mental recovery. She spent the next nine months healing while attending sessions with a therapist who specialised in supporting cancer patients. Now, with regular scans to monitor her brain a year after the radiotherapy, the tumour is fortunately stable.
Now she remains determined to make a difference and has already raised over £5,600 for Brain Tumour Research in preparation for her 50km charity trek across the Sahara Desert on March 27, 2025. The six-day challenge will see Nicola endure extreme heat, sand dunes and long, strenuous days, alongside 15 others who have a close personal experience with brain tumours.
She said: “After brain surgery, radiation and countless scans, it can’t be worse than what I’ve already been through. I also love to travel and love a challenge, so this trek sounded perfect to me. It makes me angry knowing just how underfunded research into this disease is, especially as someone who has survived a brain tumour. I feel like unless you or someone you know has gone through it, no one is aware of how dangerous these tumours are, so I’m determined to raise awareness too.
“It is killing so many people and those who survive are left with lifelong problems and worries about their future. 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.”
To support Nicola’s Sahara Trek challenge visit her fundraiser here.