Gail, right, with mum Christine, back, and sister Michelle Brooks (Image: GARYROBERTSPHOTO.COM)
But her hopes of recovery have risen thanks to high-energy proton beam therapy (PBT) being pioneered since December at The Christie Hospital, Manchester. Mrs Nicholls is one of its first patients. Previously people had to travel to the United States. Consultant Stephen Kennedy, who is treating Mrs Nicholls, said: "With PBT, compared to conventional radiotherapy, there is less dose to surrounding normal tissues and less risk of permanent long-term effects of treatment. This is particularly important for tumours like Gail's which are in hard-to-treat areas such as the spine.
Mrs Nicholls said: "I feel very lucky to be part of such a pioneering programme - and now I feel much more positive about my cancer journey.
"Without PBT my condition would be terminal - so it is giving me a chance to get through it.
"I've got four children and I want to be able to see my grandchildren born and grow up. When I was first diagnosed, I was in despair. I didn't think I was going to be able to do any of these things. But now I feel like I've been given a chance."
Mrs Nicholls, a hairdresser, who lives in Exeter, was diagnosed just before Christmas after being admitted locally.
Husband Alan Nicholls, back with daughter Olivia. Front, Gail with sons Keiran, left, and Jack (Image: nc)
She said: "I didn't have any symptoms at all, but I was admitted to hospital with stomach pains and initially doctors thought it was appendicitis. I went for tests and scans and it revealed that I had a large fibroid in my womb which was causing the pain.
"It was nothing to do with the cancer - but when doctors scanned me they could see there was something on my spine too. So it was lucky that I'd had the fibroid, or else
