Help Nicola in her fight against her Brain Tumour

This summer, on July 22 my sister Nicola Sutcliffe quietly underwent a craniotomy to remove a tumour deep in her skull bones at the base of her brain. While the tumour was found in its early stages, it is in a very complex location. During her 8 hour surgery at Vancouver General Hospital, Nicola's neurosurgical team was successful at removing most of the tumour without complication and limiting damage to important structures. While the first three days post-surgery were very painful and exhausting, Nicola's physical and mental preparations for the surgery, and the support from family and friends served her well and got her out of bed to walk the ward in a few days.


Day by day, Nicola continues to recover from surgery. She has permanent hearing loss on the right side and difficulty chewing, along with nerve damage and pain associated with surgical damage and titanium plates used to close her skull. Biopsied tissue removed during surgery has been confirmed as a rare Chondrosarcoma - a Cancer residing in cartilage and bone.  The BC Cancer Sarcoma team reviewed her post-surgical MRI results and concluded the next steps in her treatment is Proton Radiation.

Proton Radiation is the safest treatment option in a very complex area of the body to treat. There are no Proton Radiation machines in all of Canada, so patients must travel when they are assigned this treatment. The center is located in the U.S. and Nicola's proton therapy will be covered by BC MSP. Unfortunately, all travel, accommodation and all other costs outside of the proton therapy itself are not covered by BC MSP. 

Nicola has consistently provided for her family through full-time work, she works hard at everything she undertakes. As her treatments and recovery is a full-time job, she has been unable to work since May 2019. With the reality of Nicola's required treatment in the U.S. for two months, her family will be under the additional stress of financial strain.

Call To Action:  Funding from this campaign will go towards ensuring Nicola can travel to and from the care she needs in the U.S. and be there for two or more months for her required 5 days week radiation treatments.  Nicola will use these funds for travel, accommodation, food, and for out of pocket medical costs including complementary care and costs related to being away from home and off work into the future.

To look at Nicola today one wouldn't know that she has recently undergone such an invasive surgery and because of her independent positive nature she does not let on that she is unwell. Nicola has quietly endured this disease and soldiered through a very difficult time physically and emotionally. With the proton radiation in sight Nicola can see an end to her immediate need for treatment.


Nicola is a nurturing mother, a caring sister and wife, and a professional mentor to so many.  Even in her recovery, she continues to put others first and care for her daughters and family. By living in the moment, focusing on her strengths and sharing her warm empathy with other people fighting Cancer - Nicola is inspiring others in her community of Nanaimo.

Please continue to keep Nicola on your mind and in your heart; please also consider making a donation to ensure her brain tumour is conquered with Proton Radiation Therapy. 

Nicola rarely asks for much, but as her 43rd birthday is coming up on November 13, I ask you to consider a birthday gift to support Nicola and her family in her recovery.