When Andrea Key died from a brain tumour her family and friends were determined her death wouldn't be in vain.

Aged 42 and a mother-of-two, Andrea should have had her whole life in front of her.

"Andrea was a very upfront, very honest girl and she had those qualities I really loved," says her colleague and friend, Carol Robertson, pictured.

Their ten-year friendship began when they met working for Emerald Publishing in Bradford. Their highly-motivated sales roles meant they often travelled the world, but their lives were mirrored in more ways than one.

"Andrea was 42 when she died and I was 42," says Carol. "We both came from working class backgrounds and had similar lifestyles. I have a son, she has two children, and when she died it did bring it close to me. I often think There but for the Grace of God go I.'"

Andrea died in May 2002, months after discovering she was suffering from an aggressive brain tumour. Her death devastated her family and friends, but they were determined that her memory would live on.

In a fitting tribute to Andrea, Emerald, which supports a chosen charity every year, decided to hold a fundraising ball in her honour. Andrea died two days before the event but it went ahead as a celebration of her life and kick-started a legacy that will live on.

Andrea's Gift is the charity Carol and her team of supporters set up in memory of the Bradford mum. In May, it celebrates its fifth anniversary and is still believed to be the only charity in Yorkshire raising funds specifically for brain tumour research.

Through Andrea's experience, and the sufferers and carers Carol has come to know through the charity, she became aware of a significant need for specialist help and support for brain tumour sufferers.

"As a friend, you felt Andrea was in freefall. There seemed to be limited information and support for her. There are cancer groups but brain cancer affects you differently; your personality, your memory and your being. I think that is the difference between brain and other cancers," says Carol.

"It's also difficult for carers to come together and find someone who understands what they are going through. They are going through what the patient goes through, but your everyday life changes completely and will never be the same again. It's bringing people together and allowing them to share experiences."

With input from medical experts such as Andrea's neurosurgeon, Paul Chumas, based at Leeds General Infirmary and Samantha Wilson, a neuro-oncology nurse specialist within the Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Andrea's Gift has been able to provide help and support for hundreds of brain tumour sufferers.

But more still needs to be done and Carol is conscious that there are many more people they can't reach.

"This is vital but we still don't reach the people we need to reach. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of patients in Yorkshire who we do not connect with," she says. "Because of patient confidentiality I cannot go to them, they have to make the first move. It's all about awareness but more people are now finding us than ever before."

The Emerald site in Bradford remains the charity's official headquarters, as the company is still very much active supporters of it. Company chairman Martin Fojt is a founder member, as is Bev Foster, a colleague and friend of both Andrea and Carol. The hub of the operation is the study at Carol's Guiseley home.

Two years ago, Carol swapped her sales job at Emerald for the role of full-time fundraiser and charity development manager of Andrea's Gift. She admits it was an agonising decision. She was torn between her job and developing the charity.

"The work level was huge. I had a full-time job, a young son and it became too big. I found it difficult to manage time-wise yet it was obvious there was a huge need," says Carol.

When she isn't fundraising she is compiling individual thank you letters for the generous donations the charity receives. "I don't want to send out standard letters because when people have raised significant sums the least you can do is say thank you properly," says Andrea.

To date, Andrea's Gift has raised a staggering £470,000. The money comes in various ways, mainly through donations and fundraising events such as the annual Christmas wrapping service it provides at the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds.

Carol is currently in the throes of organising this year's major fundraiser - a 24-hour 450-mile relay starting on June 16 around the boundary of Yorkshire. Cricketing legend Sir Ian Botham will start the event which Carol hopes will raise around £250,000 for the charity.

I ask whether she'll be among the participants. "I'll be involved in the marshalling!" she laughs.

Throughout her life Carol has been involved in charity work. In her early days with Emerald she was part of the company's charity group which co-chaired a committee to raise funds for the creation of the Marie Curie Cancer Care Centre in Bradford.

"I've always been a campaigner or in that sort of role. I worked for a political party in my twenties. The training and the campaigning were quite similar," says Carol.

Fundraising is imperative to enable Andrea's Gift to grow, but Carol and her fellow fundraisers are also conscious of maintaining their initial focus to fund research. Carol tells me the charity is currently seeking a senior research scientist to work in a dedicated lab within the Leeds Institute for Molecular Medicine at St James' Hospital in Leeds. "They will be looking into treatments for brain tumours," she explains.

The charity also has close links with a brain tumour support group set up at Leeds General Infirmary and is involved in Getting There, a spin-off support group for carers.

Carol says she still can't believe what has been achieved by the many people who support the charity, raising thousands of pounds during a traumatic and devastating time in their lives.

"Words fail me," says Carol. "You think of what we have created and it has kind of grown. We didn't set out to do the things we've done. I was going to raise £100,000 for research and that was it. That is as far as I'd thought. There was no great masterplan.

"But there are more people managing this than the people that are actually involved in it. I get a strong feeling Andrea is organising it. She organised me when I worked with her and she is organising me now!" laughs Carol.

  • For more information about Andrea's Gift call (01943) 870770, 07918 882816, email andreasgift@btconnect.com or visit www.andreasgift.org.uk