'Fundraising vital'

She led a healthy lifestyle and there was no history of the disease in her family, so when in January this year she was diagnosed with breast cancer she was shocked.

"I know one in three families will be touched by cancer but I did everything right," she said.

"It was a terrible shock for me and my family and friends. I just felt it totally overtook me. If you have a problem at work you can get away from it at home, this was a problem which was with me all the time."

The 45-year-old mother-of-three, a senior lecturer and head of access and widening participation at the University of Bradford, and a non-executive board member of Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, underwent a lumpectomy in February, followed by courses of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment at Bradford Royal Infirmary. "I was full of myths and stereotypes about cancer and what the treatment would be like, but all the staff involved in my treatment were wonderful, especially the nurses who counselled and explained things to me.

"I was nervous about having chemotherapy but I felt really well throughout the treatment. I used a scalp cooler to prevent hair loss and any nausea I felt soon disappeared."

Nadira believes if people knew more about cancer and how it is treated it would not hold so much fear for them.

"I wish people had more information," she said. "When I was diagnosed with cancer some thought I was dying and that is all to do with a lack of knowledge. What got me through was being able to talk to other people about it. In some communities there is such a fear of the disease people do not tell others when they have it, at a time when they need to talk to people most."

While Nadira was having her treatment there weren't any clinical trials suitable for her but she says she would not have hesitated if she had been asked.

"I know that in my treatment I benefited from drugs which were in trials last year," she said. "Raising money to help this continue is absolutely essential.