05 November 2023 , 12:00
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Former fitness TV presenter Nicci Roscoe has discussed how she was forced to completely change her career after a brain tumour left her unable to speak and she continues to suffer from chronic pain to this day.
Back in the 1990s, Nicci - who is now 62 - was a regular face on the small screen, appearing on Sky, the BBC and GMTV as a fitness expert after becoming the head of aerobics for David Lloyd Clubs. But after Nicci underwent surgery for a life threatening brain tumour, she was forced to pivot her career.
She has since rebranded herself as a Life Coach and Master NLP Practitioner (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and runs her own company, called Mind Medication, where she shares her experience and knowledge about alternative health treatments. She gives advice on Reiki, crystal healing and meditation and has returned to screens as a specialist advisor on the subjects - appearing on shows like Lorraine and on Sky and the BBC once more, as well as via radio.
It was while on the radio in the late 1990s, that Nicci began to grow concerned for her health. Speaking to OK! magazine, she recalls: “I was on my regular slot on Viva Radio when I would occasionally utter a different word to the one I wanted to say. It was a very strange feeling and quite frightening not being able to get out the words I wanted.”
Nicci was on screens as a fitness experts before a brain tumour turned her life upside down (TV GRAB)Nicci went to see a doctor who diagnosed her with stress - and the real source of her pain and speech issues wasn't uncovered until 2001 when she was immobilised with pain while in a supermarket and medics finally took scans of her brain. It was then that she was delivered the heartstopping news that she had a tumour. She recalled: "The next day I was sitting in the neurosurgeon's office and he told me I had a golf ball sized benign tumour that was deeply embedded in my brain.
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"It was near the parts of my brain that controlled speech, balance, co-ordination, and memory. My partner at the time started to cry, and I found the strength deep within me to ask, 'Am I going to die?' My neurosurgeon said if I didn't have the tumour removed it would continue to grow and I would be like a vegetable within two years and dead within five."
Nicci is back on TV sharing her knowledge and experiences with alternative medicines (Instagram/nicci_roscoe)A decision was made to operate and doctors were able to remove the brain tumour, while the star was left with three titanium bolts and six screws in her head. While Nicci continues to suffer pain, she has managed to maintain a good sense of humour about her situation - and is grateful to still be alive 22 years later.
She said: "I like to joke that I have a screw loose but I am so grateful to be alive and I wouldn't change what happened to me because I have such a wonderful awareness now of how every moment counts... I scaled back my TV career and switched my focus to healing and holistic techniques like mindfulness, visualisation, reiki and positive self-talk."
Nicci laments the fact that her tumour derailed her TV career in the past, but is grateful to be back on screens and radio stations and is able to share her life lessons with those tuning in. She said: “I hope there is still time to reach wider audiences and share everything I have learned again.”