A YOUNG woman has died from cancer just days before she was due to get married.

Rachel Stansfield, of Mitella Street, Burnley, was diagnosed with spinal cancer in May 2005 and despite extensive treatment was told the disease was terminal just four weeks ago.

Her family had hoped that the 24-year-old would live long enough to marry her fiance, Alan Hayes, on April 28 at Mytton Fold Hotel but she died on Saturday.

Ahead of her funeral tomorrow (Friday), her mum and dad, Mary and Gary, paid tribute to their "beautiful and courageous" daughter.

Mary, 48, said: "She was my daughter and my best friend. Her death has left a hole in our lives and it won't be easy carrying on. But we had three years more than we could have had and for that we are grateful.

"Alan is devastated as we all are and we will miss our brave daughter so much."

Gary, 51, added: "It's her smile I will miss the most. She was the life and soul of the party."

Rachel, who had got engaged to Alan in the Dominican Republic, had initially gone to the doctors suffering from back pain in February 2005 but the doctor thought that it was a bad back.

In May Rachel's parents had rushed her to Burnley General Hospital when she realised she could not walk and had lost her balance.

Two days later doctors at the Royal Preston Hospital operated on Rachel after a scan revealed a tumour on her spine.

The operation to remove the tumour in her spine left the customer service clerk, who was forced to give up work at the former Great Universal Stores warehouse in Burnley, unable to move her legs.

Mary Stansfield, who also gave up work at Great Universal to care for her daughter, said: "The surgeons thought there had been too much damage and that she would never walk again.

"But she started a courageous fight and started walking again with some help."

The former St Hilda's Roman Catholic Girls' High School pupil was able to walk with the aid of a frame three months after being moved to Burnley's Rakeshead Rehabilitation Centre.

In September 2006 doctors at The Christie Hospital discovered the spinal tumour was a secondary cancer and the disease had originated from the tumour on her right knee.

The cancer spread to Rachel's lymph nodes and she was given radiotherapy and intensive chemotherapy to kill the cancerous cells over the next year.

By August 2007 the cancer had gone into remission but the treatment had left Rachel's immune system unable to fight off infections such as pneumonia.

She was in and out of hospital until March this year sharing her time between her parents' house in Mary Townley Fold and her fiance's house in Padiham until doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her lungs and other parts of her body.

Mary said: "While undergoing treatment they found a tumour in her foot and several others but she was amazing through it all.

"She would only be down for a second before she started smiling again. That was Rachel through and through.

"And then about four weeks ago she called me to say she had a headache and she could not shake it.

"They did a scan and found a tumour in her brain and doctors said there was nothing they could do.

"Her kidney and liver were no longer working."

Rachel died on April 19 at her parents bungalow in the Meadows, Colne, surrounded by her parents, Mary and Gary, 27-year-old sister Laura and other family and friends.

She spent a weekend in Blackpool in April with her family and friends having her favourite meal at a chinese.

A funeral service will take place for Rachel at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church on Friday (April 25) at 11am where she will be buried in a pink coffin. All the mourners are being asked to wear an item of pink clothing in accordance with her wishes.