LEORA Kuhillow carelessly fingers the headscarf that masks what was once a glorious cascade of curly hair.

The 33 year-old mother of three is fighting for her life after succumbing to a highly aggressive form of leukaemia.

Yet, incredibly, rather than accepting her fate, Leora bats it away with a serene smile.

"What I've come to believe is that I was diagnosed with leukaemia for a purpose, that through me some good will come of it, that I'll raise awareness of the disease. Or simply by encouraging people to make the most of the life they have, and not to live on auto-pilot worrying about the small stuff."

It's a magnanimous view, particularly after three cycles of chemotherapy and the prospect of a life-saving bone marrow transparent. But this willingness to make some good of a deeply traumatic situation has earmarked Leora's progress ever since she first fell ill with acute myeloid leukaemia in February this year.

Rap hit

So keen is Leora to encourage potential bone marrow donors that she and a fellow patient at Manchester Royal Infirmary have produced a rap song, Isn't It A Pity, filmed while she was bed bound, which has already had thousands of hits on YouTube, and has grabbed the attention of Little Britain star David Walliams.

Leora first started to feel ill just as she was embarking on a campaign to get in shape 12 weeks after giving birth to son Zak, now seven months old (she is also mum to Max, six, and four-year-old Joshua).

"A rash appeared on my arm which tracked the line of a vein. I also started to get bad stomach ache."

Initially Leora was diagnosed with the bacterial infection cellulites and given antibiotics. But following a `hunch` that it was something more, she went to the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle. Blood tests were carried out and Leora and her businessman husband Mark, 35, were called in to see the haematologist.

"I said `don't tell me it's cancer, please'. When he said it was leukaemia I went into shock but Mark grabbed me and looking me in the eyes said `it's treatable, you're going to be fine'."

Critical condition

Leora deteriorated rapidly over the next couple of days. At one point she had to be resuscitated before being placed on a ventilator. The cancer was taking hold so rapidly she was given chemotherapy while in a critical condition, a situation which could have triggered organ failure.

For 12 days she was unconscious as the family steeled themselves for the worse. Meanwhile Leora who, though Jewish had never been particularly religious, started to be the subject of organised prayers in the community.

And then against the odds, she started to fight back.

"I remember waking up and feeling a tube in my mouth. My mum, sister and Mark were round the bed saying my name. It took days to absorb just how ill I was. I was crying a lot and felt so emotional. I was pining for my children."

Now in remission, a bone marrow transplant is the only real chance of a cure. The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register scoured their international data base for potential donors. Six weeks later, a 27 year-old Israeli woman produced a match.

Despite the prospect of this massive operation, Leora remains relentlessly positive.

"Before I was ill I was so complacent. I'd been married for eight years, Mark was expanding his business so we never had proper time together. Now our priorities have changed.

"I have times when I panic and think will I see my children grow up? But I also know that life exists on a higher level and knowing what really matters is going to make me fight for it all the more."