HER happy face is a portrait of true courage - for this teenage girl looked her own death square in the eye and smiled.

Vicki Alexander, of Strensall, York, was just 19 when she died from a rare form of cancer, but today her family paid tribute to her inspiring life, which saw her:

Aged 18, battle her way out of a wheelchair and learn to walk again

Despite agonising pain, complete a 5km race to raise money for charity

Make the courageous decision not to continue treatment - even though she knew it would mean her death

Spend her remaining two months treasuring every moment with family and friends, including planning her own funeral and telling mourners to wear pink, not black.

Her mum, Louise, said: "Vicki never showed self-pity. She was always very brave. She always wanted to make the most of days when she felt good. She was an inspiration."

VICKI Alexander was just a teenager when she planned her own funeral.

Pink would be the order of the day, not black, she decided.

Nearly 200 relatives and friends donned different shades of Vicki's favourite colour at a celebration of her life after she lost her battle against a rare form of cancer. She was 19.

The fun-loving girl was diagnosed with pPNET - a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour which usually arises in bone or soft tissue - in February, 2004, when she was 17.

The former Robert Wilkinson Primary School and Huntington School pupil bore the ensuing months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and an operation which left her paralysed with a brave determination.

With support from dedicated professionals, friends and family, she fought back.

Her mum, Louise, became her full-time carer as Vicki threw herself into physiotherapy until she was able to walk again.

"She was determined to do the Race For Life to do something for other people," said Louise. "She started to get pains in her legs the week before, but once she got going she said 'I am not going to stop'."

Vicki raised £450 for Cancer Research at the event last year.

Her dad, Mark, a teacher at a pupil referral unit, added: "She was in absolute agony but did it in under two hours, which was absolutely brilliant."

Two weeks later came the devastating news that the cancer had returned. Vicki chose not to resume treatment.

She died on October 9 last year at the Strensall home she shared with her parents and younger brother, Thomas, aged 16.

"She had decided she wouldn't have more treatment because it made her feel so poorly," said Louise.

"It might have given her more time, but it wouldn't have saved her life.

"Vicki never showed self-pity. She was always very brave. She always wanted to make the most of days when she felt good. She was an inspiration.

"She made a lot of choices. One was that she wanted to be at home (when she died). And she made choices about her funeral. She didn't want anyone in black. She wanted everyone to wear pink, her favourite colour".

When Vicki was diagnosed in February, 2004, she had a tumour in her shoulder, in the right side of her back, and secondary cancer in her leg. She underwent 13 months of treatment and an operation to remove the aggressive tumour.

The operation left her physically disabled and she spent ten weeks at St James's Hospital, in Leeds, until she was able to use a wheelchair. She returned home in November, 2004, and Louise became her full-time carer while a physiotherapist visited regularly.

Through hard work and determination she managed to progress to a walking frame, then crutches and then a walking stick.

Vicki's courage has inspired the launch of the Vicki Alexander Trust with ten relatives and friends as trustees, including Vicki's life-long best friend, Becky Thompson, 19, also of Strensall.

They aim to raise funds to help other young cancer victims and their loved ones, for example by funding a special day out as well as by supporting the Candlelighters at St James's Hospital, Leeds, and Martin House Hospice, Boston Spa.

More than £1,600 was raised for the causes at Vicki's funeral.

For information about the Vicki Alexander Trust, to make a donation or to help fund-raise, write to Vicki Alexander Trust, c/o 30 Westpit Lane, Strensall, York, YO32 5RX.

Rare illness can strike teenagers

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumours - or pPNETs - are small round cell tumours that usually arise in bone or soft tissue, including the chest wall, near the spine, pelvis or in the arms and legs.

These tumours are rare in children, although they may occur in childhood, but they are more common in adolescence.

Experts say that for children with localised disease, the long-term survival rates range from 60 and 75 per cent. If the disease has spread to other parts of the body, survival rates are less than 30 per cent.

Treatment includes chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiation therapy while certain patients also benefit from blood stem cell transplantation.

Updated: 12:27 Monday, January 23, 2006