Weeks into her first year at university, Laura Nuttal from Lancashire began to experience occasional headaches and nausea. Thinking it was simply ‘fresher’s flu’ – a British term for a battery of illnesses contracted by new students during the first few weeks at a university – an eye test would later reveal is terminal brain cancer.
In October 2018 19-year-old Laura Nuttal applied to join the Royal Navy Reserves at King’s College University in London where she had only weeks before started aninternational relations degree. Dealing with what she thought was flu, an eye test revealed she had unexplained swelling in her optic nerve.
The discovery led to her being diagnosed with glioblastomas, the most aggressive form of brain cancer in adults.
Nuttall, who achieved straight As in her A levels, is now trying to remain positive as she battles at least six incurable tumours, Daily Mail reports, now she’s spending her last months making memories with her family.
Nuttal’s mum Nicola is doing whatever she can to help her daughter achieve her ‘bucket list’ – including a trip to see Sir Paul McCartney in concert in Liverpool last month.
“I’m trying anything I can think of to help keep Laura feeling positive. We’re doing as much as we can to make the best possible memories. Laura had her whole life ahead of her. Now she is having to cope with the fact that her remaining life will be very short,” Nicole told the Daily Mail.
On her 19th birthday in December she was a guest at Everton Football Club, where she met players including Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
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Nuttall has already had brain surgery to remove the biggest and most life-threatening tumour along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy to battle the cancer. But the treatment options for glioblastoma are limited, and life expectancy can be as short as three months if the cancer is untreated.
The family is however exploring whether Laura may be able to have experimental treatments such as DCVax, a type of personalised therapy made in the USA using some of an individual patient’s own immune cells.
For more inspiring stories of courage against the odds, read our exclusive My Stories.
