Laura Nuttall, the fearless brain cancer campaigner who graduated from university after her terminal diagnosis and raised tens of thousands of pounds for pioneering treatment, has died, her mother has said.
The 23-year-old graduate, who thought her symptoms were ‘freshers’ flu’ when she first became ill five years ago, passed away at home in Lancashire where she was receiving palliative care.
Laura was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma in 2018 when she was in her first year of study for an international relations degree at University College London. Despite being given just 12 months to live, the brave campaigner underwent operations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and eventually went back to university in Manchester, where she graduated with a 2:1 in politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) last summer.
Throughout her journey, Laura and her family including Nicola, her father Mark, and her sister Gracie have shared updates about her condition online, through social media and the Doing it For Laura campaign. While fundraising for her treatment, they enlisted the help of Peter Kay who was semi-retired at the time.
Her mother Nicola, who posts on Twitter under the handle @s**tscaredmum, confirmed Laura passed away in the early hours of this morning as she paid tribute to her ‘fierce & tenacious’ daughter.
Laura Nuttall (pictured) has passed away at the age of 23, her mother Nicola has confirmed on Twitter
She wrote: ‘I’m heartbroken to share the news that we lost our beautiful Laura in the early hours of this morning.
‘She was fierce & tenacious to the end & it was truly the honour of my life to be her mum.
‘We are devastated at the thought of life without our girl, she was a force of nature.’
Last week, Nicola shared a photo on Twitter of herself holding Laura’s hand and gave an update on her daughter’s condition.
It read: ‘The curtain’s half closed but the window’s open & we feel the breeze & hear the birds. Laura breathes in & breathes out.
‘When the gap gets long I hold my breath but she’s as tenacious in death as she was in life, despite a week without food or water. We hold hands & she squeezes.’
In other tweets from this week Nicola explained that Laura has not been able to consume much more than ice chips due to her declining health, but has said her daughter’s pain is being managed well.
Since her diagnosis, Laura and her family have launched a campaign to raise money for her treatment and have teamed up with charities including Our Brain Bank and The Brain Tumour Trust to raise awareness of glioblastoma.
In 2021 semi-retired Peter Kay joined the Nuttall family’s efforts, hosting a Q&A session on glioblastoma in honour of Laura.
While studying for her degree, Laura was juggling her university work with pioneering cancer treatment in Germany, which came with its own challenges.
On July 6 last year, the day of Laura’s graduation, Nicola posted an update on her GoFundMe page praising her daughter’s remarkable achievement.
She wrote: ‘In the last 3 years [Laura has] had:
- 19 weeks of immunotherapy treatment in Germany
- 11 cycles of chemo
- 6 rounds of keytruda checkpoint inhibitor
- 4 units of blood
- 2 further brain surgeries
‘Today she got a 2:1 in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
‘It’s been so tough, working through sickness and fatigue and in little Airbnb’s in Cologne with dodgy WiFi, but she did it and we could not be any prouder of her.
‘Thank you so much for all your help and support in funding her treatment, I honestly don’t think she’d be here without it.’
Speaking at her graduation, Laura said: ‘If someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me even more determined to do it and prove them wrong – my family knows that all too well.
‘So when a doctor told me that I wouldn’t be able to go back to university, I thought, “we’ll see about that” and it made me want to do my degree even more. Now here we are.’
Since Laura’s diagnosis in 2018 she has lived out several ‘bucket list’ experiences, including sitting in the driving seat of a train. She has also met several influential people including the Obamas and Gillian Anderson.
Laura Nuttall, the fearless cancer campaigner who graduated from university four years after she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, is receiving palliative care, her mother Nicola revealed on Twitter
Laura (pictured last July with her father Mark, sister Gracie and mother Nicola) graduated from Manchester University with a 2:1 in PPE
Laura has had chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy and several operations since she was diagnosed in October 2018 (pictured after one of her operations)
She also wrote a moving letter to pupils at Barrowford Primary School, sharing with them the lessons she has learnt in life.
In March, the BBC reported that Laura was undergoing a course of electro hyperthermia after having another operation and was feeling ‘hopeful’ for the future.
‘We had to decide on a next step and my doctor suggested maybe I go to Germany and see if I could have the treatment here,’ she said.
Laura has ticked off several ‘bucket list’ requests since receiving her diagnosis four years ago
Laura (pictured with her father Mark) said she could not have achieved any of the incredible things she has done without the support of her family
As Nicola shares updates on Laura’s declining condition, she has spoken of how the family are spending as much time together as possible in the spring sunshine.
She also said she was ‘pretty sure’ that Laura enjoyed watching the Eurovision Song Contest last Saturday.
This week, Nicola shared how the family were making a cast of Laura holding onto her sister Gracie’s hand.
Posting a photo of the first look at the final thing, she said: ‘This is just the first plaster version but I already love it.’
To learn more about Laura’s campaign to raise awareness of glioblastoma, visit her website, Doing It For Laura
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk