A heartbroken mother has shared the devastating moment her daughter was told she had just a year to live after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
Nicola Nuttall's daughter Laura tragically passed away at the age of 23, three years ago, after doctors discovered she had glioblastoma multiforme during a routine eye examination in 2018.
Since Laura's death, Nicola has been tirelessly campaigning for increased funding into brain cancer research.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, June 16, Nicola discussed her work with Brain Cancer Justice, a campaign that has now reached Parliament after an e-petition gained over 100,000 signatures.
“It’s just devastating,” Nicola said, speaking on behalf of those whose lives have “disintegrated” after a diagnosis, and urging for the debate to reach Parliament.
“It has to be just the start. It’s all well to hear the words of sympathy and condolence, but we need action,” she urged.
Chatting to hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, Nicola spoke candidly about Laura and their family’s tragic loss.
She revealed: “Laura was in her first term at university, perfectly well. She had just run her first marathon and was loving living in London. Things were just about to get going for her, and she had some headaches, which I didn’t really recognise as anything particularly unusual. I have migraines, and these things happen, don’t they?
“But then she went for an eye test because she joined the Royal Navy University unit, and they detected swelling behind her eyes. Within days she was actually really very poorly, so we brought her home from London. She had surgery. And I couldn’t believe I sat there and was told that my daughter had a year to live.
“How can you go from being 18 in your first term at university to 12 months to live? It horrified me that there were no other alternatives.”
She continued: “There was just a dismissive attitude to the other options that were available, so we raised funds and took Laura out to Germany every six weeks. We had wonderful help from our community and from Peter Kay, who put shows on for us. Laura just got into the habit of going out to Germany, and she lived for four-and-a-half years and went back to university in that time.
“So something that we did worked, but because that’s not in a trial environment, we’ll never know what worked, but something did. There are treatments outside of the NHS that work, but we’re not offering them.”
Nicola continues to fight for greater research and progress in brain cancer treatment across the UK, poignantly revealing: “I know so many angel mums who have lost their children. We were lucky that we got Laura for 23 years, but so many of those had four or five years with their children, and that’s heartbreaking.”
BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
