A mother from Lancashire is taking the extraordinary step of raffling her family home to pay for potentially life-saving cancer treatment in Germany, after claiming her brain tumour was initially dismissed by doctors as menopause.
'Fobbed Off' by Doctors
Claire Nutter, 48, from Roughlee, visited her GP multiple times suffering from severe headaches, dizziness, and episodes of passing out. She expressed her deep frustration that medical professionals repeatedly attributed her symptoms to the menopause, a common experience she says led to a dangerous delay in her diagnosis.
"When you hear about other people who've had brain tumours, it sounds like everyone kind of gets fobbed off at first," Claire said. "I don't know how it all works, but you just think - gosh, why don't you just send me for a scan?"
Eventually, scans revealed the truth: Claire had an oligodendroglioma, a slow-growing but life-limiting brain tumour. She has been given a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years, with an estimated six or seven 'good years' before the tumour's effects become severely apparent.
Exhausting Treatment Options
Claire, a former beauty therapist and mother-of-two, has since undergone three operations. However, surgeons could only safely remove half of the tumour. Subsequent chemotherapy proved unsuccessful, and radiotherapy was considered too risky due to potential side effects.
With no further treatment options available to her on the NHS, Claire and her family began a desperate search for alternatives. The diagnosis has radically altered her life; she can no longer drive, struggles with social anxiety in crowded places, and has been unable to work, adding significant financial strain.
"It is tough, especially as I had been self-employed before and I've not worked since," she explained. "You worry about your family and children, plus financial worries on top."
The £350,000 Gamble for Hope
A glimmer of hope came when a friend told her about a specialist clinic in Germany offering an innovative treatment not available through the NHS. The programme involves creating a personalised 'vaccine' from her own cancer cells.
The staggering cost for this treatment is £350,000, plus travel and expenses for multiple trips. To raise the funds, Claire made the heart-wrenching decision to raffle the £800,000 home she has lived in for 21 years.
"I got upset the other day when we were setting up the raffle page, because I don't want to move," Claire admitted. "But you can make anywhere home... If it means being alive and living in a smaller house, life is more important."
The raffle is being hosted on Raffall.com and will run for six months, with tickets priced at £5 each. Claire is fully aware the treatment may not succeed. "It's a lot of money to spend - and the treatment might not be successful," she said. "But I want to live and see my children grow up."
A separate online fundraising campaign to support Claire's cause has already raised more than £23,000.
