An East Lancashire woman with terminal cancer has travelled to Germany for cancer treatment and hopes it will extend her life.
Laura Nuttall, 23, from Barrowford, was told she only had a year to live back in 2018 after being diagnosed with a highly invasive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.
Laura and her mum, Nicola, have been in Germany since Monday, March 13, where she is undergoing a course of electro-hyperthermia after having an operation.
The operation involved a "harmless virus being injected into tumour cavities" in a bid to "stimulate the body’s own immune response".
Laura will continue treatment until Friday, March 24, and will, hopefully, be allowed to return home shortly afterwards.
Nicola said the treatment comes with its own risks and side effects.
She said: “The body's response to the virus can be unpredictable. On Monday she was freezing cold and shaking as if she'd gone into shock but I'm told that's a good sign, although it was slightly scary at the time.
“Brain surgery comes with lots of risks but it feels like the most difficult part of the process is over for now at least.”
Nicola said they are hopeful that this treatment could extend Laura’s life.
She said: “The professor we have worked with in Cologne suggested this option as a next step as to be honest there aren't really any others available to us now.
“There are people treated here who are still alive after 10 years so that has to give us some hope.
“Laura is very pragmatic, she loves life and has big plans about starting a master’s degree in September, so she'll put up with an awful lot of pain and discomfort if there's a chance it will extend her life.”
Laura underwent her fourth round of treatment last October and the family decided to bring Christmas forward as they didn’t think she would make it to the end of December.
Since her diagnosis Laura has been ticking items off her ‘bucket list’.
Last year she met Lioness legend Chloe Kelly and was given tickets to the Manchester Women’s Derby.
She also fulfilled her wish to operate a crane and became a firefighter for the day.
Nicola said she has plenty of other items left to tick off the list, including flying in a hot air balloon and attending an awards ceremony in London.
Nicola said: “She's been invited to an awards ceremony by the Brain Tumour Charity in London in April so that's the next thing on the list.
“She has also been lucky enough to have a beer named after her.
“The 'Doing it for Laura' was created by Acorn Brewery and is available in a number of pubs around East Lancashire now.
“She still wants to fly in a hot air balloon and there's plenty still to do on the bucket list.”
Nicola said she and Laura wouldn’t be in Germany without the “kind and generous support from the community”.
All the treatment, travel and accommodation has been paid for via a GoFundMe fundraiser.
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