Laura Nuttall feels hopeful over cancer treatment in Germany

A young woman who has lived with terminal cancer for five years has said she is feeling "hopeful" after travelling to Germany for treatment.

Laura Nuttall, 23, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and was given an initial prognosis of 12 months.

She is undergoing a course of electro hyperthermia after having an operation.

"I'm feeling hopeful. If this wasn't an option I don't know where we would be and what we would be doing," she said.

"I'm really glad that we managed to come over here and hopefully it will make some improvements."

Laura, from Barrowford in Lancashire, made the decision to travel abroad after undergoing surgery in October to remove the tumour only for it to return days later.

"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 told BBC North West Tonight.

Her mother Nicola said the latest surgery, which is not provided by the NHS, involved a "harmless virus being injected into her tumour cavity" in a bid to "stimulate an immune response".

"[The virus] migrates to tumour cells and over the years it's been found to have a positive effect on kickstarting the immune system essentially to recognise that the tumour cells are foreign rather than just part of the body," she said.

"Essentially we're throwing the kitchen sink at it because unfortunately there's not an awful lot of option for us in the UK."

Nicola said it was great to see her daughter out of bed after having the surgery on Friday.

"Every time she goes under another anaesthetic and there are things happening in her brain," she added.

"There's a huge risk it will affect her mobility or she might have no memory when she wakes up.

"Every brain operation is a spin of the roulette wheel."

With the treatment costing about £15,000, Nicola thanked those who had contributed to her daughter's fundraising.

Comedian Peter Kay played his first gigs in four years in 2021, to raise funds for Laura's treatment.

"We're just so grateful for everyone who has donated... everyone that went to the Peter Kay concert because that's making this possible," Nicola said.

"She's just really precious to us and we just want to keep Laura here for as long as we can."

Laura was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme in 2018 following a routine eye test.

Since then she has ticked off various "bucket list" goals including graduating this summer, having lunch with Peter Kay, fishing with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer and presenting a BBC weather forecast..

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