Laura Nuttall's brain tumour campaign saved my life, says nurse

A nurse diagnosed with a brain tumour has said she "would not be here today" if it had not been for an awareness campaign led by Laura Nuttall.

Laura died in May aged 23, five years after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Claudia Laird, 26, said a card given to her mother at an event organised by the Nuttall family meant she had been able to recognise symptoms.

"There's a big stigma around it not being for young people," she said.

"When you think of brain tumours, you don't really think of young fit, healthy people like myself."

Campaigner Laura Nuttall, from Barrowford, Lancashire, was 19 when she was was given an initial prognosis of 12 months to live.

But she went on to live much longer and worked her way through a bucket list of ambitions, which saw her meet Michelle Obama, command a Royal Navy ship and graduate from the University of Manchester.

She also presented the weather on BBC North West Tonight - all alongside tireless campaigning to increase awareness of her condition.

After her death her mother revealed she had donated her brain for research as "the ultimate gift".

Ms Laird was 24 when she first experienced blurred vision and became unsteady while walking.

Her mother Lynda-May said Laura's campaign had prompted her daughter to quickly seek medical help.

"Having that knowledge saved Claudia's life," she said.

"If it had been two or three weeks later getting a scan she wouldn't be here because the tumour was so big."

Laura's mother Nicola said her daughter had sent out "thousands" of information cards which the family placed in doctors' surgeries, dentists and schools.

"We put them everywhere because we felt that we knew too many people who had tried really hard to get a diagnosis and had to fight for it," she said.

She said Laura had been "really keen" to make sure people had the confidence to recognise symptoms and seek treatment and her daughter would have been "delighted" to know she had been able to help Claudia in some way.

Claudia has since recovered and returned to her studies and recently qualified as a nurse.

She now works at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital on a cancer ward and said she wants to help other young people in a similar position to her.

She said: "When I was in hospital the first time I remember coming out and thinking this is why I want to be a nurse because I now want to give back and give that care to young people and do whatever I can to help people."

Claudia said she now hopes to carry on Laura's work of raising awareness.

"If I can do anything, I just want to help other people get that diagnosis," she said.

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