Who was Laura Nuttall? Cancer patient who died at 23 after completing her extraordinary bucket list

Laura Nuttall, a 23-year-old cancer patient from England, died a happy soul on Monday. She was diagnosed with deadly brain cancer in 2018 and was given an initial prognosis of 12 months. Instead of being dejected and negative about her condition, she takes the wheels of her life and drives through the forest of despair with positivity and happiness.

A terminal cancer diagnosis did not stop her from ticking off an impressive bucket list before her death on May 24. She was told by the doctors in 2018 that she had only 12 months to live.

Paying tribute to Nuttall on Twitter, her mother Nicola Nuttall wrote that she had been “fierce and tenacious to the end.”

"I'm heartbroken to share the news that we lost our beautiful Laura in the early hours of this morning," she said.

Nuttall was one of those rare people who had commanded a Royal Navy ship, met Michelle Obama and presented a television weather forecast.

Laura Nuttall: ‘A force of nature’

Laura Nuttall was in her first university term at King’s College London in 2018 when, after a routine check-up, she received a diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme. It is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, which is incredibly rare in young women. More tests confirmed that she had eight tumours and she was given just a year to survive.

Nuttall went through several rounds of treatment, including invasive brain surgeries, to extend her life. These surgeries couldn’t help in her survival but definitely bought her some more time, in which she completed her university degree and graduate with 2:1 in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

In 2021, Peter Kay performed two sold-out Q&A sessions at the 3,500-capacity Manchester Apollo, called Doing it for Laura, to raise money for her treatment.

The money allowed Nuttall to travel to Germany for specialist treatment that was unavailable in the UK. She had previously had extensive cancer treatment including surgery to remove the tumour, only for it to come back days later.

Nuttalldescribed her bucket list as “never ending, because when it ends, I end.”

Her mother remembered her as a ‘force of nature.’

Only less than 5 per cent of people with Nuttall’s condition survive longer than five years. The life expectancy without treatment is only three months.

Laura Nuttall's completed bucket list

1. Went fishing with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer (she caught a pike, they caught nothing).

2. Graduated with a 2:1 in politics, philosophy and economics from Manchester University.

3. Drove a monster truck, a bus, a 650-tonne crane, a tractor, a digger and a tank (after her driving licence was revoked due to seizures).

4. Met Michelle Obama.

5. Had a pub lunch with Peter Kay and danced on stage with him in front of 10,000 people.

6. Had a song dedicated by Johnny Marr.

7. Drove a London Underground tube train.

8. Completed a skydive.

9. Presented the weather on the BBC

10. Commanded a Royal Navy warship.

11. Spent a day with police tackling a simulated riot.

12. Travelled to the US.

13. Went on safari in South Africa.

14. Watched the Women’s Euro final at Wembley and received a video message from the England captain, Leah Williamson.

15. Went sailing around the west coast of Scotland with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

16. Visited Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls factory in Wigan and also the Heinz factory, receiving tins with her name on.

17. Had a video chat with Malala Yousafzai.

18. Visited the Royal Mint and pressed a 50p coin.

19. Had tea at the Ritz with newscaster Sophie Raworth.

20. Ran a marathon.

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