Teen Thought She Had 'Common Cold,' Doctors Reveal Terminal Diagnosis
Just weeks after starting her freshman year of college, a 19-year-old London teenager was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Laura Nuttall, 19, was thrilled to start her first semester at King’s College London in September 2018.
But weeks into her new journey, Nuttall began to experience persistent, annoying headaches.
Being a healthy teen, she shrugged off the symptoms, speculating that she likely was just fighting some sort of head cold.
But then, Nuttall failed her eye exam, a standard procedure to join the University Navy Corps.
The results showed significant pressure behind Nuttall’s eyes — but she never expected the pressure to be caused by cancerous tumors growing in her brain.
Eventually, a hospital visit led the Nuttall family to a devastating diagnosis. Laura had glioblastoma multiforme, which is the most aggressive Stage 4 brain cancer, according to her GoFundMe page.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” Nuttall told People magazine. “I was at university, just moved in. I was quite excited about life and getting to live by myself.”
“Then I was told that I had brain tumors. That’s not something you’re really prepared to deal with at such a young age,” she said.
“Being told your life is going to get cut short, it’s been emotionally draining for me and my family as well.”
Nuttall’s family is struggling to cope with the poor prognosis.
“We were devastated and horrified to find that the prognosis was so poor with the disease, the most common length of survival following diagnosis is 12 to 15 months, with fewer than 3 to 5 percent of people surviving longer than five years,” Nuttall’s mother, Nicola Nuttall wrote.
“Without treatment, survival is typically just three months.”
Nuttall and her family are doing everything possible to prolong Nuttall’s life, including raising money for alternative treatments.
Nuttall has made a bucket list — something she’d never thought she’d have to consider at age 19 — and she and her family are trying to make the best of each day.
“We’ll do whatever we possibly can to keep Laura with us for as long as possible,” Nicola Nuttall told People magazine. “We’re optimistic.
“I have absolute confidence that she’s going to be the one person that proves everybody wrong and goes on to live a long life. I’m convinced of it.”
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