Laura Nuttall: Cancer patient who coaxed Peter Kay out of retirement and met Michelle Obama dies aged 23
Laura Nuttall, from Barrowford in Lancashire, was given a year to live after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme - an aggressive brain cancer - in 2018.
Monday 22 May 2023 14:22, UK
A cancer patient who coaxed comedian Peter Kay out of retirement and met Michelle Obama as part of her bucket list has died aged 23.
Laura Nuttall, from Barrowford in Lancashire, was given a year to live after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme - an aggressive brain cancer - in 2018.
While undergoing private treatment in Germany she vowed to tick off an "epic bucket list" of things she wanted to do.
Having outlived her prognosis by several years, her mother Nicola revealed on Twitter that she died in the "early hours" of Monday.
Describing her as "fierce and tenacious to the end" and a "force of nature", she said it was "truly the honour of my life to be her mum".
"We are devastated at the thought of life without our girl," she wrote.
Laura's bucket list saw her meet former US First Lady Michelle Obama, present the weather on her local BBC news programme and command a Royal Navy ship.
Her awareness campaign also convinced Peter Kay, who worked with her father Mark, to come out of retirement and put on a special charity gig in Manchester in 2021 to raise money for her treatment.
Prior to that he hadn't performed since 2010 due to "unforeseen family circumstances".
'Unique and loved by so many'
After her diagnosis, Laura became a young ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity.
A spokesperson for the organisation described her as "unique" and "loved by so many".
"In this role she touched the hearts and minds of so many others, reaching out to offer comfort and hope to others going through similar diagnoses," they wrote.
"Her loss is a fierce reminder of why we must move further, faster every day in the battle against brain tumours, so that other families do not have to endure this kind of heartbreak in the future."
Her mother's post received tens of thousands of likes and prompted hundreds of tributes.
Among them was comedian Diane Morgan, who wrote: "I'm so sorry. I feel like I got to know her a little bit through your posts.
"She was an amazing person. I could see that. And she couldn't have had more loving parents. Sending you tonnes of love and support xxx".