Brain Cancer Survivor Graduates 4years After Doctors Said She Had 1yr to Live

A 22-year-old Cancer Survivor, Laura Nuttall, has graduated exactly four years after her doctors said she has only one year to live.

Laura’s story started in her year one when she was diagnosed of Glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.

Having been told by doctors that she has just 12 months to live, Laura vener knew she will live to see her graduattion day.

But they were wrong. After four years of treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and three operations, Laura has graduated from Manchester University in United Kingdom, with a Second Class Upper (2:1) in politics, philosophy and economics (PPE).

Speaking on her graduation ceremony, Laura said:

“If someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me even more determined to do it and prove them wrong – my family knows that all too well.

“So when a doctor told me that I wouldn’t be able to go back to university, I thought; “we’ll see about that” and it made me want to do my degree even more. Now here we are.”

Laura also added that couldn’t have achieved any of it without support from her mother, sister and father Mark – but that now it was time for a rest.

In her words: “I’m going to have some time out – I’m on chemotherapy again and have another three months to go before I have my next scan.”

Nicola, the survivor’s mum, who described her daughter as ‘amazing’, said the scans revealed she was a ‘ticking time bomb’.

Adding that seeing her daughter graduate from University against all odds, imakes her proud.

Her words: “We’re all bursting with pride to see Laura graduating. When she was diagnosed we thought that was the end of her university career.

“Laura reaching that milestone looked impossible when she was given 12-18 months to live – it was unimaginable pain for the whole family.

“There have been really tough times over the last three years when she’s struggled with sickness and chemo related fatigue.”

In addition to completing her studies Laura has also become involved with The Brain Tumour Charity – and was voted their Young Ambassador of the Year.

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Laura’s letter of life lessons to school pupils

After being diagnosed with the brain cancer, Laura spoke to pupils in Year 6 at Barrowford Primary School in Lancashire on a school visit where she shared her story. After the visit, she wrote them a letter sharing her top life lessons.

Her letter reads in part:

I feel very honoured to be writing this letter to you and having met a few of you when I was part of the ‘Human Library’, I have no doubt you will have gathered many of the skills you need for life by attending the brilliant Barrowford Primary School but I wanted to tell you a little bit about me, what I’ve been through, and lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Ever since I was young, I had a plan. A sort of vision about how I my life would go, as I imagine most of you do too. I got irritated when things didn’t follow my plan and used every force necessary to put it back on track again. My dad constantly liked to tell me ‘You can’t predict life, you never know what you’re going to get’ and as much as I hate to admit it, he was right.

Whilst I was starting university, by a series of very fortunate events, I was diagnosed with brain cancer. I was lucky, because I was later told that if I wasn’t diagnosed as fast as I was, I wouldn’t be here to write this letter. This news turned mine and my family’s life upside down and we had to start adapting to life with cancer. Much like my dad had predicted, my plan was instantly changed forever.

Dealing with cancer and all its side effects has taught me a few lessons that I would like to share with you today:

Life lesson one: If you get knocked down, don’t stay down

Sometimes you might need a little time to recover from bumps in the road but get up as soon as you can. That’s what will make you strong. Resilience is important because we can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we deal with it.

Life lesson two: Don’t let others limit you or tell you that you can’t do something.

If you work hard and put your mind to it, there’s almost nothing you can’t achieve. Challenge other people’s expectations and make it your mission to prove those doubters wrong.

Life lesson three: Learn to ask for help

Sometimes you will need to ask for help from those around you. This doesn’t make you any less capable. We all need help from time to time and it’s important to talk to the people who care about you. It’s not a sign of weakness!

Life lesson four: Seek out happiness

At the time, finding out I had maybe a year to live was the worst thing I could have imagined, but In the last three years, I have met incredible people, travelled to brilliant places, and lived more in a few years than many people do in a whole lifetime. My situation is not what I would have chosen, but I can honestly say I have made the very best of a bad situation.

Lesson five: Trust in kindness

Although watching the news makes you think the opposite, I have learned that people are really very kind.

My life most definitely hasn’t gone to plan but there are so many opportunities and experiences that I would have missed if it had.

I hope that your life does go to plan, but if it doesn’t, you might be pleasantly surprised at what’s just around the corner for you.

And so, as you all make this next step in your lives, I hope you take all the opportunities life gives you and say ‘yes’ to things, even if you’re a tiny bit scared.

Be kind, be brave, be silly, be honest, be happy, be you.

CREDITS: Allschool, Livesportv.online

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