A devastated British woman was told she would die if she delayed vital cancer treatment until she had given birth; while her daughter was born healthy, National Health Service (NHS) doctors announced there was nothing more they could do to help her recover and gave her six months to live. Not willing to give up, Nuttall, together with her mother, launched a £300,000 fundraising campaign to have a chance to get proper treatment in Germany.
By a twist of fate, top Hollywood movie star Kate Winslet found out about Nuttall’s tragic story and along with her old friend Leonardo DiCaprio sent three “Jack and Rose” date nights, named after their characters in “Titanic” movie, under the hammer. The “item” was auctioned off at a private dinner last July held in Saint-Tropez for Leo’s conservation foundation.
Nuttall gained hope and a chance to finish her treatment five months ago, and has recently been given the all-clear.
“I can't thank Kate enough. Without her donations, and the public's, my story would be very different. We thought it was a wind-up, but then she called and I realized she was serious. I was so nervous but she asked me how I was feeling and how my ¬treatment was going – she wanted to help. I told her I could never thank her enough and she told me not to be daft. She said she had read about my story online, that she had three kids of her own and had thought about what she would be like in that position.”
Winslet, for her part, commented on the story when she received the prestigious Actors Inspiration Award from the Screen Actors' Guild in November 2017.
“I was able to help raise an enormous amount of money and Gemma is cancer free today. The greatest privilege has been learning how to use my voice to help others. Standing up for individuals who don't have the means to stand up for themselves… helping a person who is dying – she's still alive by the way – because they don't have the money that could pay for specialist treatment that could save her life.”