‘I’m raffling my house to pay for cancer treatment’

A mother-of-two with a brain tumour is preparing to raffle off her own family home to fund potentially life-saving cancer treatment in Germany.

Claire Nutter, from Burnley, was given the diagnosis in 2023 after she kept getting headaches and spells of severe dizziness.

The 48-year-old said her life has “turned upside down” after having three operations and chemotherapy – but said doctors could only remove 50% of the tumour and her options with the NHS had come to an end.

The beauty therapist said the only treatment available to her now was specialist surgery and therapy in Germany, which will cost about £350,000.

Her partner Gary said the chemotherapy she had had “didn’t do anything” and radiotherapy was deemed “too dangerous” so the NHS said “they would just manage it”.

“For me I thought I don’t want to manage it, I want it gone,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“The NHS has been amazing but when it comes to a point where that’s finished, I can’t imagine people just walking out and thinking that is it.

“You’ve got to keep going and keep fighting for it. You can’t give in.”

However, with the huge cost of the overseas treatment to pay for, Gary came up with the idea of putting their £800,000 four bedroom home in Roughlee up as a raffle prize via a website which hosts raffles.

Claire originally thought the idea was “absolutely crazy” but has decided to give it a shot.

“Having looked into it in great detail now, it’s worth a try,” she said.

“I don’t think we will sell enough tickets maybe to get the house involved but people get a cash alternative,” she said.

“If we don’t sell enough tickets to give the house away people get a cash alternative,” she said.

Gary said: “If it doesn’t hit the ticket sales of what is needed to involve the house then they will still draw an automated winner.

“The winners gets 50% and we retain 40% [to raise funds for the treatment in Germany].”

The platform, which will run the raffle in the coming weeks, will keep 10%.

Claire, who said they were “really positive”, added: “You’ve got to try things.”