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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Lydia Spencer-Elliott

Linda Nolan says cancer treatment has ‘stopped working’ and tumours have grown

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Linda Nolan has shared a health update following her ongoing cancer treatment.

The singer, 65, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and went into remission the following year. In 2017, she revealed she had been diagnosed with a secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020. Three years later, the cancer had spread to her brain.

Nolan said she was left “sobbing” when doctor’s delivered her latest set of results, which revealed two of her largest tumours had grown in size.

Speaking to The Mirror, Nolan said: “I sobbed when my consultant first told me. I know so many people are suffering and going through things, but I thought, just for once, could cancer just leave me alone? My heart sank.”

She continued: “I had feared something was wrong. My balance has been getting worse and my memory - my sisters have to prompt me when I get lost in the middle of a sentence.’

After doctor’s confirmed Nolan’s fears that her cancer had spread, they confirmed she would be placed on a  new life-extending breast cancer drug called Enhertu.

Enhertu is not available on the National Health Service as its manufacturers and the NHS spending watchdog could not agree on a price for the medication.

Linda and Coleen Nolan in 2017
Linda and Coleen Nolan in 2017 (Ian West/PA)

Nolan said of her forthcoming treatment: “To be able to try a new drug is amazing, I just wish everyone could have this opportunity.

“To be able to try this is hope - it’s a plan B not everyone is being allowed. To take this drug away from women is to take away their hope.”

Although the singer admitted she’s dreading the possibility she could lose her hair for the fifth time in the course of her cancer treatment she said she’s “ready to try anything” to get back to full health.

“I have done this before and I can do it again,” she said.

The Nolans (from left) Linda, Anne, Bernie, Coleen and Maureen, in 1983
The Nolans (from left) Linda, Anne, Bernie, Coleen and Maureen, in 1983 (PA Archive)

Back in 2023, Nolan admitted she had started planning her funeral after being diagnosed with brain cancer. “I think it’s a one-way trip now,” she said.

While her eldest sister Anne successfully recovered from cancer, Nolan lost both her husband Brian Hudson and younger sister Bernie to the illness. She told The Mirror that they had organised their own funerals, adding that “it’s easier for people left behind”.

She revealed: “I’ve gone into it a little bit. A Neil Sedaka song, “Our Last Song Together”. And I know the funeral people I’m going to use.”

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