Linda Nolan, who has sadly died at the age of 65, opened up about her fears that her Christmas 2024 would be her last, as she battled incurable secondary breast cancer
Linda Nolan, the Irish singer and actress, made a heartfelt wish before spending her last Christmas with her beloved sisters. The star, who first shot to fame in the 1970s as part of The Nolans, has tragically passed away today at the age of 65 after battling cancer on and off for two decades.
Linda was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, which returned in 2016 and later spread to her hip and liver in 2020. In 2023, doctors discovered two large tumours in her brain, informing her that it was incurable.
Despite her prognosis, the star remained hopeful and was "so grateful" to see another Christmas. In a frank interview with The Mirror in December, Linda confessed her fears that Christmas 2024 would be her last due to her incurable secondary breast cancer.
"I try to stay positive", she admitted. "I'll use jokes and humour as a way to cope, but of course it's scary. And I have my days where I'm terribly down."
Linda previously opened up about her battle with cancer, revealing her Christmas wish is simply to "keep breathing and see another one". She bravely shared: "I thought my 60th birthday would be my last, but I'm still here, five years later. It's easy to sit back and get depressed about it, but I'm still going. My hope for 2025? To not die, obviously. I just want to be here with my family.", reports the Mirror.
Despite facing the grim task of planning her own funeral, Linda shuns talks of wills and finances, saying: "When people start talking about putting things in order – I don't want to talk about that. I don't want to think about my affairs. It's so final. Every birthday, I want to make it to the next one. I have to be like that, I can't be a grey cloud of doom."
Tragically, Linda is the second Nolan sister to confront the devastating impact of cancer, following Bernie Nolan who died from the disease 12 years ago. Bernie was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2010 and by October that year, she announced she was cancer-free after treatment.
However, the illness returned in October 2012, spreading to her left breast, brain, lungs, liver and bones. Bernie sadly passed away at her Surrey home in July 2013 at the age of 52, with her family stating: "Bernie passed away peacefully this morning with all of her family around her."
Sisters Anne and Coleen have also faced their battles with the dreaded C-word. Anne, the torchbearer of ill fate, was first struck by the disease back in 2000.
Fast forward to April 2020, and at 72, Anne grappled with stage three breast cancer, with sister Linda learning about her own liver diagnosis mere days later. The siblings endured the chemo grind together, keen on ousting the big C from their lives.
"I don't want to die. I love my life so much. I love my daughters, my grandchildren, my friends, all my family. I want to live for as long as I possibly can," Anne confessed to The Sun during her ordeal. A fortuitous shower led to Anne's discovery of a second lump, but the gods were smiling as she entered remission once more after getting the nod from docs.
Meanwhile, over at Loose Women, panelist Coleen got the skin cancer memo in 2023. Speaking on the surreal diagnosis moment, Coleen shared: "My first instinct, typical me, was to laugh hysterically because I just thought that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard anybody say. I'm sick of cancer. Also, my first instinct was, 'I'm not telling anybody in my family' because this... seems nothing compared to what my sisters have been through."
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