Linda Nolan given 'amazing early Christmas present' after cancer treatment shrinks tumours

A member of the Nolan Sisters' has shared the "amazing" news that her brain tumours have shrunk.

Linda Nolan, 64, was told first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, and in March 2023 the singer from Blackpool announced she had to stop performing after the cancer spread to her brain, ending her 50 year career.

Her cancer began to seriously impact her balance and mobility, leaving her in a wheelchair.

However, on 7 December she told ITV's Good Morning Britain that her latest treatment had shrunk the tumours.

She said: “It’s amazing… When we went in, I knew straight away that it was good news by the look on my consultant’s face.

“He said that the scans were good – the MRI and the CT scan – and that there is shrinkage with the tumours.

“I wanted to put my arms around him and kiss him but I thought they might throw me out.”

Linda said the news was an early Christmas present at a time when it was unclear if she would live to see Christmas.

She said: “I was hoping to make the birth of my nephew, who was born at the end of July, and then I was thinking, ‘How many more milestones will I make?’

“And at the moment, I feel good. I’ve got a little bit of pain but I was walking about yesterday; we went to the beautiful garden centre and I was having a walk around to keep moving.

"They said, ‘Don’t sit down all the time or nothing will work’, and I just looked and thought, ‘How lucky I am.’

“After nine months and getting the worst possible news, having a great time with my sisters and now it’s all excitement for Christmas.”

Discussing the joy she gets from spending time with her sisters – Loose Women star Coleen, Maureen, and Anne – Nolan said: “I wake up and think, ‘Oh, another day to make memories’.

“I don’t wake up thinking, ‘It’s another day closer’, and that helps me.

“Sometimes I have to drag myself out of bed because lying there… just makes it worse… dip down into a depression.”

For the Nolan Sisters, famous for performing with stars such as Frank Sinatra, cancer has already had an agonising impact on the family.

Bernie Nolan died of breast cancer in 2013 at the age of 52, whilst her sister Anne, whom Linda joined on TV series The Nolans Go Cruising, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time three years ago, and is now cancer-free.

The family history of cancer, Linda said, has been "really scary" for her other sisters, including Denise, Maureen and Coleen and because three of the sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer, the family had the test for the BRCA gene.

"We don't, we've had the test in Manchester.

"It will be a rogue gene somewhere, because it's not just bad luck that three sisters got breast cancer," said Linda.

Loose Women star Coleen was also diagnosed with skin cancer in July 2023.

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