[ad_1]

Linda Nolan has spoken out on the importance of supporting cancer sufferers after she was left traumatised when she shaved off her hair after chemotherapy.

The singer, 64, was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006, but the disease sadly returned in 2017 and spread to her liver and brain.

Last year she made the decision to shave her head after losing her hair for the fourth time due to her cancer treatment in a bid to take control as she battled the disease.

To mark World Cancer Day on Sunday, a picture of Linda taken after she shaved her head was projected onto huge screens in London’s Piccadilly Circus and New York’s Times Square as part of the BOLD exhibition for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. 

Linda said, according to the Mirror: ‘I’ve always said I was traumatised when I lost my hair. It was such a big deal for me, but this exhibition really reminds us what’s important and that’s support and solidarity.’

Linda Nolan has spoken out on the importance of supporting cancer sufferers after she was left traumatised when she shaved off her hair after chemotherapy (pictured last week)

Linda Nolan has spoken out on the importance of supporting cancer sufferers after she was left traumatised when she shaved off her hair after chemotherapy (pictured last week)

To mark World Cancer Day on Sunday, a picture of Linda taken after she shaved her head was projected onto huge screens in London's Piccadilly Circus and New York's Times Square (pictured)

To mark World Cancer Day on Sunday, a picture of Linda taken after she shaved her head was projected onto huge screens in London’s Piccadilly Circus and New York’s Times Square (pictured)

She added: ‘I wouldn’t miss it. It was amazing to be part of the exhibition with all the other women who have either lost their hair, or like me, are in stages of regrowth.’

Linda shaved her head last year after losing her hair for the fourth time while battling incurable cancer.

She said at the time she had taken back control with the help of her hairdresser friend but was still ‘devastated.’

She told the Mirror: ‘My friend who is a hairdresser came round and just shaved it. Then I said “Get me a cap, we’re going out for a drink!”

‘I just feel, because I’ve been having steroid treatment as well and my face is swollen, I look like Mrs Potato Head.’

She added: ‘People say, ‘Well you know you look great”, but inside I’m screaming, “I just don’t want to lose my hair again!” I was devastated at losing it.’

Linda recently revealed she is ’embracing every moment’ after learning her tumours have shrunk.

Writing about the news in the Mirror in December last year, Linda revealed: ‘I was getting the results of my scans. Because my appointment was later than usual, my head started to run riot…

The singer, 64, was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006, but the disease sadly returned in 2017 and spread to her liver and brain (Linda seen on the Pink Ribbon Foundation's breast cancer campaign billboard in New York's Times Square on Sunday)

The singer, 64, was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006, but the disease sadly returned in 2017 and spread to her liver and brain (Linda seen on the Pink Ribbon Foundation’s breast cancer campaign billboard in New York’s Times Square on Sunday)

‘There’s always that thing outside the door when you know your life could change in minutes. But it was good news. The tumours haven’t grown…

‘In fact, the consultant said these precious words: “There’s still some shrinkage.” I mean, I wish around my waist, but I’ll take it. I’ll definitely take it!…

‘Of course, the tumours are still there, and making themselves felt. The consultant explained memory loss, hearing loss and slight stammer I’ve been getting are because a tumour is impacting the area in my brain linked to cognitive behaviour.’

Linda has also previously discussed how she has been suffering from memory loss amid her battle with the disease as she spoke about forgetting her niece Ciara’s name.

She wrote in the Mirror: ‘I had to turn to Coleen’s son Jake’s girlfriend and ask her what my niece, Coleen’s daughter, is called.

‘My memory has been lapsing for a while, but that moment was as bad as it has got.’

But Linda insisted she would not ‘panic’ or ‘live in fear’ amid her struggles, as she told how she wanted to make the most of her time with her loved ones.

Linda rose to fame with The Nolans performing with her sisters (L-R: Maureen, Linda, Coleen and Bernie pose with their two brothers Tommy and Brian in 1981)

Linda rose to fame with The Nolans performing with her sisters (L-R: Maureen, Linda, Coleen and Bernie pose with their two brothers Tommy and Brian in 1981) 

‘I’m not going to panic because, if I panic, cancer wins,’ she insisted. ‘I’m not going to live in fear because it’ll take over, and I have to concentrate on making the most of now.’

Linda recently told how she doesn’t think she will survive cancer for a third time and said it has become a ‘way of life’ for her.

‘I rang that bell twice. And I know now I won’t be ringing it again,’ she heartbreakingly wrote in the Mirror.

‘[Cancer has] become a way of life now. I have my cancer book – a title I never thought I’d have in my library – with all my bloods, weight and so on recorded (I’ve lost 4kg, although I reckon I could live off what’s left for some time).’

[ad_2]
This post first appeared on Daily mail