Linda Nolan dead at age 65 after 20-year cancer journey

Beloved pop singer and television star Linda Nolan has passed away at 65 after a prolonged battle with secondary breast cancer. The celebrated Daily Mirror columnist departed this life with her renowned sisters at her side, just a few days following her emotionally charged final article for the paper.

Her last hours were reportedly filled with “love and comfort.”

In a heartfelt statement to the Mirror, agent Dermot McNamara confirmed: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Linda Nolan, the celebrated Irish pop legend, television personality, Guinness World Record holding West End star, Sunday Times bestselling author and Daily Mirror columnist.”

He added, “She passed at around 10:20am at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the MCEW Ward. The family said the hospital couldn’t do enough, they were tireless.”

The statement elucidated further: “She passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments. Linda’s legacy extends beyond her formidable achievements in music and show business. She was an emblem of hope and perseverance, openly sharing her battle to heighten awareness and motivate others. Rest in peace, Linda. Your profound absence will be felt, but your memory endures.”, reports the Mirror.

The family have conveyed that there are plans for a public memorial in honour of the widely cherished icon. The heartbreaking announcement of Linda’s demise will undoubtedly stun her devoted admirers who keenly accompanied her as she candidly detailed her cancer journey in her weekly column for the Mirror.

Linda had expressed to the Mirror just last week that she was feeling more upbeat after a Christmas illness she believed to be a “bout of flu”. However, her health took a turn for the worse on Saturday when she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties.

She was diagnosed with double pneumonia and, due to her secondary breast cancer which had spread to her brain, her condition rapidly worsened. In the early hours of Tuesday, at 3.30am, her sisters Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 69, and Coleen, 59, were summoned to her bedside as doctors decided to transition her into end-of-life care.

They remained with her, keeping vigil in her last moments.

Her agent paid tribute to her illustrious career as a singer, West End star, television personality, charity campaigner, author, and a founding member of The Nolans – a group that sold over 30 million records, entertained President Gerald Ford, and toured with Frank Sinatra. The statement highlighted: “As a member of The Nolans, one of the most successful girl groups of all time, Linda achieved global success, touring the world and selling over 30 million records, with hits such as Gotta Pull Myself Together, Attention to Me and the iconic disco classic I’m In The Mood for Dancing. Her distinctive voice and magnetic stage presence brought joy to fans around the world, securing her place as an icon of British and Irish entertainment.”

(Image: OK!/David Cummings)

“Linda also dedicated her life to helping others, helping raise over £20million for numerous charities, including Breast Cancer Now, Breast Cancer Ireland and Samaritans, amongst countless others. Her selflessness and tireless commitment to making a difference in the lives of others will forever be a cornerstone of her legacy.”

Linda was first given a breast cancer diagnosis in 2005 and joyously received the all-clear in 2011. However, in 2017, sadly just four years following the passing of her sister Bernie at 52 in 2013, Linda learned that cancer had made a harrowing return when tumours were discovered in her hip bone and pelvis.

Echoing the path of Bernie, Linda faced a tough prognosis with incurable secondary breast cancer but resolved to savour each moment to its fullest.

Utilising her celebrity status and vibrant wit to uplift others facing parallel battles, including her sister Anne who was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2020 soon after Linda’s own cancer was found to have advanced to her liver. Undergoing chemotherapy treatments together, the sisters shared their journey – with Anne entering remission while Linda confronted the inevitable reality that her cancer could be managed but never fully eradicated.

Into 2023, Linda confronted a further spread of the disease to her brain. Still, undaunted, she devoted herself even more deeply to charitable efforts and spearheaded the campaign for the groundbreaking medication Enhertu to be made universally available on the NHS for secondary breast cancer patients.

(Image: LORNA ROACH PHOTOGRAPHY)

Additionally, Linda shone in the public eye on ‘Celebrity Antiques Road Trip’ alongside Status Quo icon Francis Rossi.

Amidst her battle with memory issues and an illness over the festive period that she believed was flu, Linda remained hopeful in her column last Thursday. She shared with her readers, “The doctors say it’s been a bad case of flu. I’d walk a few steps and struggle to catch my breath. My legs were even more wobbly than usual and, although I try not to, I thought of how Bernie was at the end. You think, ‘Oh my God, is this it? ‘” She continued, “It was only on Monday I felt well enough to venture out. It feels like a whole new world out there. There’s nothing like the sensation of starting to feel better after an illness. You’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel normal (well, I say normal? ).”

In what has become a moving final note, she concluded, “I’m no fan of resolutions but here’s one: It’ll take more than flu to finish me off.”

Before Christmas, Linda experienced fluctuating health but confessed to fears about Christmas 2024 being potentially her last. Deciding to leave Blackpool, she chose to return to living with her sister Denise and her spouse Tom.

The Mirror was privy to Linda’s December insight, as she confided, “I try to stay positive. 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.”

Displaying courage, she expressed her festive hope: “keep breathing and see another one”. Though grappling with her condition, her spirit remained undaunted: “We’ll eat, drink and sing carols. And I should point out, I won’t be cooking. I have cancer, that’s my excuse,” she quipped.

In a display of remarkable courage, Linda defiantly stated: “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.”

In her heartfelt Mirror column, Linda opened up about her fear of dying, recounting a conversation with a nurse: “She asked me straight if I’m afraid. And I replied that yes, I am afraid of dying. And sad, too. And she said I could call her anytime, that they’re there to talk about anything.”

However, after dreaming about her late sister Bernie, who passed away in 2013 from breast cancer at the age of 52, Linda found comfort: “When I was told I had brain cancer and that it was treatable but not curable, I was devastated. But that night I went to bed and dreamed of Bernie all night,” she shared. “We were laughing together. I woke up, went downstairs and told my sister Maureen: ‘I’m not scared of dying any more. I’ve just dreamed about Bernie and she’s going to be there – that’s amazing’.”

Linda has even taken steps to plan her own funeral to make things “easier for people left behind”, choosing her funeral directors and selecting Neil Sedaka’s Our Last Song Together as the music to be played.

Coleen released a new book titled A Hand To Hold
(Image: COPYRIGHT Rebecca Lupton 2024)

She humorously expressed her wish for a “pink, sparkly coffin”. Speaking to The Mirror in 2023, she reflected: “I think it’s a one-way trip now”, showing her acceptance and readiness for what lies ahead.

In August, Linda’s sister Coleen revealed to the Mirror Linda’s wishes for her funeral, saying she wanted everyone in black “weeping and wailing”. She humorously added: “Linda will probably have a list of people she doesn’t want at her funeral – there are a lot of people Linda doesn’t like! ” The Nolan sisters have been candid about their family’s struggles with cancer; four out of six sisters have faced a cancer diagnosis or scare.

Anne was the first to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, and after beating it, she faced it again in April 2020 in the other breast. Shortly after, Linda learned that her secondary breast cancer had spread to her liver.

The sisters then chose to go through chemotherapy together. “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 expressed to The Sun when she found a lump while showering.

Fortunately, she went into remission again and announced she was cancer-free in December that year.

(Image: OK!/David Cummings)

In April 2010, Bernie Nolan, the second youngest of the Nolan sisters, revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. Following a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and taking Herceptin, she joyfully declared herself cancer-free in October that year.

By February 2012, Bernie announced she had stopped taking cancer treatment drugs. However, in a devastating turn, Bernie’s cancer came back by October 2012, having spread to her left breast, brain, lungs, liver, and bones.

The beloved singer sadly passed away in her Surrey home in July the following year at the age of 52. “Bernie passed away peacefully this morning with all of her family around her,” confirmed a statement at the time.

2023 saw Coleen Nolan, well-known from Loose Women, grapple with her own health scare as she was diagnosed with skin cancer on her finger. Recounting her initial reaction, 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.”

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/tv/linda-nolan-dead-age-65-30787263

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