Linda Nolan has made the heartbreaking choice to pick out her own coffin and one of the songs to be sung at her funeral after cancerous tumors were found in her brain.
The singer, 64, was told by doctors six weeks ago that she had two large masses surrounded by smaller ones on her MRI image, nearly 20 years after she was first diagnosed with cancer.
She underwent a mastectomy and 18 rounds of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and lost her husband Brian in 2007 and younger sister Bernie in 2013 to cancer, while her eldest daughter Anne overcame the disease.
Linda saw cancer come back in her hip in 2017 and in her liver in 2020, and she’s now awaiting the results of another MRI scan after undergoing 11 radiotherapy sessions and taking steroids to see if the tumors are in her brain shrunk.
While having to take a new chemotherapy drug called Tucatinib “to give me more time,” she admits she sometimes finds it hard to hold on to hope and has started making plans for her funeral in an effort to make things easier to make. for her family.
Difficult: Linda Nolan, 64, made the heartbreaking choice to pick out her own coffin and one of the songs to be sung at her funeral (pictured last year)
She told the Mirror: ‘(Male) Brian organized his funeral and it was amazing.
“Bernie arranged hers. It’s easier for people who are left behind. I went into it a little bit. A Neil Sedaka song, Our Last Song Together. And I know the funeral people I’m going to use.
Brian’s box was like a flight case, with “This way up”, “Fragile” written on it.
“Our aunt had a beautiful box with pictures of us all around it.
“Then Maureen said, ‘Look at this chest, it’s made for you, it’s pink glitter.'”
When asked if she would choose to do so, she replied: ‘Absolutely.’
Linda now uses a cane and frame to help her walk and has moved in with her sister Denise in Blackpool, where her other sister Maureen visits every day.
She explained how she struggles to move in time, with her right foot “practically paralyzed.”
Sad news: The singer was told by doctors six weeks ago that she had two masses surrounded by smaller ones on her MRI image, nearly 20 years after she first developed cancer (pictured last year)
Emotional: Linda and her family have had heartbreaking battles with cancer, including her late husband Brian who died of the disease in 2007 (Linda and Brian pictured at their wedding in 1981)
Her sister Denise cooks and cleans for her, and makes the bed to make her as comfortable as possible.
However, she’s still focusing on what she can do when she’s healthy enough, and Linda insists she’s going to book a big house in the Lake District soon so her family can spend time together and ‘make memories’.
Last month, Linda quit performing after revealing that her cancer had spread to her brain.
During an emotional interview on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, she told ITV viewers that the cancer has spread to her brain but she is ‘not giving up’.
Linda was due to take part in a meet and greet with fans in Inverness a few days after the interview, along with Kerry Katona, Gail Porter and Gayle Telfer Stevens.
However, a post on their Instagram page read, “We were all gutted to hear the news about Linda Nolan today.
“Sadly this does mean she won’t be with us this weekend, but we wish her all the best and our thoughts are with her and her family. xx.’
Linda is still on the list to attend the dates for Lunch & Laughs Live in September.
Gutting: It comes after Linda was forced to quit work after revealing her cancer has spread to her brain (pictured in 2020)
Heartbreaking: During an emotional interview on Good Morning Britain last month, the singer told ITV viewers the cancer has spread to her brain but she is ‘not giving up’
The event is described as: ‘Fun, celebs, secrets and stories, songs, questions and answers and lots and lots of laughter!’
The singer, who recently celebrated her 64th birthday, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005 before getting all clear in 2006. But in 2017, she was diagnosed with an incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her. deliver in 2020.
Last month, she told GMB hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, “I’ve always been hopeful with my treatment and what’s going on in my life.
“I just want to tell you that unfortunately for me my cancer has spread to my brain and of course that’s scary because there isn’t much treatment for brain cancer other than chemotherapy.”
She added, “I’m not giving up. I am positive. I’m going to lose my hair again for the fourth time.’
“I moved back in with my sister to live, I fell, the cancer in my brain affected my balance and I had three pretty nasty falls.
Work: Linda would take part in a meet and greet with fans in Inverness alongside Kerry Katona, Gail Porter and Gayle Telfer Stevens
“So, as usual, my wonderful family – I’m living with my sister Denise and her partner again. Maureen has been taking care of me for the past few weeks.
‘I bought a wheelchair, we’re getting the stuff ready for the inevitable. It’s a scary journey to go on, this one.’
Linda said she tried to stay positive: “I don’t know how long I have left, and it’s not because I’m morbid or anything, but I don’t know, none of us really know.” So for me it’s making the most of every day and spending it with people I love. Just be positive.
“Yes, I beat it before. I originally fought it since 2005 and then I’ve beaten it before so hopefully I can do the same again. With the wonderful help I’ve always had from the NHS, of course.’
In the mood to dance: The Nolans saw Coleen, Maureen, Bernie and Linda perform in 1981