Image copyright Shutterstock Nolan sisters Linda and Anne have revealed they have both had to undergo chemotherapy treatment for cancer during lockdown.
The pair – part of the famous Irish family pop group – disclosed the news on their Twitter account.
Linda, 61, has liver cancer, her third recurrence of the disease – she was diagnosed with secondary terminal breast cancer in 2017.
Anne, 69, has breast cancer for a second time.
In an interview with The Sun, they said they found out about their diagnoses around the same time in May.
In June, they both underwent a round of chemotherapy together at Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital.
Linda described telling their other siblings the news: “We laughed and we cried really. It’s hysterical.
“Forget the Chemical Brothers, we’ve become the Chemo Sisters.”
Their sister Bernie died from cancer in 2013.
Linda first had breast cancer in 2006, followed by cellulitis and lymphoedema in her arm in 2007 and secondary cancer on her pelvis in 2017.
She says of her recent diagnosis: “I thought my scans would just be fine as they normally are.
“On 7 May our sister Maureen called me at 10am to say that Anne’s breast cancer had been confirmed.
Anxiety attacks
“Then half an hour later my oncologist’s secretary phoned me to say, ‘We need you to have an MRI scan because we’ve seen something on your liver’.
“I couldn’t tell anyone then because they were so obviously devastated about Anne.”
Anne’s breast cancer is stage three, the most serious being stage four.
Her first breast cancer diagnosis was in 2000.
The pair said lockdown and the fear of catching coronavirus when they have suppressed immunity following treatment had made the situation more difficult.
Anne said she had had anxiety attacks.
“And I think part of it is because I’ve not been able to see my daughters and grandchildren.
“I’ve not touched them, I’ve not been able to hug them or kiss them. And I think that’s what makes me more sad than anything.”
The sisters are having six rounds of chemotherapy each. Both have lost their hair after their early treatments.
Linda said: “How you look is part of showbiz and everybody gets labelled. I was blonde with the big boobs. So cancer has taken that away from me.”
She said she has asked doctors about her life expectancy, and said: “As long as the treatment is there and I can have it and I respond well to it I might be around for another 15, 20 years, hopefully.
“By that time I’ll be an old woman. I’ll be 75 in 15 years, and I would’ve had a great life. So that’s why I’m again, for the third time, going to give it everything I’ve got.”
The Nolans had a string of hits including 1979’s I’m in the Mood for Dancing and Don’t Make Waves.
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