The death of Linda Nolan was announced today (January 15). It came 20 years after the singer was first diagnosed with cancer.
It’s a loss that cuts especially deep for me.
Cancer has also touched my family. And, although not to the extent it has affected Linda’s, that didn’t stop the selfless star from extending the hand of friendship to me and showing her support when I needed it.
Linda Nolan was an inspiration
My love of the Nolan Sisters extends back decades, so you can imagine my delight when Linda decided to follow me on Instagram.
There, she learnt about my mum’s breast cancer diagnosis and, without fail, every single story or post I shared to the platform, Linda liked or posted a little red love heart in the comments.
The fact that she did that, while undergoing treatment for her own illness, touched my heart and, I think, speaks volumes about the woman she was.
That’s why I’m sitting here in tears writing this about her. She truly was a special woman who made time for everyone. And I don’t doubt that anyone who met her felt exactly the same.
‘Bald as a badger’ – and proud
I first interviewed Linda and her sister Denise back in November 2020, and her bravery in the face of such an awful disease was inspiring.
At the time, Linda had just finished a round of chemotherapy after discovering her cancer had spread to her liver, and her sister Anne had also just received a cancer diagnosis.
She was upbeat, though, and told me that her hair was just starting to come back through again.
“I’m as bald as a badger. I’ve got little tiny hairs coming through which I keep counting every day,” she quipped.
Losing her hair happened time and time again.
There’s always somebody worse off that you.
But in another show of strength, and one that helped to break the taboo of post-chemo hair loss, Linda was seen out and about and on TV rocking her “bald as a badger” head.
I don’t doubt that it helped other women find the strength to do the same.
I know it was a tough decision for my mum to let the world see her without her hair. And I’m sure that Linda, just like my mum, brushed off those pitying glances she’d get in the street with her trademark wicked sense of humour.
‘Why not us’
Facing her incurable diagnosis with bravery and determination to not be beaten, Linda was open, honest and unafraid in the face of death. She’d had enough experience of it, after all, in her family.
At the end of my interview with Linda, she opened up about her beloved sister Bernie. She died from breast cancer in 2013 and now, I hope, the ladies are enjoying a long-awaited reunion wherever they may be.
“Some people say why us, but Bernie used to say: ‘Why not us?'” Linda said.
She stoically added: “There’s always somebody worse off that you. So we’re just taking it and facing it. Hopefully, you know, we hope next year will be a better one for all of us.”
After her death at the age of 65, the world is now a considerably darker place.
Rest in peace, Linda. Your love, light and kindness really will be missed.
Read more: Loose Women pays tribute to Linda Nolan as Coleen also shares statement
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