Linda Nolan’s brother, Brian Nolan, bravely revealed he has been diagnosed with cancer just days following the death of his sister – and has reflected on a ‘cancer curse’ in the family
Linda Nolan’s brother has revealed he was diagnosed with cancer just days after the death of his sister in the latest blow to the family, who fear they are ‘cursed’ with the disease.
Brian Nolan remarked on a supposed ‘cancer curse’ that is present in the family, with the clan suffering the loss of their sister Bernie to breast cancer in 2013 when she was just 52, and more recently Linda at 65, earlier this year. Adding to this, Anne, 74, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and Coleen, 60, discovered she had skin cancer in 2023.
Now just a month on from Linda’s funeral, Brian has bravely spoken out about his diagnosis in the hopes it could bring more awareness to men who could be suffering the same issue.
“I just want cancer to leave us alone,” expresses Brian, the fifth of the eight Nolan siblings. In November, Brian noticed he had been passing urine more frequently, and booked an appointment at the doctors.
Following PSA blood tests to check for prostate cancer, he underwent an MRI scan post-Christmas and a biopsy in the New Year. When the results came back as positive, he put in place a plan to help get him back on track.
However, this took place at the same time as Linda’s death. In response, he decided to keep quiet about his cancer news so his sisters could focus their attention on Linda, as she took a turn for the worse.
The news came as a massive shock to Loose Women panel member Coleen was eventually told. “I was speechless,” she recalls, describing the moment she learned the news. “I went completely numb and about an hour later I wanted to punch walls and scream. In our family, cancer’s just there. But he was so positive and I’m just so proud of him.
“We’re a family that treat everything with as much humour as possible and we go ‘OK, we can face this together.’ That’s what we’ll do.”
He’s gearing up for an operation to have his prostate gland removed as part of his treatment. Although he has bad days, Brian revealed that the cancer has not spread.
Reflecting on his silence, Brian believes: “I thought I was doing the right thing and I still do. It would have meant more tears and we were already knee-deep in tears and knee-deep in grief.”
The father of the Nolans, Tommy Nolan Sr, was the first to be struck by the cruel disease, dying from cancer in 1998. “You almost feel like it’s a curse that’s been on you but it’s not. So many families go through this,” said Coleen in an emotional episode of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2021.
Brian, along with Coleen and siblings Tommy, 75, Denise, 72, and Maureen, 70, have been sent off to a genetic clinic in Manchester for some thorough testing. Recounting the process, Brian says: “At the start of the whole process they ask you if there’s any history within the family. We said: ‘Have you got an hour?'”
He added: “Both sides there were generations of cancer. We had to write them all out. I’m shocked really, especially when cancer wasn’t the prime source of a lot of the deaths.
“My dad died of systemic cirrhosis but he also had liver cancer. My uncle died of pancreatic cancer. Funnily enough, they now believe that four of these types of cancer may be connected in some way. We either have breast cancer, prostate cancer, liver cancer or pancreatic cancer. They definitely think it’s hereditary. They can’t seem to find that magic bullet.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
