COLEEN NOLAN has revealed that her sister Linda has been diagnosed with an incurable cancer.
The 52-year-old broke down in tears live on TV earlier today as she opened up about her elder sibling’s shock diagnosis.
The Loose Women star was returning to the chat show after a short break, which she explained was due to the sad news.
Coleen revealed that Linda had been diagnosed with a secondary cancer which is “not curable”, but is “treatable”, after falling on a staircase three weeks ago.
"Linda wants to get it across she's not dying of cancer. She's living with cancer. They've said it is treatable, she could have years. We have to focus on that," Coleen said.
"She actually broke her hip. She went to hospital and while they did the scan of her hip, they found secondary cancer...it was earth-shattering for us initially."
Linda, 58, was born in Dublin and gained fame along with her five sisters as a member of girl group The Nolans in the 1970s.
She had previously beaten cancer 10 years ago but lost sister Bernie to the disease in 2013.
Thanks to everyone for the kind messages for Linda. Coleen will pass them on. Your support means so much to the family - #PositiveThoughts ?
— Coleen Nolan (@NolanColeen) March 27, 2017
Coleen explained: “That was in Linda’s mind when they first said it. But it was a completely different cancer and Bernie’s had spread. Linda’s hasn’t.
“Like Bernie, Linda’s so strong. She’s had her down days don’t get me wrong, but she’s being really positive. As much as I’m crying now and shaking, we’ve also had moments of hilarity.”
Coleen also revealed Linda’s diagnosis had triggered a stress-related allergy, which saw her face swell up.
“They were frightened of anaphylactic shock,” she explained, as she shared a picture with viewers. “I thought no one wants to see that on the telly.”
Linda appeared on Loose Women just last month, when she revealed the results of a recent face lift to sister Coleen live on air.
“I just thought it’s so unfair, she’s just got it all together,” Coleen said. “It’s taken her 10 years to finally get her life back and then it goes whack here you go, now face this.
“We’ll all fight as a family and we’ll all be there for her,” she added.
