Coleen Nolan speaks to OK! about sister's cancer diagnosis
Coleen Nolan, 55, was heartbroken when she found out about Anne and Linda’s cancer diagnoses. Anne, 69, was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer after beating the disease in 2000, and Linda, 61, has secondary cancer that first metastasised to her hip and pelvis in 2017 and then recently to her liver, after battling breast cancer in 2006.
Neither Linda nor Anne carries the mutated BRCA 1 and 2 genes that raise a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime from 12 percent to 90 percent.
But a geneticist has told the family that it’s unlikely to be down to bad luck that three sisters have been diagnosed, reports Mirror.co.uk.
Coleen told the publication: The cancer that’s affected my sisters could be down to a rogue gene from my dad’s side of the family.”
But Coleen has considered having an elective double mastectomy to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in the future.
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“Of course, Seeing what Anne and Linda are going through has made me think a lot about having a mastectomy, she revealed.
“I’ve been lying in bed at night, looking down at my breasts and thinking, ‘Am I just walking around with two time bombs here?’ If that’s a possibility, maybe I need to get rid of them.”
There are many signs and symptoms of cancer, and spotting them early can save lives.
While every type of cancer is linked to a different set of symptoms, the NHS lists some more general ones to note.
Changes in bowel habits
See your GP if you’ve noticed these changes and it’s lasted for more than a few weeks, says the health body:
- Blood in your poo
- Diarrhoea or constipation for no obvious reason
- A feeling of not having fully emptied your bowels after going to the toilet
- Pain in your stomach (abdomen) or back passage (anus)
- Bloating
See a GP if you’ve had bloating for three weeks or more, advises the health body.
Lump in your breast
See your GP if you notice a lump in your breast or if you have a lump that’s rapidly increasing in size elsewhere on your body, says the health body.
“Your GP will refer you to a specialist for tests if they think you may have cancer,” it adds.
Bleeding
You should also see your GP it says if you have any unexplained bleeding, such as:
- Blood in your urine
- Bleeding between periods
- Bleeding from your bottom
- Blood when you cough
- Blood in your vomit
Coughing, chest pain and breathlessness
Contact your GP if you’ve had a cough for more than three weeks.
The health body explains: “Symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain may also be a sign of a severe (acute) condition, such as pneumonia. See your GP straight away if you experience these types of symptoms.”
Unexplained weight loss
You should also see your GP if you’ve lost a lot of weight over the last couple of months that cannot be explained by changes to your diet, exercise or stress.
Moles
See your GP if you have a mole that:
- Changes shape or looks uneven
- Changes colour, gets darker or has more than 2 colours
- Starts itching, crusting, flaking or bleeding
- Gets larger or more raised from the skin
The health body adds: “Any of the above changes means there’s a chance you have malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer.”
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