|
The lead singer of The
Nolans is the THIRD sister
to be diagnosed with the
disease. But courageous
mum-of-one Bernie vowed to
beat it. "Cancer's a scary
word but it can b****r off,"
she exclusively told the
News of the World. "I don't
care - just get this s***
out of me. "I'm going to see
my daughter grow up and I'll
fight it with everything I
have." The cancer has
already spread to her lymph
nodes and the former Bill
actress, 49, faces a
gruelling course of
treatment - including
chemotherapy and a
mastectomy to remove her
left breast. Sisters Linda,
51, and Anne, 59, have both
successfully battled the
killer disease within the
past ten years. So far Loose
Women star Coleen, 45,
Maureen, 55, and Denise, 58,
are clear of it. As a
result, Bernie will now have
genetic tests to see if they
and her ten-year-old
daughter Erin are at risk of
developing breast cancer. It
is the most common cancer in
the UK, claiming the lives
of around 12,000 women every
year with 125 new cases
diagnosed every day. Bernie,
who was runner-up in the
ITV1 singing contest Popstar
to Operastar, was diagnosed
this week and told the
cancer is already in her
lymph nodes. She has been
forced to pull out of a
sixth-month tour of the
comedy play Mum's The Word
and prepare for treatment.
Experts will tell her on
Wednesday whether they plan
to perform an immediate
mastectomy, or give her a
course of chemotherapy first
to contain the cancer cells
before removing her breast.
Either way, Bernie insisted:
"I'm fighting this. I'm
going to kick its ass. Take
one breast, take them both,
I don't care. I'm strong and
I'm not going to let this
defeat me. I'm not going to
sit back and let that
happen."
And as she faces the
prospect of chemotherapy,
Bernie added: "I'm going to
lose my hair - they've told
me that because they know
the strength of chemo they
have to give me. "I'll look
a b****r with no hair, but I
don't care. I'll wear a
wig."
She went on: "It's about
seeing my child grow up and
having more fun with my
sisters and life with my
husband."
Bernie hasn't had a chance
to reveal her cancer ordeal
to the cast of her play
Mum's The Word - including
former Corrie star Tracy
Shaw - since being diagnosed
on Monday. She sighed: "This
will all come as a big shock
to them. I'm sorry girls but
I haven't even been able to
get my head round telling
anyone." The actress, who
previously starred in The
Bill and Brookside, had just
started the national theatre
tour when she decided to get
a lump on her breast checked
out.
She first discovered
something was wrong at
Christmas but dismissed it
as a harmless cyst, which
she had previously suffered
in 2006.
Bernie - famous for The
Nolans' biggest hit I'm In
The Mood For Dancing - had
just completed a sell-out
tour with the 80s sisters'
band and went on to
star in ITV1 contest Popstar
to Operastar earlier this
year, narrowly losing out to
Darius Campbell in the
final.
All the while she had breast
cancer but Bernie admitted:
"I had no idea. I was so
involved in the TV show and
loved every minute of it
that perhaps I put it out of
my mind. You don't think it
will ever happen to you."
But after the series
finished, Bernie made an
appointment to see her GP
and she was quickly referred
to a breast screening clinic
on April 12.
She recalled: "They did a
mammogram, an ultrasound and
took biopsies. Suddenly I
thought, 'This is quite
serious'.
"They said to me that I
should come back to the
clinic for the results as
opposed to having them over
the phone and I immediately
thought, 'It's not good
then'." A week later doctors
gave her the devastating
news that she and husband
Steve Doneathy, 49, were
dreading - that she had
breast cancer and, worse, it
was already in her lymph
nodes.
Reeling, Bernie said: "I was
so shocked. I thought I was
invincible. I went to the
car with my husband and I
completely lost it."
A few days later, on
Thursday, she met a surgeon
at the Royal Surrey Hospital
in Guildford, who confirmed
the cancer was progressive,
meaning it is spreading.
Bernie shuddered: "That was
scary. I have a node cancer,
not a hormone cancer. This
affects 15 per cent of women
and is harder to treat. It's
in the lymph node so it's
already on the outside of
the breast and could
spread."
Bernie will also find out on
Wednesday if her cancer is
HER2 positive or negative -
which means whether it will
respond to Herceptin
medication and could be
treated with hormone
blockers. But she already
knows she will face surgery
and chemotherapy.
Bernie and drummer hubby
Steve had to face the
emotional task of breaking
the news to their daughter
Erin. They wanted to wait
until after her 11th
birthday tomorrow, but the
youngster guessed something
was wrong.
Bernie explained: "Her first
question was, 'Are you going
to die?' I said, 'No', but
she's scared and it's awful.
"The best thing about having
a child is I have the extra
strength because I want to
see her grow up and I have
to be strong for her." But
despite Bernie's courage and
determination, she revealed
the cruel reality of the
situation dawns on her as
soon as she wakes up every
day.
"Mornings are the worst,"
she said. "I always wake up
thinking, 'This isn't
happening. But then I think,
'Oh, I've got breast
cancer.' There's a cloud
over all our lives now.
"But I'm really strong. I
haven't cried on my own
yet." The support of her
five sisters is helping her.
She instinctively turned to
big sister Maureen who broke
down after already helping
Anne and Linda battle their
conditions.
Bernie said: "She lost it.
She was devastated but my
sisters have all been so
supportive even though
they're climbing the walls
with worry. I can't believe
I'm putting them through
this again."
The devastating news is just
one in a series of tragedies
to hit the Nolans in recent
years.
Anne was diagnosed with
cancer in 2000 and had a
lump removed. Six years
later Linda, 51, had a
mastectomy and in 2007 -
while she was being treated
- her husband Brian Hudson
died. The same year the
sisters' mum Maureen died
from Alzheimer's - ten years
after they lost their father
Tommy to liver cancer. That
same year, 1997, Bernie's
daughter Kate was stillborn
and she later also suffered
a miscarriage. But
stoically, she added: "We've
been through a lot but many
people go through these
things." Ironically, Bernie
revealed recently that she'd
nagged husband Steve to go
to the doctor after he
complained of an unusual
ache in his groin - but
little did she know she was
the one who had cancer. She
said: "All the time I was
worrying about him and it
was me."
Brave Bernie chose to speak
out in the News of the World
in the hope other women take
action if they discover
lumps in their breasts.
She said: "Hopefully I might
be helping someone. People
need to go for mammograms.
If they catch it early
enough something can be
done.
"I just hope my situation
helps someone else or
convinces one person to get
themselves checked out.
"For me it's all about life
and seeing my child grow up.
I am going to kick this into
touch as soon as possible
and get on with my life. It
makes you realise what's
important in life. I am
going to be 50 later this
year and I am still going to
have that party. I don't
care what I look like.
"And I'm sure we'll do
another Nolans tour next
year. We might even call it
the Survivors tour and try
and give other survivors
something to take their mind
off their own situations."
For now though Bernie has
been told to take it easy.
She said: "I should be in
Rhyl in North Wales now on
the Mum's The Word tour.
"They think I've got a bug
and an understudy is filling
in for me. "But now I have
been advised not to tour. I
need my energy for the
battle ahead." And as Bernie
prepares herself for the
biggest fight of her life,
she explained that she's
having all her treatment on
the NHS. She said: "They
have been wonderful. We've
been fast-tracked, but it
happens to everyone in this
situation. We criticise the
health system a lot but when
you really need it, the NHS
is fantastic. "I'm not going
to die. I'm going to battle
with everything I've got."
|
