People say you look great but inside I am screaming 'l can't lose my hair again'

LINDA NOLAN ON HER STRUGGLE WITH CANCER

- EMILY RETTER

Linda Nolan has learnt many things since she was first diagnosed with cancer nearly 20 years ago.

That she's capable of enduring more than she ever thought possible, that you should get your eyebrows tattooed before you start chemo... And now, experiencing hair loss for the fourth time in her life, that sometimes it's just better to get out the razor and be done with it. Then head to the pub.

"My friend who is a hairdresser came round and just shaved it," she admits, agreeing to be photographed with her new look to inspire others experiencing the same.

"Then I said, get me a cap., we're going out for a drink".

She laughs, because Linda laughs a lot, even as she has gruelling chemo after the cancer spread to her brain.

But that doesn't mean she's not hurting, or angry, or scared. And the thing about Linda is she's open about that, too. Losing your hair gets no easier the fourth time around, she says.

She explains: "When we got back I was emotional. My sister Maureen said, are you all right?' and I couldn't speak, then I said, 'not really'. She came and sat beside me and put her arm around me.

"I just feel, because I've been having steroid treatment as well and my face swollen, I look like Mrs Potato Head.

"People say, 'well, you know, you look great, but inside I'm screaming, 'I just don't want to lose my hair again!". I was devastated at losing it.

"I have two lovely wigs, blonde, short, wigs, I will get them out. But I hate them. I check it's on straight all the time, or if it's warm, I'm boiling. It's been easier to wear the baseball cap.

Linda, 64, is now possibly as famous for her honesty about living with cancer as her pop career.

The sixth of eight Nolan siblings, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2005.